# James Sheldon

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For the American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator, see [James M. Sheldon](/source/James_M._Sheldon). For the English footballer, see [Jamie Sheldon](/source/Jamie_Sheldon).

American television director

James Sheldon Born Leonard James Schleifer[1] (1920-11-12)November 12, 1920 Manhattan, New York, U.S. Died March 12, 2016(2016-03-12) (aged 95) Manhattan, New York, U.S. Alma mater University of North Carolina[2] Occupation Television director Years active 1952–1986 Children 2[3]

**Leonard James Schleifer**, also known as **James Sheldon** (November 12, 1920 – March 12, 2016), was an American [television director](/source/Television_director).[4]

Sheldon directed for television programs including *[The Twilight Zone](/source/The_Twilight_Zone_(1959_TV_series))*, *[The Fugitive](/source/The_Fugitive_(1963_TV_series))*, *[The Donna Reed Show](/source/The_Donna_Reed_Show)*, *[The Millionaire](/source/The_Millionaire_(TV_series))*, *[Death Valley Days](/source/Death_Valley_Days)*, *[Route 66](/source/Route_66_(TV_series))*, *[The Love Boat](/source/The_Love_Boat)*, *[M*A*S*H](/source/M*A*S*H_(TV_series))*, *[The Dukes of Hazzard](/source/The_Dukes_of_Hazzard)*, *[Gunsmoke](/source/Gunsmoke#Television_series_(1955–1975)_and_TV_movies)*, *[Bridget Loves Bernie](/source/Bridget_Loves_Bernie)*, *[Room 222](/source/Room_222)*, *[Harbor Command](/source/Harbor_Command)*, *[Love, American Style](/source/Love%2C_American_Style)*, *[The Waltons](/source/The_Waltons)*, *[The Virginian](/source/The_Virginian_(TV_series))*, *[That Girl](/source/That_Girl)*. *[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.](/source/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E.)*, *[My Three Sons](/source/My_Three_Sons)*, *[Petticoat Junction](/source/Petticoat_Junction)*, *[Naked City](/source/Naked_City_(TV_series))* and *[Sledge Hammer!](/source/Sledge_Hammer!)*.[1][2] He died in March 2016 at his home in [Manhattan, New York](/source/Manhattan%2C_New_York) from complications of [cancer](/source/Cancer), at the age of 95.[5][6]

In an interview with novelist [Matthew Rettenmund](/source/Matthew_Rettenmund) in 2015, Sheldon spoke candidly about his bisexuality, his relationships with actress [Loretta Young](/source/Loretta_Young) and actor [Clark Gable](/source/Clark_Gable)'s daughter [Judy Lewis](/source/Judy_Lewis) and [Ernst Lubitsch](/source/Ernst_Lubitsch)'s daughter Nicola Lubitsch, discovering [Troy Donohue](/source/Troy_Donohue), and his friendships with [Tony Randall](/source/Tony_Randall) and [James Dean](/source/James_Dean).[7]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-a_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-a_1-1) Gates, Anita (March 17, 2016). ["James Sheldon, Director, Dies at 95; Career Reflected TV's Evolution"](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/television/james-sheldon-director-whose-career-reflected-tvs-evolution-dies-at-95.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-b_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-b_2-1) Barnes, Mike (March 20, 2016). ["James Sheldon, Prolific Director for Television, Dies at 95"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/james-sheldon-dead-television-director-876923/). *[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cunningham, Todd (March 20, 2016). ["James Sheldon, Pioneering and Prolific TV Director, Dies at 95"](https://www.thewrap.com/james-sheldon-pioneering-and-prolific-tv-director-dies-at-95/). *[TheWrap](/source/TheWrap)*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Rettenmund, Matthew (July 9, 2020). ["Late Director James Sheldon on James Dean and Affairs With Men"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/late-director-james-sheldon-james-dean-affairs-men-1302428/). *[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Stedman, Alex (March 20, 2016). ["James Sheldon, Prolific TV Director, Dies at 95"](https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/james-sheldon-dead-tv-director-1201734880/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Romano, Nick (March 20, 2016). ["James Sheldon dead: Twilight Zone, MASH TV director dies at 95"](https://ew.com/article/2016/03/20/james-sheldon-dead-tv-director-dies-95/). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. Retrieved January 4, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Rettenmund, Matthew (9 July 2020). ["Late Director James Sheldon on James Dean and Affairs With Men"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/late-director-james-sheldon-james-dean-affairs-men-1302428/). *[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)*. Retrieved 18 March 2022.

## External links

- [James Sheldon](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0791027/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [James Sheldon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Sheldon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Sheldon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.