American writer (1917? 2007)
Sidney Sheldon
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Sidney_Sheldon.jpg) |
Born
| Sidney Schechtel
(
1917-02-11
)
February 11, 1917
Chicago, Illinois
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| January 30, 2007
(2007-01-30)
(aged 89)
Rancho Mirage, California
, U.S.
|
---|
Occupation
| Novelist, screenwriter, television producer
|
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Alma mater
| Northwestern University
|
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Period
| 1941?2007
|
---|
Genre
| Crime fiction
,
thriller
|
---|
Spouse
|
Jane Kaufman Harding
(
m.
1945;
div.
1946)
(
m.
1951; died 1985)
Alexandra Joyce Kostoff
(
m.
1989)
|
---|
Sidney Sheldon
(February 11, 1917 ? January 30, 2007) was an American writer. 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.
[1]
He went on to work in television, where over twenty years he created
The Patty Duke Show
(1963?66),
I Dream of Jeannie
(1965?70), and
Hart to Hart
(1979?84).
[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).
Sheldon's novels have sold over 300 million copies in 51 languages.
[3]
Sheldon is consistently cited as one of the top ten
best-selling fiction writers
of all time.
[4]
Early life
[
edit
]
Sheldon was born Sidney Schechtel in
Chicago, Illinois
. His parents, of Ukrainian Jewish ancestry, were Ascher "Otto" Schechtel (1894?1967), manager of a jewelry store, and Natalie Marcus. At age 10, Sidney made his first sale, $5 for a poem. 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. He had to drop out after six months to help support his family.
[5]
Sheldon enlisted in the military during
World War II
as a pilot in the
War Training Service
, a branch of the
Army Air Corps
.
[6]
His unit was disbanded, but he was discharged because of a recurring slipped disc before he was deployed.
[7]
Career
[
edit
]
In 1937, Sheldon moved to
Hollywood
, where he reviewed scripts and collaborated on a number of
B movies
.
[6]
Broadway
[
edit
]
Sheldon began writing
musicals
for the Broadway stage while continuing to write screenplays for both
MGM Studios
and
Paramount Pictures
. He earned a reputation as a prolific writer; for example, at one time,
Ben Roberts
and he had three musicals on Broadway - a rewritten
The Merry Widow
,
Jackpot
, and
Dream with Music
.
[8]
Sheldon received a
Tony Award
in 1959 for his musical
Redhead
, starring
Gwen Verdon
.
[9]
His other stage plays include
Alice in Arms
,
The King of New York
,
The Judge
, and
Roman Candle
. Only
Roman Candle
has been published as a book. The play
Gomes
was performed only in London and not on Broadway.
Film
[
edit
]
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.
[10]
He was one of the writers on the screenplay for the 1948
musical film
Easter Parade
and sole writer for the 1950 musical film
Annie Get Your Gun
, both of which featured the songs of
Irving Berlin
.
[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
.
Television
[
edit
]
When television became the new popular medium, Sheldon decided to try his hand in it. "I suppose I needed money," he remembered. "I met
Patty Duke
one day at lunch. So I produced
The Patty Duke Show
, and I did something nobody else in TV ever did. For seven years, I wrote almost every single episode of the series."
[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
.
[14]
He wrote all but two dozen scripts in five years, sometimes using three pseudonyms (Mark Rowane, Allan Devon, and Christopher Golato) while simultaneously writing scripts for
The Patty Duke Show
. 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.
[15]
Production for
I Dream of Jeannie
ended in 1970 after five seasons. "During the last year of
I Dream of Jeannie
, I decided to try a novel," he said in 1982. "Each morning from 9 until noon, I had a secretary at the studio take all calls. I mean every single call. I wrote each morning ? or rather, dictated ? and then I faced the TV business."
[8]
In 1970, Sheldon wrote all 17 episodes of the short-lived series
Nancy
.
[16]
In 1979, Sheldon created and wrote for the series
Hart to Hart
starring
Robert Wagner
and
Stefanie Powers
.
[17]
The show aired on
ABC
and ran for five seasons.
