Sylvia Sidney
Encyclopedia
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.
Saperstein), a Romania
n Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russia
n Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman. The area from which Victor Kosow came from is today in Belarus
. Her parents divorced by 1915 and she was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother became a dressmaker and renamed herself Beatrice Sidney. Now using the surname Sidney, she became an actress at the age of fifteen as a way of overcoming shyness. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney appeared in several of their productions during the 1920s and earned praise from theater critics. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood
talent scout and made her first film appearance later that year.
, Henry Fonda
, Joel McCrea
, Fredric March
, George Raft
(a frequent screen partner), and Cary Grant
. Among her films from this period were:
An American Tragedy, City Streets
and Street Scene
(all 1931), Alfred Hitchcock's
Sabotage and Fritz Lang's
Fury
(both 1936), You Only Live Once, Dead End
(both 1937) and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
an early three-strip Technicolor film.
After what seemed to be a promising second phase of her career playing opposite the likes of James Cagney in films like Blood on the Sun
(1945) with a considerably more glamorous screen persona, her career diminished somewhat during the 1940s. In 1952, she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables
, and her performance was widely praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a character actress.
Sidney appeared three times on CBS
's Playhouse 90
anthology series. On May 16, 1957, she appeared as Lulu Morgan, mother of singer Helen Morgan
in "The Helen Morgan Story." In that same presentation Polly Bergen
was nominated for an Emmy award
for her portrayal of Helen Morgan. Four months later, Sidney joined Bergen, then twenty-seven, on the premiere of the short-lived NBC
variety show
, The Polly Bergen Show
.
In 1973, Sidney received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
.
As an elderly woman Sidney continued to play supporting screen roles, and was identifiable by her husky voice, the result of a lifetime cigarette smoking habit. She was the formidable Miss Coral in the film version of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
and later was cast as Aidan Quinn
's grandmother in the television production of An Early Frost
for which she won a Golden Globe Award
. She played Aunt Marion in Damien: Omen II
and had key roles in Beetlejuice
(directed by longtime Sidney fan Tim Burton
), for which she won a Saturn Award
, and Used People
(which co-starred Jessica Tandy
, Marcello Mastroianni
, Marcia Gay Harden
, Kathy Bates
and Shirley MacLaine
). Her final role was in another film by Burton, Mars Attacks!
, in which she played a senile grandmother whose beloved Slim Whitman
records stop an alien invasion from Mars when played over a loudspeaker.
On television, she appeared in the first episode as the imperious mother of Gordon Jump
in WKRP in Cincinnati
; as the troubled grandmother of Melanie Mayron
in the comedy-drama Thirtysomething and, finally, as the crotchety travel clerk on the short-lived late-1990s revival of Fantasy Island
with Malcolm McDowell
, Fyvush Finkel
and Mädchen Amick
. She also appeared in an episode of Dear John.
Sidney's Broadway theatre
career spanned five decades, from her debut performance as a graduate of the Theatre Guild School in the June 1926 3-act fantasy Prunella
to the Tennessee Williams
play Vieux Carré
in 1977. Additional credits include The Fourposter
, Enter Laughing
, and Barefoot in the Park
.
on 1 October 1935, but the couple were divorced shortly after on April 9, 1936. She then was married to actor and acting teacher Luther Adler
from 1938 until 1947, by whom she had a son, Jacob (Jody) (October 22, 1939–1987) who died of Lou Gehrig's disease. During her marriage to Luther Adler she was a sister-in-law
to acclaimed stage actress and drama teacher Stella Adler
. On March 5, 1947 she married radio producer and announcer Carlton Alsop. They were divorced on March 22, 1951.
Sidney died from throat cancer
in New York City
a month before her 89th birthday, after a career spanning more than 70 years. She was cremated
. She had no close family when she died. She bequeathed her black pug Malcolm to the National Arts Club
, where the canine became a much loved mascot and noted attendee at social events, celebrated in a short film by Carol Wilder.
