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Doug Sheldon (born Bernard Bobrow, 22 June 1936) is an English former pop singer, actor, and novelist.

Early life

Sheldon was born into a family of carnival businesspeople, and he worked as a barker while receiving training in acting.

Career

After completing military service, he landed a role in the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone, and worked in small theatre productions. He shared a flat in London with three other then-unknown actors, including Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Sheldon was discovered by Bunny Lewis while performing on-stage and was quickly offered a recording contract with Decca Records, even though he had no previous experience performing as a singer.

Sheldon's first single was "Book of Love", which did not chart. The follow-up single was a cover of the song "Runaround Sue", which became a hit record in the UK Singles Chart reaching number 36, although Dion's version soon overshadowed it in popularity. His next single, "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night", became his highest-charting hit in the UK at number 29. Shel Talmy produced the next single, "Lollipops and Roses", which flopped, but with the song "I Saw Linda Yesterday" he managed to crack the UK Singles Chart for the last time in 1963 at number 36, thus emulating his first hit's position.

After the middle of the decade, Sheldon returned to a career in acting, where he appeared on TV in Doctor Who, The Avengers and Triangle, and in films such as The Yellow Teddy Bears (1963), the musical comedy Just for You (1964), Some Girls Do (1969), The Spy Killer (1969), Ryan's Daughter (1970), Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974), Appointment with Death (1988) and Iron Eagle II (1988). He also published novels using the slightly fuller name of Douglas Sheldon. In 2007, his entire Decca discography was released on CD by Vocalion Records.

Singles

• "Book of Love" (1961)
• "Runaround Sue" (1961) UK No. 36
• "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night" (1962) UK No. 29
• "Lollipops and Roses" (1963)
• "I Saw Linda Yesterday" (1963) UK No. 36
• "Mickey's Monkey" (1964)
• "Let's Make A Habit Of This" (1964) Decca DL 25 111 (Teldec)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Albums by Doug Sheldon: Discography, songs, biography, and listening guide". Rate Your Music. 25 January 1964. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
2. "Who is Doug Sheldon?". Omnilexica.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
3. ^ Bruce Eder, Doug Sheldon at Allmusic
4. ^ "Rock and roll | Sue Records UK". Suerecordsuk.wordpress.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
5. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 495. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
6. "Doug Sheldon". IMDb.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
7. Bruce Eder (15 October 2007). "Craig and Doug at Decca: Singles Compilation 1957-1961 - Craig Douglas,Doug Sheldon | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
8. ^ Search for "Doug Sheldon" performed at Everyhit.com Archived October 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine database on September 29, 2008.

External links

• Douglas Sheldon at Theatricalia

• 1936 births
• Living people
• English pop singers
• English male singers
• English male television actors
• Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• English male film actors
• Male actors from London
• People from Stepney