Sheldon Allman

Allman, Sheldon
Actor and songwriter, born June 8, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Canada. Sheldon's singing career began with the Royal National Guard during his WWII service with the RCAF. He moved to Los Angeles in 1949, graduated from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and was soon working as a vocalist, composer, lyricist, recording artist, voiceover artist and nightclub entertainer. Among his songwriting credits are "A Quiet Kind of Love", "Christmas in the Air" and "Patapan". His was the singing voice for T.V.'s "Mister Ed", for which he also wrote and recorded "The Pretty Little Filly with Pony Tail" and "The Empty Feed Bag Blues". He is best known, however, as the co-composer of the popular cartoon songs George of the Jungle, SuperChicken and Tom Slick. Sheldon was also a talented and much sought-after character actor in over 150 film and television roles. Among them are "Hud", "In Cold Blood", "The Sons of Katie Elder", "Dirty Harry", and "All The Presidents Men". On T.V. he was a featured actor on "Bonanza", "Gunsmoke", "The Twilight Zone", "I Dream of Jeannie", "Kraft Theatre" and "Batman". Sheldon was an avid pilot, horseman and a damn fine chef. He passed away of heart failure on January 22 at his home in Culver City. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Dr. Lorraine Allman, his daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Roger Huddleston, his brother Sam Allman, and a large and loved extended family. His extraordinary sense of humor, his compassionate heart, his gracious spirit, and memorable voice will be missed greatly by his family and friends. Services will be held Friday, January 25 at 11:00 a.m. at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City. Memorials, designated "to be used for greatest need" may be made in memory of Sheldon Allman to the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation, (818) 876-1900.