She was skilled at needlepoint
. She sold needlepoint kits featuring her designs, and she published two popular instruction books: Sylvia Sidney's Needlepoint Book (1968) and The Sylvia Sidney Question and Answer Book on Needlepoint (1975).
Sidney was also a staunch Republican
and conservative.
Sidney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6245 Hollywood Boulevard
.
Early life
Sidney, born Sophia Kosow in The Bronx, New York, was the daughter of Rebecca (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Saperstein), a Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Jew, and Victor Kosow, a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman. The area from which Victor Kosow came from is today in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Her parents divorced by 1915 and she was adopted by her stepfather, Sigmund Sidney, a dentist. Her mother became a dressmaker and renamed herself Beatrice Sidney. Now using the surname Sidney, she became an actress at the age of fifteen as a way of overcoming shyness. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, Sidney appeared in several of their productions during the 1920s and earned praise from theater critics. In 1926, she was seen by a Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
talent scout and made her first film appearance later that year.
Career
During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a string of films, often playing the girlfriend or the sister of a gangster. She appeared opposite such heavyweight screen idols as Spencer TracySpencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Joel McCrea
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
, Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
, George Raft
George Raft
George Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
(a frequent screen partner), and Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
. Among her films from this period were:
An American Tragedy, City Streets
City Streets (film)
City Streets is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film based upon a story written by Dashiell Hammett, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and starring Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas and Guy Kibbee.-Plot:...
and Street Scene
Street Scene (1931 film)
Street Scene is a 1931 black-and-white drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by King Vidor. With a screenplay by Elmer Rice adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Street Scene takes place on a New York City street from one evening until the following afternoon...
(all 1931), Alfred Hitchcock's
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
Sabotage and Fritz Lang's
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
Fury
Fury (1936 film)
Fury is a 1936 American drama film which tells the story of an innocent man who narrowly escapes being lynched and the revenge he seeks. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and stars Spencer Tracy, Sylvia Sidney and Bruce Cabot and features Walter Abel, Edward...
(both 1936), You Only Live Once, Dead End
Dead End
Dead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
(both 1937) and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...
an early three-strip Technicolor film.
Blood on the Sun
Blood on the Sun is a film starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. The film is based on the history behind the Tanaka Memorial document....
(1945) with a considerably more glamorous screen persona, her career diminished somewhat during the 1940s. In 1952, she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables
Les Misérables (1952 film)
Les Misérables is a 1952 American film adapted from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and featured Michael Rennie as Jean Valjean, Robert Newton as Javert, Sylvia Sidney as Fantine, Debra Paget as Cosette, Edmund Gwenn as the bishop, Cameron Mitchell as...
, and her performance was widely praised and allowed her opportunities to develop as a character actress.
Sidney appeared three times on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
anthology series. On May 16, 1957, she appeared as Lulu Morgan, mother of singer Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in the Chicago club scene in the 1920s...
in "The Helen Morgan Story." In that same presentation Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.-Career:Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum...
was nominated for an Emmy award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for her portrayal of Helen Morgan. Four months later, Sidney joined Bergen, then twenty-seven, on the premiere of the short-lived NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
, The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
.
In 1973, Sidney received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams is a 1973 film which tells the story of a New York City homemaker who rethinks her relationships with her husband, her children and her mother...
.
As an elderly woman Sidney continued to play supporting screen roles, and was identifiable by her husky voice, the result of a lifetime cigarette smoking habit. She was the formidable Miss Coral in the film version of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film)
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 film based on the Joanne Greenberg novel of the same name.In the wake of the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Roger Corman was able to get funding for a movie version of Rose Garden. Bibi Andersson played Dr. Fried, while Kathleen Quinlan...
and later was cast as Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
's grandmother in the television production of An Early Frost
An Early Frost
An Early Frost was a 1985 TV movie, and the first major film to deal with the topic of HIV/AIDS. It was first broadcast on the NBC television network on November 11, 1985...
for which she won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
. She played Aunt Marion in Damien: Omen II
Damien: Omen II
Damien: Omen II, is a 1978 American horror film directed by Don Taylor, starring William Holden, Lee Grant, and Jonathan Scott-Taylor. The film was the second installment in The Omen series, set seven years after the first film, and was followed by a third installment, Omen III: The Final Conflict,...
and had key roles in Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
(directed by longtime Sidney fan Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
), for which she won a Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
, and Used People
Used People
Used People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969...
