Sheldon Leonard
Sheldon Leonard Bershad (February 22, 1907 – January 11, 1997) was an American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
Sheldon Leonard
January 11, 1997 (aged 89)
- Actor
- producer
- director
- writer
1934–1997
2
Early life[edit]
Sheldon Leonard Bershad was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of middle-class Jewish parents Frank Bershad and Anna Levit.[1] He graduated from Syracuse University in 1929.
Legacy[edit]
Bill Cosby, whom Leonard cast in I Spy, described Leonard as "my last father" when he dedicated an episode of Cosby to both Leonard and his slain son Ennis Cosby. Bill Cosby included an impersonation of Sheldon Leonard in one track of his 1966 hit comedy album Wonderfulness. The track "Niagara Falls" describes Sheldon Leonard's honeymoon at Niagara Falls.
In "Monkees Marooned", the eighth episode of the second season of The Monkees, a character named Leonard Sheldon, and speaking with Leonard's accent, approaches Peter Tork on the street, much like "The Tout" and persuades Tork to trade his guitar for a treasure map.
Leonard's name served as an eponym for the characters Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter in the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory because the writers were fans of his work.[4]
Actor
Producer
Director