Advertisement

Sheldon Leonard

Birth Name:
Leonard Sheldon Bershad
Birth Place:
New York City, New York, United States
Profession
Actor, Director, Producer, Writer, Soundtrack, Assistant director, Camera department
Sheldon Leonard

Fast Facts

  • Won a Board of the Governors Award
  • Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Casting Society of America
  • Won a Directors Guild of America Honorary Life Member Award and a Robert B․ Aldrich Achievement Award
  • Quote: "[on television] "It occupies a sizable portion of the waking time of the majority of the people in this country․ It conditions their thinking․ It influences their attitudes․ It has changed the nature of the American family․""
  • Quote: "The producer has to present a series of playable scripts ․․․ that's ready to shoot [each] week․ And, it's got to have the integrity of character from one script to another․ You have to respect the history of the show․ It's a very complicated thing․"
  • He cast Bill Cosby in the 1965 TV series "I Spy," which made him one of TV’s first black leading men in a series
  • Produced several popular CBS shows, including "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Make Room for Daddy" and "Gomer Pyle: USMC․"
  • Specialized in playing supporting roles in films such as "It’s a Wonderful Life" and "Guys and Dolls․"
  • The writers of the TV series "The Big Bang Theory" honored him by naming two of the main characters after him, Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter

Awards

  • 1956Primetime Emmy - Best Director - Film Series:Nominated
  • 1957Primetime Emmy - Best Direction - Half Hour or Less:Winner
  • 1958Primetime Emmy - Best Direction - Half Hour or Less:Nominated
  • 1959Primetime Emmy - Best Direction of a Single Program of a Comedy Series:Nominated
  • 1960Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy:Nominated
  • 1961Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy:Winner
  • 1966DGA Award - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television:Nominated
  • 1966Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama:Nominated
  • 1970Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Comedy Series:Winner
  • 1991Primetime Emmy - Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series:Nominated
Advertisement