Actor, Comedian. Born Sheldon Leonard Berman, his brittle persona and anxiety-ridden observations helped redefine stand-up comedy in the 1950s and early 1960s. After serving in the United States Navy, he trained for the acting profession with the famed teacher Uta Hagen and then enrolled as a drama student at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. After graduating from Goodman, he worked in the theater and held a variety of other jobs. He later got a job as a freelance writer for Steve Allen's television show in New York. After awhile, he went back to Chicago and joined the improvisational troupe, the Compass Players. After being with them for a period of time, he went out on his own, performing his style of comedy in nightclubs around the country. He also recorded several comedy albums as well and one of them "Inside Shelley Berman", won him a Grammy Award. He became a national sensation and appeared not only on "The Ed Sullivan Show", but also on shows hosted by Jack Paar, Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Dean Martin and others. In 1963 a NBC documentary filmed an angry outburst by him during one of his routines and caused great damage to his nightclub career. After this, he would go on to mainly act in both television and film. He got his start in television in 1954 by appearing on the series "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse. He would go on to appear in numerous television series during his career with such credits as "Car 54, Where Are You?", "Bewitched", "That's Life", "Love, American Style", "Emergency", "CHiPs", "Brothers", "L.A. Law", "Friends", "Boston Legal", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". His film credits included "The Best Man" (1964), "Divorce, American Style" (1967), "Beware!, The Blob" (1972), "Teen Witch" (1989), "The Last Producer" (2000), "Meet the Fockers" (2004), "The Holiday" (2006), and "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" (2008). He also appeared in several theatrical productions (on and off Broadway) throughout his career. He retired in 2014 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.