[18]
Novels
[
edit
]
In 1969, Sheldon wrote his first novel,
The Naked Face
, which earned him a nomination for the
Edgar Allan Poe Award
from the
Mystery Writers of America
in the category of Best First Novel. His next novel,
The Other Side of Midnight
, climbed to number one on
The New York Times
Best Seller list
, as did several ensuing novels, a number of which were also made into motion pictures or TV miniseries. His novels often featured determined women who persevere in a tough world run by hostile men.
[8]
The novels contained suspense and devices to keep the reader turning the page:
[8]
"I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down," he explained in a 1982 interview. "I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of it, he or she has to read just one more chapter. 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."
Most of his readers were women.
[8]
Asked why this was the case, he said: "I like to write about women who are talented and capable, but most important, retain their femininity. Women have tremendous power ? their femininity, because men can't do without it."
[8]
Books were Sheldon's favorite medium. "I love writing books," he commented. "Movies are a collaborative medium, and everyone is second-guessing you. When you do a novel, you're on your own. It's a freedom that doesn't exist in any other medium."
[8]
He was the author of 18 novels, which have sold over 300 million copies.
Three years before his death, the
Los Angeles Times
called Sheldon "Mr. Blockbuster" and "prince of
potboilers
."
[19]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Sheldon was first married to Jane Kaufman Harding (1945?1946). Later, he wrote, "Regretfully, in less than a month, Jane and I realized we had made a mistake. We spent the next nine months trying in vain to make the marriage work."
[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".
[23]
Curtright died of a heart attack in 1985. Their daughter, Mary Sheldon, became a novelist as well.
[24]
[25]
Sheldon married Alexandra Joyce Kostoff, a former child actress,
[26]
[27]
in Las Vegas in 1989.
[28]
Sheldon struggled with
bipolar disorder
for years; he contemplated suicide at 17 (talked out of it by his father, who found him with a bottle of whiskey and several bottles of sleeping pills), as detailed in his autobiography published in 2005,
The Other Side of Me
.
[29]
Death
[
edit
]
A resident of Palm Springs, California,
[30]
Sheldon died on January 30, 2007, of pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, twelve days before his 90th birthday.
[6]
[1]
His remains were cremated; the ashes were interred in
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Awards
[
edit
]
Sheldon won an
Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay
(1947) for
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
and a Tony Award (1959) for his musical
Redhead
, and was nominated for an
Emmy Award
for his work on
I Dream of Jeannie
, an NBC sitcom. Sheldon was inducted into the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
in 1988
[31]
had a Golden Palm Star on the
Palm Springs Walk of Stars
dedicated to him in 1994.
[32]
In 1990, Sheldon received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
.
[33]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Novel series
[
edit
]
Midnight
[
edit
]
- The Other Side of Midnight
(1973)
- Memories of Midnight
(1990)
Ambitious Women
[
edit
]
- The Stars Shine Down
(1992)
- The Best Laid Plans
(1997)
- The Sky Is Falling
(2001)
Novels not in series
[
edit
]
Autobiography
[
edit
]
Broadway plays
[
edit
]
- The Merry Widow
(1943)
- Jackpot
(1944)
- Dream with Music
(1944)
- Alice in Arms
(1945)
- Redhead
(1959)
- Roman Candle
(1960)
- The King of New York
(1961)
- The Judge
(1962)
London plays
[
edit
]
Children's books and young-adult works
[
edit
]
- The Adventures of Drippy the Runaway Raindrop
These books were published to introduce English-language novels in Japan. Some of the books have also been translated to Spanish, German, and Portuguese. The English versions of these books are not available outside of Japan.
- Man on the Run
- The Dictator
- The Revenge!
- The Twelve Commandments
- We Are Not Married
- The Money Tree
- The Adventure of a Quarter
- The Chase
- Ghost Story
- The Strangler
- The Million Dollar Lottery
Short story and poetry
[
edit
]
- "Need to Know" (1986) is an unpublished short story that was adapted by Mary Sheldon as a teleplay for
The Twilight Zone
by the same name.
