Sheldon Leonard(1907-1997)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sheldon Leonard was born in New York City's lower Manhattan, the son of
Jewish parents. He studied acting at Syracuse University and, after
graduating, landed a job on Wall Street. Following the Wall Street
crash of 1929, he found himself unemployed and resolved to become a
professional actor on the stage. The road was hard, since it took him
five years to first appear on Broadway in "Hotel Alimony" (1934). While
this production was universally slammed by the critics, the next plays
he appeared in, "Having Wonderful Time" (1937) and "Kiss the Boys
Goodbye" (1938), were unqualified successes, the former running for 372
performances.
Movie offers followed, and from 1939 he became one of Hollywood's most
recognizable screen tough guys, the names of his characters evocative
of the roles he played: Pretty Willie in
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941),
Slip Moran in Lucky Jordan (1942),
Lippy Harris in Jinx Money (1948),
Jumbo Schneider in
Money from Home (1953) and,
famously, Harry the Horse in
Guys and Dolls (1955). There was
also an assortment of minor henchmen and western heavies named Blackie
or Lefty, and he was Nick, the sneering, humorless barkeeper who tosses
James Stewart into the snow in
It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Having had his fill of acting in those kinds of parts, Leonard began a
new career as a television producer in the 1950s and went on to become
one of the most successful TV producer/directors of the 1950s and
1960s. Four of his productions (all on
CBS)--The Danny Thomas Show (1953),
Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964),
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
(which won 21 Emmy Awards) and
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)--were
rated in the Top Ten. He had a further success with
I Spy (1965), championing the cause of
racial equality over the (initial) objections of the network by being
the first series to have an African-American
(Bill Cosby) in an equal co-starring dramatic
role with a white actor. Leonard is also regarded as having invented
the television spin-off.
Jewish parents. He studied acting at Syracuse University and, after
graduating, landed a job on Wall Street. Following the Wall Street
crash of 1929, he found himself unemployed and resolved to become a
professional actor on the stage. The road was hard, since it took him
five years to first appear on Broadway in "Hotel Alimony" (1934). While
this production was universally slammed by the critics, the next plays
he appeared in, "Having Wonderful Time" (1937) and "Kiss the Boys
Goodbye" (1938), were unqualified successes, the former running for 372
performances.
Movie offers followed, and from 1939 he became one of Hollywood's most
recognizable screen tough guys, the names of his characters evocative
of the roles he played: Pretty Willie in
Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941),
Slip Moran in Lucky Jordan (1942),
Lippy Harris in Jinx Money (1948),
Jumbo Schneider in
Money from Home (1953) and,
famously, Harry the Horse in
Guys and Dolls (1955). There was
also an assortment of minor henchmen and western heavies named Blackie
or Lefty, and he was Nick, the sneering, humorless barkeeper who tosses
James Stewart into the snow in
It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Having had his fill of acting in those kinds of parts, Leonard began a
new career as a television producer in the 1950s and went on to become
one of the most successful TV producer/directors of the 1950s and
1960s. Four of his productions (all on
CBS)--The Danny Thomas Show (1953),
Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964),
The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
(which won 21 Emmy Awards) and
The Andy Griffith Show (1960)--were
rated in the Top Ten. He had a further success with
I Spy (1965), championing the cause of
racial equality over the (initial) objections of the network by being
the first series to have an African-American
(Bill Cosby) in an equal co-starring dramatic
role with a white actor. Leonard is also regarded as having invented
the television spin-off.