Sheldon Leonard (1907-1997) was a pioneering film and television producer, writer, and actor. As an actor, Leonard specialized in playing supporting characters, and many times gangsters, in films such as It's A Wonderful Life (1946), To Have and Have Not (1944), and Open Secret (1948). But he is more famous as producer of hugely popular television series, including The Danny Thomas Show (1953–64), The Andy Griffith Show (1960–68), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–66), and I Spy (1965–68). Leonard was buried at Hillside Cemetery in Culver City, California.

TELEVISION SERIES (director)

• 1953-56 Make Room for Daddy (and producer from 1955) 1953-62 General Electric Theatre
• 1953-65 The Danny Thomas Show (and exec. produced) 1954-71 Lassie
• 1954-57 The Jimmy Durante Show
• 1954 The Duke (summer replacement series)
• 1955-56 Damon Runyon Theatre
• 1957-63 The Real McCoys
• 1960-68 The Andy Griffith Show (packaged & exec. produced)
• 1961-66 The Dick Van Dyke Show (packaged & exec. produced)
• 1963-65 The Bill Dana Show (and exec. produced)
• 1963 My Favorite Martian (directed pilot only)
• 1964-70 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (executive producer)
• 1965-68 I Spy (executive producer)
• 1967 Good Morning, World
• 1969 My Friend Tony
• 1969-70 My World and Welcome to It
• 1971-72 Shirley's World
• 1972 The Don Rickles Show
• 1975 Big Eddie (star)

MADE-FOR-TELEVISION MOVIES

1978 The Islander (actor) 1993 I Spy Returns (executive producer)

FILMS (actor)

• Another Thin Man, 1939;
• Buy Me That Town, 1941;
• Tall, Dark and Handsome, 1941;
• Rise and Shine, 1941;
• Tortilla Flat, 1942;
• Street of Chance, 1942;
• Lucky Jordan, 1942;
• To Have and Have Not, 1944;
• Her Kind of Man, 1946;
• It's a Wonderful Life, 1946;
• Zombies on Broadway, 1945;
• Somewhere in the Night , 1946;
• The Gangster, 1947;
• Violence, 1947;
• Sinbad the Sailor, 1947;
• If You Knew Susie, 1948;
• My Dream is Yours, 1949;
• Take One False Step, 1949;
• Iroquois Trail, 1950;
• Behave Yourself, 1951;
• Here Come the Nelsons, 1952;
• Young Man with Ideas, 1952;
• Stop You're Killing Me, 1952;
• Diamond Queen, 1953;
• Money from Home, 1954;
• Guys and Dolls, 1955;
• Pocketful of Miracles, 1961.

External link

• IMDB.com entry for Sheldon Leonard