(which co-starred Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
, Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
, Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden is an American film and theatre actress. Harden's breakthrough role was in Miller's Crossing and then The First Wives Club which was followed by several roles which gained her wider fame including the hit comedy Flubber and Meet Joe Black...
, Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
). Her final role was in another film by Burton, Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks!
Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
, in which she played a senile grandmother whose beloved Slim Whitman
Slim Whitman
Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings...
records stop an alien invasion from Mars when played over a loudspeaker.
On television, she appeared in the first episode as the imperious mother of Gordon Jump
Gordon Jump
Alexander Gordon Jump was an American actor best known as the clueless radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and the incompetent "Chief of Police Tinkler" in the sitcom Soap...
in WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
; as the troubled grandmother of Melanie Mayron
Melanie Mayron
Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for portraying the role of photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama Thirtysomething.-Biography:...
in the comedy-drama Thirtysomething and, finally, as the crotchety travel clerk on the short-lived late-1990s revival of Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
with Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
, Fyvush Finkel
Fyvush Finkel
Philip “Fyvush” Finkel is an American actor best known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series Picket Fences, for which he earned an Emmy Award in 1994. He is also known for his portrayal of Harvey Lipschultz, a crotchety U.S...
and Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
. She also appeared in an episode of Dear John.
Sidney's Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
career spanned five decades, from her debut performance as a graduate of the Theatre Guild School in the June 1926 3-act fantasy Prunella
Prunella (fairy tale)
Prunella is an Italian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it The Grey Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 310, the Maiden in the Tower.A version of the tale also appears in A Book of Witches, by Ruth Manning-Sanders....
to the Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
play Vieux Carré
Vieux Carré (play)
Vieux Carré is a play by Tennessee Williams. It is an autobiographical play set in New Orleans. Although he began writing it shortly after moving to New Orleans in 1938, it wasn't completed until nearly forty years later.- Plot synopsis :...
in 1977. Additional credits include The Fourposter
The Fourposter
The Fourposter is a 1951 play written by Jan de Hartog. The two-character story spans thirty-five years, from 1890 to 1925, as it focuses on the trials and tribulations, laughters and sorrows, and hopes and disappointments experienced by Agnes and Michael throughout their marriage...
, Enter Laughing
Enter Laughing
Enter Laughing is a play by Joseph Stein.Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner, it centers on the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to extricate himself from overly protective parents and two too many girlfriends, while struggling to meet the challenge of...
, and Barefoot in the Park
Barefoot in the Park
This article is about the Broadway production. For the film adaptation see Barefoot in the Park .Barefoot in the Park is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The original Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened October 23, 1963, with the four lead roles taken by actors Elizabeth Ashley ,...
.
Personal life
Sidney was married three times. She first married publisher Bennett CerfBennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
on 1 October 1935, but the couple were divorced shortly after on April 9, 1936. She then was married to actor and acting teacher Luther Adler
Luther Adler
Luther Adler was an American actor best known for his work in theatre, but who also worked in film and television. He also directed plays on Broadway.-Life and career:...
from 1938 until 1947, by whom she had a son, Jacob (Jody) (October 22, 1939–1987) who died of Lou Gehrig's disease. During her marriage to Luther Adler she was a sister-in-law
Sister-in-law
A sister-in-law is the sister of one's spouse, the wife of one's sibling, or sometimes the wife of one's spouse's sibling...
to acclaimed stage actress and drama teacher Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
. On March 5, 1947 she married radio producer and announcer Carlton Alsop. They were divorced on March 22, 1951.
Sidney died from throat cancer
Esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
a month before her 89th birthday, after a career spanning more than 70 years. She was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
. She had no close family when she died. She bequeathed her black pug Malcolm to the National Arts Club
National Arts Club
The National Arts Club is a private club in Gramercy Park, New York City, New York, USA. It was founded in 1898 to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". Since 1906 the organization has occupied the Samuel J...
