Jack Sheldon

Jazz Singer, Actor. He was a jazz musician, singer and character actor who will best be remembered as Merv Griffin's trumpet-playing sidekick on his 1970s TV talk show and as the voice from the 'Schoolhouse Rock!' cartoons of the 1970s. The son of Jen Loven, who taught many of the Hollywood entertainment elite and their children to swim at her famous Jen Loven Swim School in Hollywood, he originally became known through his involvement in the West Coast jazz movement during the 1950s, performing and recording with such figures as Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Gerry Mulligan, and Curtis Counce. During the 1960s, Sheldon appeared alongside Cara Williams and Frank Aletter on the situation comedy, 'The Cara Williams Show,' and later starred in his own sitcom, 'Run, Buddy, Run,' as Buddy Overstreet. Among other TV shows he appeared in during the 1960s and 1970s were 'Gilligan's Island,' 'I Spy,' 'Marcus Welby, M.D.,' 'Petticoat Junction' and 'Adam-12,' but his most memorable roles were voicing the characters of Fat Cat Blue and Boothy on 'Schoolhouse Rock!,' on songs such as 'Conjunction Junction,' 'I'm Just a Bill,' 'The Energy Blues' and 'Them Not-So-Dry Bones.' He also had roles in such films as 'Freaky Friday,' 'For the Boys,' 'Dear God,' 'Let's Get Lost' and 'Radioland Murders.' During the 1980s, Sheldon voiced Louie the Lightning Bug in a series of animated musical public service announcements aimed at children, promoting safety with electricity. From 1955 through 2007, Sheldon recorded and released nearly two dozen jazz albums. On Griffin's long-running TV talk show that began in 1962, Sheldon was front and center for 18 years after being hired for Mort Lindsey's band and exchanged comic banter with the host. Griffin's favorite song was 'The Shadow of Your Smile,' which Sheldon performed at Griffin's funeral in 2007.