Born: May 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Occupation: Actor
Active: '40s-'60s
Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
Career Highlights: The Steel Helmet, Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York, Sky High
First Major Screen Credit: Hi-Jacked (1950)
Biography
Diminutive, jug-eared comic actor Sid Melton cut his acting teeth in the touring companies of such Broadway hits as See My Lawyer and Three Men on a Horse. Though he once listed his film debut as being 1945's Model Wife, Melton showed up onscreen as early as 1942, playing one of the students in Blondie Goes to College. Mostly showing up in bits and minor roles in big-studio features, Melton enjoyed starring assignments at bargain-basement Lippert Studios, notably the 1951 "sleeper" The Steel Helmet. His film career extended into the 1970s, when he was seen in a sizeable role in the Diana Ross starrer Lady Sings the Blues (1975). Sid Melton's TV credits include the cult-favorite roles of Ichabod Mudd ("with two D's!") on Captain Midnight and nightclub owner Charley Halper on The Danny Thomas Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
His television credits include The Golden Girls (as Sophia's deceased husband, Salvadore, in flashback and dream sequences), Captain Midnight (as Ichabod "Ikky" Mudd), Dragnet and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He also had a guest role in an episode of Adventures of Superman called The Deadly Rock, and as a photographer in an episode of I Dream of Jeannie called The Biggest Star in Hollywood. He also guest-starred in one episode of The Dick van Dyke Show, where he played deli-owner Bert Monker who is in love with Sally Rogers. Without actually proposing to her, he makes it very clear that he wants her for his wife. Sally feels he's not right for her, but later admits to her cat, "If I had nine lives like you, I'd give him one."