, where the canine became a much loved mascot and noted attendee at social events, celebrated in a short film by Carol Wilder.
She was skilled at needlepoint
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas...
. She sold needlepoint kits featuring her designs, and she published two popular instruction books: Sylvia Sidney's Needlepoint Book (1968) and The Sylvia Sidney Question and Answer Book on Needlepoint (1975).
Sidney was also a staunch Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and conservative.
Sidney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6245 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.
Filmography
- Thru Different Eyes (1929)
- Five Minutes from the Station (1930)
- City StreetsCity Streets (film)City Streets is a 1931 Pre-Code crime film based upon a story written by Dashiell Hammett, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, and starring Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas and Guy Kibbee.-Plot:...
(1931) - Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931)
- An American Tragedy (1931)
- Street SceneStreet Scene (1931 film)Street Scene is a 1931 black-and-white drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by King Vidor. With a screenplay by Elmer Rice adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Street Scene takes place on a New York City street from one evening until the following afternoon...
(1931) - Ladies of the Big House (1931)
- The Miracle ManThe Miracle Man (1932 film)The Miracle Man is a 1932 drama film directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Sylvia Sidney and featuring Boris Karloff. It is a remake of the 1919 film of the same name. The film was originally supposed to star Tyrone Power Sr, as the Preacher/Patriarch, but he died before major filming got underway...
(1932) - Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
- Make Me a Star (Cameo, 1932)
- Madame ButterflyMadame Butterfly (1932 film)Madame Butterfly is a 1932 Paramount dramatic film. It is based on the play by David Belasco which is based on the story by John Luther Long, and is adapted by Josephine Lovett and Joseph Moncure March. It stars Cary Grant and Sylvia Sidney. Music is credited to W...
(1932) - Pick-UpPick-Up (1933 film)Pick-Up is a 1933 crime film starring Sylvia Sidney and George Raft. The movie was directed by Marion Gering.-Cast:*Sylvia Sidney as Mary Richards*George Raft as Harry Glynn*William Harrigan as Jim Richards*Lilian Bond as Muriel Stevens...
(1933) - Jennie Gerhardt (1933)
- Good Dame (1934)
- Thirty-Day PrincessThirty-Day PrincessThirty-Day Princess is a 1934 black-and-white comedy film starring Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant and Edward Arnold. Based on a story of the same name by Clarence Budington Kelland, which appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1933, adapted by Sam Hellman and Edwin Justus Mayer and written by Preston...
(1934) - Behold My Wife (1934)
- Accent on YouthAccent on YouthAccent on Youth is a Broadway play written by Samson Raphaelson which debuted on Christmas Day, 1934. The plot concerns a lazy, middle-aged playwright who is spurred to write by his new young secretary. The original cast included Nicholas Hannen as playwright Steven Gaye and Constance Cummings as...
(1935) - Mary Burns, FugitiveMary Burns, FugitiveMary Burns, Fugitive is a 1935 American drama film directed by William K. Howard. Sylvia Sidney is once again the poor victim, but Alan Baxter overshadows everybody, even Ms. Sidney, as the gangster who marries her, and, eventually, sends her to jail.-Cast:...
(1935) - The Trail of the Lonesome PineThe Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936 film)The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1936 romance film based on the novel of the same name. It was directed by Henry Hathaway. It was the second full length feature film to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first in color to be shot outdoors, with the approval of the Technicolor Corporation...
(1936) - Fury (1936)
- SabotageSabotage (film)Sabotage, also released as The Woman Alone, is a 1936 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is based on Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent...
(1936) - You Only Live Once (1937)
- Dead EndDead EndDead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
(1937) - You and Me (1938)
- One Third of a Nation (1939)
- The Wagons Roll at NightThe Wagons Roll at NightThe Wagons Roll at Night is a 1941 circus film, starring Humphrey Bogart as travelling carnival owner Nick Coster, Sylvia Sidney as his girlfriend and Eddie Albert as a newcomer who falls in love with Nick's sister.-Plot:...
