He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), which earned him an Oscar in 1948.

[2] After turning 50, he began writing best-selling romantic suspense novels, such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973), and Rage of Angels (1980).

His parents, of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry, were Ascher "Otto" Schechtel (1894–1967), manager of a jewelry store, and Natalie Marcus.

During the Great Depression, he worked at a variety of jobs, and after graduating from East High School in Denver, Colorado, he attended Northwestern University on a scholarship, and contributed short plays to drama groups.

[9] His other stage plays include Alice in Arms, The King of New York, The Judge, and Roman Candle.

Sheldon's success on Broadway brought him back to Hollywood, where his first assignment was The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1947.

[11] Some of his other writing credits include South of Panama; Gambling Daughters; Dangerous Lady; Borrowed Hero; Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case; Fly-by-Night; She's in the Army; Nancy Goes to Rio; Three Guys Named Mike; No questions asked; Rich, Young and Pretty; Just This Once; Remains to be Seen; Dream Wife (directed as well); You're Never Too Young; The Birds and the Bees; Anything Goes; Pardners; The Buster Keaton Story (directed as well); All in a Night's Work; and Billy Rose's Jumbo.

"[8] After seeing Duke's performance as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Sheldon cast the actress as the two sitcom leads, identical cousins, Patty and Cathy Lane.

[12] Following the show's success, Sheldon had signed an agreement with Screen Gems to handle the development of various television series.

[13] In 1965, Sheldon created, produced, and wrote I Dream of Jeannie starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.

He later said that he did this because he felt his name was appearing too often in the credits as creator, producer, copyright owner, and writer of these series.

It's the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter.

"[20] He was married for thirty years to Jorja Curtright, a stage and film actress, who later became an interior designer.

[21] She played Suzanne in the 1955 film, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, and appeared as Madame Zolta in season one of I Dream of Jeannie[22] in episode 25, "Bigger Than a Bread Box".