James Sheldon obit

James Sheldon, Prolific TV Director, Dies at 95

He was not on the list.

TV director James Sheldon, who worked on hundreds of shows including “The Millionaire,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Fugitive,” “Batman” and many more, died March 12. He was 95.

His son, Tony, told the New York Times that Sheldon died of complications from cancer at his Manhattan home.

Sheldon once estimated that he directed about 1,200 episodes of television over his long career. Among them are 44 episodes of “The Millionaire,” an entire season of “The Bing Crosby Show” and several episodes of “Room 222,” “Love, American Style,” “That Girl,” “The Fugitive” and “My Three Sons.” He also directed the pilot of “Family Affair.”

His career also included six episodes in the second and third seasons of “The Twilight Zone,” featuring such classics as “I Sing the Body Electric” and “A Penny for Your Thoughts.” He helmed an episode of “Batman” in 1966, featuring Julie Newmar as Catwoman.

The helmer had a unique role in the career of James Dean, who he directed in “Harvest,” a Thanksgiving family drama. Sheldon recommended Dean to star in series “I Remember Mama” after the show’s star Dick Van Patten was set to leave for military service — however, Van Patten was declared unfit for service and stayed with the series.

Among Sheldon’s many other credits are “The Virginian,” “Death Valley Days,” “Armstrong Circle Theatre,” “Wagon Train,” “Zane Grey Theatre,” “Studio 57,” “Naked City,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Perry Mason,” “The Waltons,” “M*A*S*H*” and “Cagney & Lacey.” He never directed a feature film.

Manhattan native Sheldon, born Leonard James Schleifer, was accepted by the University of North Carolina’s resident theater company, the Carolina Playmakers, after high school.

He would go on to become a page, then tour guide, at NBC in the early ’40s. His first TV job came when he worked for a host of interview series “We, the People.” He then got a regular spot on “Mr. Peepers.”

 

A native of New York, Sheldon studied theater at the University of North Carolina and started out as a page and tour guide at NBC in the early 1940s. He directed an episode of the radio series We, the People, then moved with the show to television. In 1952, he got a regular gig on Mr. Peepers, which starred Wally Cox as a milquetoast science teacher.

A year later, Sheldon hired and directed James Dean in Harvest, a Thanksgiving family drama for the anthology series Robert Montgomery Presents, helping to launch the actor’s career,

Sheldon never directed a feature. He reportedly was asked by actor Anthony Perkins to helm the baseball story Fear Strikes Out (1957) but declined. Robert Mulligan took the job (his first on a movie) and went on to direct To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and many other films.

Sheldon is survived by his two sons, Tony and James Jr., and three grandsons.

 

Director (122 credits)

 1986 Sledge Hammer! (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Dori Day Afternoon (1986)

 1986 The Insiders (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Close Shave (1986)

 1985 The Equalizer (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Mama's Boy (1985)

 1985 Half Nelson (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Uppers and Downers (1985)

 1984 Partners in Crime (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Set-Up (1984)

- Paddles Up (1984)

 1984 Jessie (TV Series) (1 episode)

- McLaughlin's Flame (1984)

 1984 No Earthly Reason (TV Movie)

 1983-1984 Lottery! (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Honolulu: 3 - 2 = 1 (1984)

- Chicago: Another Chance (1984)

- Houston: Duffy's Choice (1983)

- Denver: Following Through (1983)

 1983 Whiz Kids (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Airwave Anarchy (1983)

 1983 Small & Frye (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Case of the Street of Silence (1983)

 1982-1983 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- A Ring for Hannah (1983)

- Winner (1983)

- The Man in the White Hat (1982)

 1981-1982 Code Red (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Land of Make Believe (1982)

- Wildfire (1982)

- Death of a Fireman (1981)

 1982 The Dukes of Hazzard (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- The Treasure of Soggy Marsh (1982)

- Vance's Lady (1982)

- Coy meets Girl (1982)

- The Law and Jesse Duke (1982)

 1982 Cagney & Lacey (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Mr. Lonelyhearts (1982) ... (directed by)

 1981-1982 McClain's Law (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Use of Deadly Force (1982)

- A Time of Peril (1981)

 1981 Nurse (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Best Friends (1981)

- Hear My Hands (1981)

- A Little Rain (1981)

 1981 The Waltons (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Indiscretion (1981)

- The Pearls (1981)

 1981 240-Robert (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Hostages (1981)

 1980 Knots Landing (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Remember the Good Times (1980)

- Community Spirit (1980)

 1980 The Contender (TV Mini Series) (1 episode)

- Close Call (1980)

 1980 The Gossip Columnist (TV Movie)

 1979-1980 The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- Birdie's Hot Wheels (1980)