(1941) - Blood on the SunBlood on the SunBlood on the Sun is a film starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. The film is based on the history behind the Tanaka Memorial document....
(1945) - The Searching Wind (1946)
- Mr. AceMr. AceMr. Ace is a 1946 film about a society woman who taps a gangster for his political support. The movie was written by Fred F. Finkelhoffe and directed by Edwin L...
(1946) - Love from a Stranger (1947)
- Les MisérablesLes Misérables (1952 film)Les Misérables is a 1952 American film adapted from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It was directed by Lewis Milestone, and featured Michael Rennie as Jean Valjean, Robert Newton as Javert, Sylvia Sidney as Fantine, Debra Paget as Cosette, Edmund Gwenn as the bishop, Cameron Mitchell as...
(1952) - Violent SaturdayViolent SaturdayViolent Saturday is a 1955 American crime drama directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Victor Mature, Lee Marvin, Richard Egan and Stephen McNally. The film, set in a mining town, depicts the planning of a bank robbery as the nexus in the personal lives of several townspeople.Prominent actors...
(1955) - Behind the High Wall (1956)
- Summer Wishes, Winter DreamsSummer Wishes, Winter DreamsSummer Wishes, Winter Dreams is a 1973 film which tells the story of a New York City homemaker who rethinks her relationships with her husband, her children and her mother...
(1973) - God Told Me ToGod Told Me ToGod Told Me To is a 1976 science fiction/horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen...
(1976) - I Never Promised You a Rose GardenI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film)I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a 1977 film based on the Joanne Greenberg novel of the same name.In the wake of the success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Roger Corman was able to get funding for a movie version of Rose Garden. Bibi Andersson played Dr. Fried, while Kathleen Quinlan...
(1977) - Damien: Omen IIDamien: Omen IIDamien: Omen II, is a 1978 American horror film directed by Don Taylor, starring William Holden, Lee Grant, and Jonathan Scott-Taylor. The film was the second installment in The Omen series, set seven years after the first film, and was followed by a third installment, Omen III: The Final Conflict,...
(1978) - Hammett (1982)
- CopkillerCopkillerCopkiller is a 1983 thriller film directed by Roberto Faenza, starring Harvey Keitel and John Lydon. It was adapted from Hugh Fleetwood's novel The Order of Death....
(1983) - BeetlejuiceBeetlejuiceBeetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...
(1988) - Used PeopleUsed PeopleUsed People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969...
(1992) - Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
(1996)
Television
- Cameo Theater (1 episode, 1952)
- Schlitz Playhouse of StarsSchlitz Playhouse of StarsSchlitz Playhouse of Stars, is a weekly CBS anthology television series, was telecast on Friday nights from 1951 until 1959. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by Schlitz beer...
(1 episode, 1952) - Tales of TomorrowTales of TomorrowTales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others...
(1 episode, 1952) - Lux Video Theater (2 episodes, 1952)
- Broadway Television Theater (6 episodes, 1952–1953)
- The Philco Television Playhouse (1 episode, 1954)
- Kraft Television Theater (2 episodes, 1953–1955)
- The Ford Television Theatre (2 episodes, 1953–1955)
- Playwrights '56 (1 episode, 1955)
- The 20th Century Fox HourThe 20th Century Fox HourThe 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars...
(1 episode, 1955) - Celebrity Playhouse (2 episodes, 1955–1956)
- Climax! (2 episodes, 1955–1957)
- Kraft Television Theater (1 episode, 1957)
- Playhouse 90Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
(3 episodes, 1957–1958) - General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
(1 episode, 1960) - The DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June AllysonThe DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
(1 episode, 1960) - Naked CityNaked City (TV series)Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
(1 episode, 1961) - The Defenders (2 episodes, 1962)
- The Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
as Mrs. Arnold in the episode "Five Moments Out of Time" (1963) - Route 66Route 66 (TV series)Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
(2 episodes, 1961–1964) - The Nurses (1 episode, 1964)
- My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
(1 episode, 1969) - Do Not Fold, Spindle, or MutilateDo Not Fold, Spindle, or MutilateDo Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate is a 1971 television movie directed by Ted Post, starring Helen Hayes, Mildred Natwick, Myrna Loy and Sylvia Sidney, adapted from a novel of the same name by Doris Miles Disney. It premiered on ABC on November 9, 1971...
