Celebrity Q&A

https://americanprofile.com/articles/the-big-bang-theory-sheldon-leonard/

By American Profile

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Are the first names of the main characters Sheldon and Leonard, on TV’s The Big Bang Theory, a subtle tribute to actor and 1960s sitcom producer Sheldon Leonard?

—Bob Purtee, Surprise, Ariz.

Yes! “Chuck [Lorre] and I are fans of the great television producer and actor,” says Big Bang Theory executive producer Bill Prady, who created the show with Lorre. Leonard produced The Andy Griffith Show, The Danny Thomas Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and other shows of the 1960s and ’70s. He died in 1997 at age 89.