- "The Eagle" (2001) is a poem written in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
- Mistress of the Game
(2009), a sequel to
Master of the Game
- After the Darkness
(2010)
- Angel of the Dark
(2012)
- The Tides of Memory
(2013)
- Chasing Tomorrow
(2014), sequel to
If Tomorrow Comes
- Reckless
(2015), second sequel to
If Tomorrow Comes
- The Silent Widow
(2018)
- The Phoenix
(2019)
Films as writer
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Sidney Sheldon, Author of Steamy Novels, Dies at 89"
,
The New York Times,
January 31, 2007.
- ^
Mitgang, Herbert (February 26, 1978).
"Behind the Best Sellers"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
May 7,
2019
.
- ^
Stern, Jane; Stern, Michael (January 1, 2006).
"Master of the Game"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
May 7,
2019
.
- ^
"The Best Selling Fiction Authors of All Time"
.
Ranker
. Retrieved
May 7,
2019
.
- ^
"Sidney Sheldon: A chat with the best-selling author Sidney Sheldon about his book Tell Me Your Dreams"
,
CNN
, July 13, 1999
- ^
a
b
c
"Welcome to SidneySheldon.com: The Official Website of the World's Master Storyteller"
.
hachettebookgroup.com
.
- ^
Obituaries (February 1, 2007).
"Sidney Sheldon"
.
The Independent
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Author Sidney Sheldon dies at 89"
, Associated Press, January 30, 2007.
Archive copy
.
- ^
"Sidney Sheldon"
.
Music Theatre International
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Sidney Sheldon, top novelist, won Oscar, Tony and Emmy"
.
Daily News
. January 31, 2007
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"The Return of 'Annie Get Your Gun'
"
.
Los Angeles Times
. October 27, 2000.
ISSN
0458-3035
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Patty Duke Show, The"
.
Television Academy Interviews
. October 22, 2017
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Fates & Fortunes"
(PDF)
.
Broadcasting
. June 15, 1964
. Retrieved
October 30,
2021
.
- ^
Cashill, Robert.
"Unbottling Jeannie: Magic and Mischief on the Set of a Sitcom Favorite"
.
Biography
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
Marsha Ann Tate & Earl Houser,
What America Watched: Television Favorites from the Cornfields to the Cosmos
, McFarland, 2022,
p. 99
- ^
"Nancy"
.
Television Obscurities
. August 14, 2009
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"One from the Hart: A Hart to Hart Reunion"
.
The Paley Center for Media
. September 14, 2010
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
Wong, Curtis M. (September 18, 2015).
"There's A Gay Remake In Store For This Iconic TV Series"
.
HuffPost
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Mr. Blockbuster"
,
The Los Angeles Times
, September 25, 2004.
- ^
Sheldon, Sidney, The Other Side of Me, Warner Vision Books, 2005
- ^
"Jorja Curtright"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
"Jorja Curtright | TV Guide"
.
TVGuide.com
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion
, edited by Tom Hill, ⓒ 1996 by
Viacom International
, p. 191
- ^
Los Angeles Times: "Author Mary Sheldon, daughter of Sidney Sheldon, sells in Beverly Hills" by Neal J. Leitereg
March 19, 2016
- ^
"Sidney Sheldon and His Novelist Daughter Mary Explore Their Literary Bloodlines"
.
PEOPLE.com
. Retrieved
May 22,
2019
.
- ^
Alexandra Sheldon herself received a Golden Palm Star on the
Palm Springs Walk of Stars
Frenzel, Gerhard G. (1999).
Portrait of the Stars
. Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs Walk of Stars. p. 99.
LCCN
98093956
.
OCLC
41260876
.
- ^
Sidney Sheldon
Archived
February 2, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"The Newly Married Sidney Sheldons Honored at Party"
.
Los Angeles Times
. November 9, 1989.
ISSN
0458-3035
. Retrieved
May 7,
2019
.
- ^
"The Other Side of Me"
.
Publishers Weekly
.