(1971) - The Secret Night Caller (1975)
- Winner Take All (1975)
- Ryan's HopeRyan's HopeRyan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
(3 episodes, 1975–1976) - Death at Love HouseDeath at Love HouseDeath at Love House is a 1976 made-for-tv horror film directed by E.W. Swackhamer. Part of the ABC Movie of the Week, the film stars Robert Wagner and Kate Jackson.- Plot :...
(1976) - Starsky and HutchStarsky and HutchStarsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
(1 episode, 1976) - Raid on Entebbe (1977)
- Westside Medical (1 episode, 1977)
- SnowbeastSnowbeastSnowbeast is a made-for-television horror film that was first broadcast in 1977 in the The United States of America.The movie details the attacks of a ravenous white sasquatch on a Colorado ski resort. The teleplay was written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote the script for Alfred Hitchcock's classic...
(1977) - Eight Is EnoughEight Is EnoughEight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
(2 episodes, 1977) - Siege (1978)
- WKRP in CincinnatiWKRP in CincinnatiWKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
(1 episode, 1978) - KazKaz (TV series)Kaz is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 10, 1978 to April 22, 1979.-Overview:Ron Leibman starred as Martin "Kaz" Kazinsky, a former convict who became a criminal defense attorney after he was released from prison. Leibman won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor in...
(1 episode, 1978) - SupertrainSupertrainSupertrain is an American television drama/adventure series that ran on NBC from February 7 to May 5, 1979. Nine episodes were made, including a 2-hour pilot episode.-Overview:...
(1 episode, 1979) - California FeverCalifornia FeverCalifornia Fever is an American teen drama series that ran on CBS in 1979. The show featured a group of Los Angeles teenagers living an exotic life of disco, the beach, the opposite sex and music. The series was short-lived, lasting only 10 episodes....
(1 episode, 1979) - The Gossip Columnist (1980)
- F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980)
- The Shadow Box (1980)
- The Love BoatThe Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
(1 episode, 1981) - A Small Killing (1981)
- Come Along with Me (1982)
- Having It All (1982)
- The Brass Ring (1983)
- Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
(1 episode, 1983) - Domestic Life (1 episode, 1984)
- Whiz KidsWhiz Kids (TV series)Whiz Kids is an American action/adventure television series which aired on CBS for one season during the 1983-1984 television season. The show follows the adventures of a group of four teenagers — Richie, Alice, Hamilton and Jeremy — who are amateur computer experts and detectives...
(1 episode, 1984) - Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
(1 episode, 1984) - Finnegan Begin AgainFinnegan Begin AgainFinnegan Begin Again is a 1985 made-for-HBO original romantic comedy film starring Mary Tyler Moore and Robert Preston. The movie was filmed in Richmond, Virginia and premiered in February 1985 before being released on video.-Plot:...
(1985) - An Early FrostAn Early FrostAn Early Frost was a 1985 TV movie, and the first major film to deal with the topic of HIV/AIDS. It was first broadcast on the NBC television network on November 11, 1985...
(1985) - Morningstar/Eveningstar (Unknown episodes, 1986)
- The Witching of Ben Wagner (1987)
- Pals (1987)
- Dear John (1 episode, 1988)
- The EqualizerThe EqualizerThe Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
(1 episode, 1989) - Thirtysomething (1 episode, 1989)
- Andre's MotherAndre's MotherAndre's Mother is a 1990 American drama film directed by Deborah Reinisch. The screenplay by Terrence McNally is an expansion of an eight-minute play written for an anthology called Urban Blight that was produced by the Manhattan Theater Club in 1988....
(1990) - Diagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
(1 episode, 1993) - Fantasy Island (7 episodes, 1998)
External links
- Sylvia Sidney Biography (1910-) at Film Reference
- Sidney accepting her Golden Globe, 1986