Television director
His father took him to see a Wagner opera at the Metropolitan Opera when he was a youth; he was impressed by the spectacle. Since he couldnt sing or play an instrument, he became interested in directing as a way of contributing creatively to a performance.
In addition to directing, he discovered several actors and actresses and gave them early breaks in their careers, notably Tony Randall.
A job as an usher at NBC helped get him into the general vicinity of show business. By his early twenties he was an assistant director on radio, which mostly meant timing the program and making sure that no naughty words got out over the air. He moved from directing radio to TV in 1948.
Composer, pianist and bandleader James (Jimmy) Sheldon Geil Jr. was born 20 September, 1926 in Bandon, Oregon, USA. A talented pianist, he worked for various dance bands after World War II. In 1953 he performed his "Nob Hill Nocturne" for piano and orchestra. Sheldon later joined the Horace Heidt band on tour and on television. In 1966 he was named Director of the USO-Hollywood Overseas Committee, responsible for USO shows performing in the Pacific Theatre, specifically Viet Nam. In 1967 he became Director of USO Shows worldwide where he remained for a decade, first in Hollywood, then in New York. After work as a radio DJ, in 1985 he retired to Silverton, Oregon, USA and died there 2 September, 2000.