- ^
Johns, Howard (2004).
Palm Springs Confidential: Playground of the Stars!
. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books. pp.
55, 86
.
ISBN
9781569802694
.
LCCN
2004041116
.
OCLC
54392060
.
LCC
PN2285 .J56 2004
- ^
"Sidney Sheldon | Hollywood Walk of Fame"
.
www.walkoffame.com
. Retrieved
May 7,
2019
.
- ^
Palm Springs Walk of Stars: By Date Dedicated
Archived
December 8, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
www.achievement.org
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Abbott, Alana Joli (2009). "Sheldon, Sidney."
Newsmakers 2008 Cumulation
. Gale.
External links
[
edit
]
- "Sidney Sheldon: Meet Sidney Sheldon (Former official site)"
. HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (
Internet Archive
). Archived from
the original
on January 5, 2007
. Retrieved
January 5,
2007
.
- Sidney Sheldon
at
The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- "Sidney Sheldon: Meet Sidney Sheldon (Official tribute)"
. HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (Internet Archive). Archived from
the original
on December 10, 2007
. Retrieved
December 10,
2007
.
- "Sidney Sheldon: Timeline"
. HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (Internet Archive). Archived from
the original
on December 10, 2007
. Retrieved
December 10,
2007
.
- Sidney Sheldon Papers
Archived
December 9, 2013, at
archive.today
at the
Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
.
- Sidney Sheldon
at
IMDb
- Sidney Sheldon
at the
Internet Broadway Database
![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png)
- Sidney Sheldon
at
The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
- 1987 audio interview with Sidney Sheldon at Wired for Books.org
by Don Swaim
- Two Sidney Sheldon Interviews
on
Sidewalks Entertainment
- Sheldon's obituary at NYTimes.com
- Sidney Sheldon
at
Find a Grave
- Roy, Pinaki. "Sidney Sheldon: Reviewing his Oeuvre".
The Atlantic Critical Review Quarterly
12(3), July?September 2013 (ISSN 0972-6373,
ISBN
978-81-269-1902-4
): 1-14.
|
---|
1940?1975
|
- Preston Sturges
(1940)
- Herman J. Mankiewicz
and
Orson Welles
(1941)
- Michael Kanin
and
Ring Lardner Jr.
(1942)
- Norman Krasna
(1943)
- Lamar Trotti
(1944)
- Richard Schweizer
(1945)
- Muriel Box
and
Sydney Box
(1946)
- Sidney Sheldon
(1947)
- No award (1948)
- Robert Pirosh
(1949)
- Charles Brackett
,
D. M. Marshman Jr.
, and
Billy Wilder
(1950)
- Alan Jay Lerner
(1951)
- T. E. B. Clarke
(1952)
- Charles Brackett
,
Richard L. Breen
, and
Walter Reisch
(1953)
- Budd Schulberg
(1954)
- Sonya Levien
and
William Ludwig
(1955)
- Albert Lamorisse
(1956)
- George Wells
(1957)
- Nathan E. Douglas
and
Harold Jacob Smith
(1958)
- Clarence Greene
,
Maurice Richlin
,
Russell Rouse
, and
Stanley Shapiro
(1959)
- I. A. L. Diamond
and
Billy Wilder
(1960)
- William Inge
(1961)
- Ennio de Concini
,
Pietro Germi
, and
Alfredo Giannetti
(1962)
- James Webb
(1963)
- S. H. Barnett,
Peter Stone
and
Frank Tarloff
(1964)
- Frederic Raphael
(1965)
- Claude Lelouch
and
Pierre Uytterhoeven
(1966)
- William Rose
(1967)
- Mel Brooks
(1968)
- William Goldman
(1969)
- Francis Ford Coppola
and
Edmund H. North
(1970)
- Paddy Chayefsky
(1971)
- Jeremy Larner
(1972)
- David S. Ward
(1973)
- Robert Towne
(1974)
- Frank Pierson
(1975)
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1976?2000
| |
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2001?present
| |
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|
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International
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National
| |
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Academics
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People
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Other
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