| Sid Melton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sidney Meltzer May 22, 1917 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 2, 2011 (aged 94) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–2001 |
Sid Melton (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011) was an American actor known for his roles as incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom Green Acres and as Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in Make Room for Daddy and its spin-offs.[1]
Born as Sidney Meltzer in Brooklyn, New York, he was the brother of screenwriter Lewis Meltzer, and the son of Isidor Meltzer, a Yiddish theater comedian. In 1941 Melton was cast as "Fingers" in The Shadow of the Thin Man. During World War II he entertained American soldiers overseas where he met screenwriter Aubrey Wisberg who arranged for him to have a part in his Treasure of Monte Cristo for Robert Lippert.[2]
Other movies included On the Town, The Geisha Boy, The Tunnel of Love, and Blondie Goes to College. He appeared in two Lippert Pictures, Lost Continent and Radar Secret Service, which were later featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, whose hosts gave Melton the nickname "Monkey Boy" due to his comedy relief antics.
Melton appeared three times as Harry Cooper in the 1955-1956 CBS sitcom It's Always Jan, starring Janis Paige and Merry Anders.
His television credits also 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."
In 2005, he attended Eddie Albert's funeral along with Green Acres's co-stars Mary Grace Canfield and Frank Cady.
Melton died from pneumonia on November 2, 2011.