- The Martians Are Coming, the Martians Are Coming (1980)

- Police Escort (1980)

- Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here (1980)

- Dean Martin and the Moonshiners (1979)

 1977-1979 The Love Boat (TV Series) (6 episodes)

- Play by Play/Cindy/What's a Brother For? (1979)

- Going My Way/Dance with Me/Doc, Be Patient (1979) ... (segments "Dance with Me", "Doc, Be Patient")

- Isaac's Double Standard/One More Time/Chimpanzeeshines (1978) ... (segments "Isaac's Double Standard", "One More Time")

- Too Hot to Handle/Family Reunion/Cinderella Story (1978) ... (segment "Cinderella Story")

- The Old Man and the Runaway/The Painters/A Fine Romance (1977) ... (segments "A Fine Romance", "The Painters")

 1979 Friends (TV Series)

 1972-1979 M*A*S*H (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- B. J. Papa San (1979)

- Edwina (1972)

 1978 Flying High (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Fun Flight (1978)

 1978 With This Ring (TV Movie)

 1978 What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Mr. Potential (1978)

 1978 Family (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Covenant (1978)

- Echoes of Love (1978)

 1978 Switch (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Three Blonde Mice (1978)

 1977 James at 16 (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Higher Ground (1977)

 1974-1977 McMillan & Wife (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Have You Heard About Vanessa? (1977)

- Coffee, Tea, or Cyanide (1977)

- The Deadly Cure (1976)

- Buried Alive (1974)

 1976-1977 Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Chapter XX (1977)

- Chapter VI (1976)

 1976 Monster Squad (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Albert/Alberta (1976)

- No Face (1976)

- Music Man (1976)

- Queen Bee (1976)

 1976 Alice (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Dilemma (1976)

- The Last Review (1976)

 1976 Mr. T and Tina (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Pilot (1976)

 1976 McDuff, the Talking Dog (TV Series)

 1976 Good Heavens (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Superscoop (1976)

 1971-1976 Insight (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Rehearsal (1976)

- Hunger Knows My Name (1975)

- Man in the Middle (1971)

- Prayer from the Abyss (1971)

 1975-1976 Sanford and Son (TV Series) (6 episodes)

- Fred Sanford Has a Baby (1976)

- The Oddfather (1976)

- Ebenezer Sanford (1975)

- My Fair Esther (1975)

- Donna Pops the Question (1975)

 1975 Ellery Queen (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Adventure of the Mad Tea Party (1975)

- The Adventure of Miss Aggie's Farewell Performance (1975)

 1974 Petrocelli (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- A Covenant with Evil (1974)

- Counterploy (1974)

- By Reason of Madness (1974)

 1974 Apple's Way (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Engagement (1974)

- The First Love (1974)

 1974 Doc Elliot (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Things That Might Have Been (1974)

- A Time to Live (1974)

 1972-1974 Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- A Killer with a Badge (1974)

- House of Friends (1974)

- The Pool House (1973)

- Sigh No More, Lady (1972)

 1972-1973 Love, American Style (TV Series) (8 episodes)

- Love and Carmen Lopez/Love and the Cover/Love and the Cryin' Cowboy (1973) ... (segment "Love and the Cryin' Cowboy")

- Love and the Hidden Meaning/Love and the Model Apartment/Love and the Parent's Sake/Love and the Three-Timer/Love and the Weirdo (1973) ... (segment "Love and the Parent's Sake")

- Love and the Cozy Comrades/Love and the Flunky/Love and the Hoodwinked Honey/Love and the Secret Spouse (1973) ... (segment "Love and the Cozy Comrades")

- Love and the Bonded Separation/Love and the Fractured Fibula/Love and the Pretty Secretary (1973) ... (segment "Love and the Fractured Fibula")

- Love and the Mind Reader/Love and Mr. & Mrs./Love and the Soap Opera (1973) ... (segment "Love and the Mind Reader")

 1971-1973 Room 222 (TV Series) (8 episodes)

- Mismatch Maker (1973)

- Love Is a Many Splintered Thing (1973)

- Of Smoke Filled Rooms (1973)

- The Hand That Feeds (1973)

- Bleep (1972)

 1973 Bridget Loves Bernie (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- To Teach or Not to Teach (1973)

- Into Every Life a Little Snow Must Fall (1973)

- Life Begins at 65 (1973)

 1972 Anna and the King (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Chulalongkorn's Grades (1972)

 1971 Longstreet (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Old Team Spirit (1971)

 1969-1970 My World and Welcome to It (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- The Wooing of Mr. Monroe (1970)

- Rally Round the Flag (1969)

