Sidney Meltzer (May 22, 1917 – November 2, 2011), known professionally as Sid Melton, was an American actor. He played the roles of incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom Green Acres and Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in The Danny Thomas Show and its spin-offs. He appeared in about 140 film and television projects in a career that spanned nearly 60 years. Among his most famous films were Lost Continent with Cesar Romero, The Steel Helmet with Gene Evans and Robert Hutton, The Lemon Drop Kid with Bob Hope, and Lady Sings The Blues with Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams. He was a regular on The Danny Thomas Show and Green Acres, and appeared in flashback on several episodes of The Golden Girls as Salvadore Petrillo, the long-dead husband of Sophia (played by Estelle Getty) and father of Dorothy (played by Beatrice Arthur). Early life and family Sidney Meltzer was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. His father was Isidor Meltzer, a Yiddish theater comedian. His brother Lewis Meltzer became a screenwriter. Sid was known for his short stature, . Career Sid Melton made his stage debut in a 1939 touring production of See My Lawyer. Sid's brother Lewis was a screenplay writer in Hollywood and had connections "in the industry," which led to Sid being cast as Fingers in Shadow of the Thin Man. During World War II, Melton entertained American soldiers overseas. Sid met screenwriter Aubrey Wisberg, who arranged for him to have a part in his Treasure of Monte Cristo for Robert Lippert. This was his first film after signing his first Hollywood contract with Lippert Pictures in 1949. The studio churned out low-budget films, most of them made in less than a week, and Melton was the comic relief in dozens of them, including Mask of the Dragon and Lost Continent. 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, 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 1955–56 sitcom It's Always Jan. In the late 1950s, he played several small roles in the popular Desilu show The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour as a construction worker