SHELDON LEONARD, 89, tough talking movie and radio gangster who became one of television’s most successful producers with I Spy and many other series, died Jan. 10 at his home in Beverly Hills. With his sly delivery, Leonard often played Runyonesque rather than realistic hoods in films such as “Guys and Dolls,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “To Have and Have Not” and “Pocketful of Miracles,” as well as roles like the racetrack tout on Jack Benny’s radio show. He acted in television but quickly moved to directing and then producing in partnership with Danny Thomas on the latter’s Make Room for Daddy series. They were responsible for the classic Dick Van Dyke Show and such other hit series as The Real McCoys, The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle USMC.

Leonard launched I Spy, developed with producers Mort Fine and David Friedkin, in 1965, breaking ground by shooting on location around the world and by casting Bill Cosby—then a hugely popular comedian who had never acted—as the first black lead in a series. Under the tutelage of Leonard and co-star Robert Culp, Cosby went on to fame and fortune, picking up three Emmys for I Spy. Leonard doubled as director on many of I Spy’s overseas locations and even played the villain in a few episodes. The show was an instant hit, but died in its third season after NBC moved it from Wednesday to Monday.

Leonard’s last production was the TV-movie “I Spy Returns,” filmed in 1993. His series following I Spy were less successful: Good Morning World, produced by the Dick Van Dyke team with Goldie Hawn in her first role; Shirley’s World, a plotless wonder starring Shirley MacLaine; the cult James Thurber series My World and Welcome to It; and Big Eddie, which was also Leonard’s last acting job, all lasted only one season.