- Maid in Connecticut (1969)

 1962-1970 The Virginian (TV Series) (8 episodes)

- Train of Darkness (1970)

- The Girl in the Shadows (1969)

- The Land Dreamer (1969)

- Big Tiny (1968)

- The Wind of Outrage (1968)

 1969 Gidget Grows Up (TV Movie)

 1969 To Rome with Love (TV Series)

 1967-1969 That Girl (TV Series) (7 episodes)

- The Eye of the Beholder (1969)

- Just Donald and Me and Jerry Makes Three (1968)

- Sock It to Me (1968)

- 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, You're Under Arrest (1967)

- The Mailman Cometh (1967)

 1968 Julia (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Am I, Pardon the Expression, Blacklisted? (1968)

 1967-1968 Ironside (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Officer Bobby (1968)

- Barbara Who (1968)

- A Very Cool Hot Car (1967)

 1968 The Felony Squad (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Bed of Strangers (1968)

 1967 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Man from THRUSH Affair (1967)

 1967 Petticoat Junction (TV Series) (1 episode)

- One Dozen Roses (1967)

 1967 My Three Sons (TV Series) (8 episodes)

- Ernie and the O'Grady (1967)

- Ernie's Crowd (1967)

- Ernie's Folly (1967)

- Help the Gypsies Are Coming! (1967)

- Charley O' the Seven Seas (1967)

 1966-1967 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (7 episodes)

- Atta Girl, Kelly!: Love Is Blind (1967)

- Atta Girl, Kelly!: Dog of Destiny (1967)

- Atta Girl, Kelly!: K for Kelly (1967)

- Gallegher Goes West: Trial by Terror (1967)

- Gallegher Goes West: Tragedy on the Trail (1967)

 1963-1967 The Fugitive (TV Series) (7 episodes)

- Run the Man Down (1967)

- The Chinese Sunset (1966)

- Running Scared (1966)

- Shadow of the Swan (1966)

- Echo of a Nightmare (1966)

 1966 Family Affair (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Buffy (1966)

 1966 Thompson's Ghost (TV Movie)

 1966 Batman (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Better Luck Next Time (1966)

- The Purr-fect Crime (1966)

 1965 O.K. Crackerby! (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Crackerby and the Cuckoo Game (1965)

 1965 My Mother the Car (TV Series) (1 episode)

- TV or Not TV (1965)

 1965 The Trials of O'Brien (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Goodbye and Keep Cool (1965)

 1957-1965 Gunsmoke (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Taps for Old Jeb (1965)

- Fingered (1957)

 1965 The Patty Duke Show (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1965)

- What's Cooking, Cousin? (1965)

- Cathy, the Rebel (1965)

 1964-1965 The Bing Crosby Show (TV Series) (27 episodes)

- What's a Buddy For? (1965)

- Moonlighting Becomes You (1965)

- The Test (1965)

- Real Estate Venture (1965)

- One for the Birds (1965)

 1965 Valentine's Day (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Mad, Mad Momma (1965)

 1964 Brenner (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Plain Truth (1964)

- Laney's Boy (1964)

 1964 The Greatest Show on Earth (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Love the Giver (1964)

 1964 The Great Adventure (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Henry Bergh Story (1964)

 1964 The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Imperfect Prodigy (1964)

 1963 The Defenders (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Fugue for Trumpet and Small Boy (1963)

 1963 Espionage (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Festival of Pawns (1963)

- The Light of a Friendly Star (1963)

 1961-1963 Route 66 (TV Series) (10 episodes)

- A Cage in Search of a Bird (1963)

- Shadows of an Afternoon (1963)

- The Cruelest Sea of All (1963)

- Fifty Miles from Home (1963)

- Hey, Moth, Come Eat the Flame (1962)

 1963 Kraft Mystery Theater (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Ordeal in Darkness (1963)

- The Boy Who Wasn't Wanted (1963)

 1962-1963 Naked City (TV Series) (6 episodes)

- Barefoot on a Bed of Coals (1963)

- Carrier (1963)

- The Highest of Prizes (1963)

- Spectre of the Rose Street Gang (1962)

- King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Stable (1962)

 1963 Wagon Train (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Annie Duggan Story (1963)

 1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) (1 episode)

- I'll Be Judge - I'll Be Jury (1963)

 1963 Going My Way (TV Series) (1 episode)

- One Small Unhappy Family (1963)

 1962 The Devil's Children

 1962 Alcoa Premiere (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Ordeal in Darkness (1962)

- The Masked Marine (1962)

- The Boy Who Wasn't Wanted (1962)

- The Doctor (1962)

 1962 The Brazen Bell

 1961-1962 The Twilight Zone (TV Series) (6 episodes)

