19 Facts About Sheldon Leonard

Sheldon Leonard Bershad was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.

Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-class Jewish parents Frank Bershad and Anna Levit.

Sheldon Leonard's trademark was his especially thick New York accent, usually delivered from the side of his mouth.

Sheldon Leonard was a favorite of director Frank Capra, who asked him to play an executive mobster in his 1961 movie Pocketful of Miracles.

Sheldon Leonard became so associated with tough-guy parts that he was occasionally cast against type, as a law-enforcement officer, in movies like Street of Chance and Decoy.

Sheldon Leonard even played a pirate in Captain Kidd.

On radio from 1945 to 1955, Sheldon Leonard played an eccentric racetrack tout on The Jack Benny Program and later in the TV series of the same name.

Sheldon Leonard was part of the cast of voice actors on the Damon Runyon Theatre radio show.

Sheldon Leonard was part of the ensemble cast of the Martin and Lewis radio show.

Sheldon Leonard appeared frequently on Dragnet and The Adventures of the Saint, often playing gangsters and heavies, but sometimes in more sympathetic roles.

Sheldon Leonard was a regular on the radio comedy series The Adventures of Maisie in the 1940s.

Thanks to his many years in show business, Sheldon Leonard had cultivated a quick, shrewd capacity for pinpointing strengths and flaws in prospective projects.

Sheldon Leonard directed several TV series episodes, including four of the first eight episodes of the TV series Lassie.

Sheldon Leonard was briefly the star of his own television show Big Eddie, where he played the owner of a large sports arena.

Sheldon Leonard is informally credited with developing the practice of using an episode of a series as a backdoor pilot episode for new series, in which a guest star is introduced as a new character with the intention of using this character as the basis for a new show.

Sheldon Leonard was the executive producer on Gomer Pyle, USM.

Sheldon Leonard has the distinction of being one of the first two Miller Lite spokesmen.

Sheldon Leonard died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on January 11,1997, at age 89.

Sheldon Leonard was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.