Sid Melton

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Sid Melton
Melton as Charlie Halper in The Danny Thomas Show (1963)
Born
Sidney Meltzer[1]

(1917-05-22)May 22, 1917
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 2011(2011-11-02) (aged 94)
Burbank, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1939–2001

Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor.

Beatrice Arthur).[3]

Early life and family

Sidney Meltzer

Yiddish theater comedian.[1] His brother Lewis Meltzer became a screenwriter.[4] Sid was known for his short stature, 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m).[2]

Career

Sid Melton made his stage debut in a 1939 touring production of See My Lawyer. Sid's brother Lewis was a screenplay writer in Hollywood and had connections "in the industry," which led to Sid being cast as Fingers in

Robert Lippert.[5] This was his first film after signing his first Hollywood contract with Lippert Pictures in 1949. The studio churned out low-budget films, most of them made in less than a week, and Melton was the comic relief in dozens of them, including Mask of the Dragon and Lost Continent.[4]

Other movies included On the Town, The Geisha Boy, The Tunnel of Love, and Blondie Goes to College. He appeared in three Lippert Pictures, Hi-Jacked,Lost Continent and Radar Secret Service, later featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, whose hosts gave Melton the nickname "Monkey Boy" due to his comedy relief antics. He directed the exploitation movie Bad Girls Do Cry.

Melton appeared three times as Harry Cooper in the 1955–56 sitcom

Dragnet, The Silent Service, and M Squad. Sid appeared in S6 E9 of The Andy Griffith Show (The Hollywood Party) as a publicity agent for Ruta Lee’s character Darlene Mason. He appeared in four episodes of the final two seasons of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as Friendly Freddy, an unsuccessful con-artist who bilks Gomer and Sgt. Carter, among others, but always gets caught, sometimes several times in the same episode. He had guest roles on Adventures of Superman, I Dream of Jeannie and The Dick Van Dyke Show; in the last he played deli owner Bert Monker, who is in love with Sally Rogers (played by Rose Marie). In 1956 Melton appeared in an uncredited role as Shorty on the TV western Cheyenne
in the episode "The Last Train West."

Melton appeared in a humorous 1966 television commercial as a truck driver carrying new

American Motors automobiles.[6]

Personal life and death

Melton was married in the 1940s, but the marriage was annulled.

Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.[1]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Passings: Sid Melton, Leonard Stone, Liz Anderson, Thomas McNeeley Jr., George Rountree". Los Angeles Times. November 4, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2020 – via latimes.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Vitello, Paul (November 6, 2011). "Sid Melton, Comic Actor of Film and TV, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. IMDb
    accessed February 20, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e Melton, Sid. "Lost and Fond Memories: Sid Melton recalls the making of 'Lost Continent'". bmonster.com. Interviewed by Tom Weaver. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  5. ISBN 9780786458318
    .
  6. ^ "AMC Commercial - Sid Melton (Ralph Monroe on 'Green Acres') Plays a Truck Driver". Archived from the original on December 13, 2021 – via YouTube.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sid Melton.
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