- I Sing the Body Electric (1962) ... (directed by)

- Still Valley (1961) ... (directed by)

- It's a Good Life (1961) ... (directed by)

- Long Distance Call (1961)

- A Penny for Your Thoughts (1961)

 1962 87th Precinct (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Step Forward (1962)

- Square Cop (1962)

- King's Ransom (1962)

- Man in a Jam (1962)

 1962 Margie (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Flaming Youth (1962)

 1961 Target: The Corruptors! (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Fix (1961)

 1961 Angel (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Goodbye, Young Lovers (1961)

- Unpopular Mechanics (1961)

 1960-1961 The Jim Backus Show (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- The Plant (1961)

- Arabian Night (1961)

- Mike Cheats a Cheater (1961)

- The Three Sisters (1960)

- South Hampton Story (1960)

 1961 The Tom Ewell Show (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Storm Over Shangri-La (1961)

 1959-1961 Death Valley Days (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- Gamble with Death (1961)

- Deadline at Austin (1961)

- 3-7-77 (1960)

- The Wind at Your Back (1960)

- Fair Exchange (1959)

 1960 Perry Mason (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Case of the Larcenous Lady (1960)

- The Case of the Lavender Lipstick (1960)

 1960 The Donna Reed Show (TV Series) (1 episode)

- How the Other Side Lives (1960)

 1957-1960 The Millionaire (TV Series) (45 episodes)

- Millionaire Patricia Collins (1960)

- Millionaire Maggie Dalton (1960)

- Millionaire Dixon Cooper (1960)

- Millionaire Mara Robinson (1960)

- Millionaire Nancy Cortez (1960)

 1959 Law of the Plainsman (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Toll Road (1959)

 1959 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Come Back to Sorrento (1959)

 1959 Black Saddle (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Hotel (1959)

 1957-1959 Zane Grey Theatre (TV Series) (9 episodes)

- The Lone Woman (1959)

- Interrogation (1959)

- Man of Fear (1958)

- License to Kill (1958)

- Wire (1958)

 1959 Goodyear Theatre (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Story Without a Moral (1959)

- Cristabel (The Secret Life of John Monroe) (1959)

 1959 Alcoa Theatre (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Christabel (1959)

 1957-1958 Harbor Command (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Desperate Men (1958)

- Fisherman's League (1957)

- Murder on Pier 7 (1957)

 1958 Richard Diamond, Private Detective (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Rodeo (1958)

 1957 The Court of Last Resort (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Tomas Mendoza Case (1957)

 1955-1957 Studio 57 (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Woman at Sea (1957)

- The Girl in the Bathing Suit (1955)

- Diagnosis of a Selfish Lady (1955)

 1956-1957 West Point (TV Series) (13 episodes)

- The Dragoon Patrol (1957)

- Cold Peril (1957)

- Operation Survival (1957)

- The Only Witness (1957)

- The Command (1957)

 1956-1957 The Ford Television Theatre (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Sweet Charlie (1957)

- Model Wife (1956)

- The Women Who Dared (1956)

- Sometimes It Happens (1956)

 1956 Dr. Christian (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Locked Memory (1956)

- The Legacy (1956)

 1956 Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- The House That Jackson Built (1956)

- The Bankmouse (1956)

- The Happy Sun (1956)

- Date for Tomorrow (1956)

- The Finger of God (1956)

 1956 Celebrity Playhouse (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- Faith (1956)

- I'll Make the Arrest (1956)

- Incident in Rio (1956)

- Home Is the Soldier (1956)

- Shadow of a Thief (1956)

 1955 Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Woman at Sea (1955)

 1955 Front Row Center (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1955)

 1953-1954 Robert Montgomery Presents (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- End of a Mission (1954)

- No Need of Favor (1954)

- The Seventeenth of June (1954)

- Harvest (1953)

 1954 Modern Romances (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Homecoming - Part 1 (1954)

 1953-1954 Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series) (11 episodes)

- The Use of Dignity (1954)

- My Client, McDuff (1954)

- Tam O'Shanter (1954)

- The Old Man's Gold (1954)

- The Piano Tuner (1954)

 1953 Studio One (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- Look Homeward, Hayseed (1953)

- The Gathering Night (1953)

- The King in Yellow (1953)

- The Shadow of a Man (1953)

- Beyond Reason (1953)

 1953 There's One in Every Family (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Episode dated 27 January 1953 (1953)

 1952 Mister Peepers (TV Series) (10 episodes)

- The Delinquent (1952)

- The School Dance (1952)

- The Job Offer (1952)

- Helen the Cow (1952)

- The Velvet Touch (1952)