Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow;[1] August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned over 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in 1973. She later gained attention for her role as Juno, a case worker in the afterlife, in Tim Burton's 1988 film Beetlejuice, for which she won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Sylvia Sidney | |
|---|---|
 Sidney c. 1940s | |
| Born | Sophia Kosow August 8, 1910 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 1, 1999 (aged 88) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1925–1998 |
| Spouses | Carleton Alsop
(m. 1947; div. 1951) |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Early life
editSidney was born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Rebecca (née Saperstein; רבֿקה סאַפּערשטיין קאָסאָוו), a Romanian Jew, and Victor Kosow (וויקטאָר קאָסאָוו; Russian: Виктор Косов), a Russian-Jewish immigrant who worked as a clothing salesman.[2] 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.[3] Now using the surname Sidney, Sylvia became an actress at the age of 15 as a way of overcoming shyness. As a student of the Theater Guild's School for Acting, she was praised by theater critics for her performances. In 1926, she made her first film appearance as an extra in D.W. Griffith's The Sorrows of Satan.[4]
Career
editSidney made her Broadway debut at age 16[5] playing blonde ingenue Anita in Jean Bart's The Squall. The production opened on November 11, 1926, at the 48th Street Theatre; Sidney joined the cast in December 1926, taking over for Dorothy Stickney.[6] Sidney left the production in February 1927 to star in Samuel Shipman and John B. Hymer's Crime,[7] where she was touted (but not necessarily verified) in the press as the "youngest leading lady on Broadway."[8]
During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a string of films, often playing working-class heroines,[10] or the girlfriend or sister of a gangster. Her role as a wrongly convicted woman in City Streets launched her to stardom in 1931.[9] Other films from this period were An American Tragedy and Street Scene (both 1931), Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage and Fritz Lang's Fury (both 1936), You Only Live Once and Dead End (both 1937), and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, an early three-strip Technicolor film. During this period, she developed a reputation for being difficult to work with.[11] At the time of making Sabotage with Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney was one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry, earning $10,000 per week—earning a total of $80,000 for Sabotage.[12]
Sidney's career diminished somewhat during the 1940s. In 1949, exhibitors voted her "box-office poison".[13] In 1952, she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables, and although the film itself did not meet the studio's expectations, Sidney received critical praise for her performance.[14]
Sidney appeared three times on Playhouse 90. On May 16, 1957, she appeared as Lulu Morgan, mother of singer Helen Morgan in "The Helen Morgan Story". Four months later, Sidney rejoined her former co-star Bergen on the premiere of the short-lived The Polly Bergen Show.[15] She also worked in television during the 1960s on such programs as Route 66, The Defenders, and My Three Sons.
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 cigarette smoking. 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 where she spoke the memorable line "AIDS is a disease, not a disgrace!" and 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. Her final role was in Mars Attacks!, another film by Burton, in which she played an elderly woman whose beloved records by Slim Whitman help stop an alien invasion from Mars.
On television, she appeared in the pilot episode of WKRP in Cincinnati as the imperious owner of the titular radio station, but was replaced by Carol Bruce in the role after this one appearance. She also appeared in a memorable episode of Thirtysomething as Melissa's tough grandmother, who wanted to leave her granddaughter the family dress business, though Melissa wanted a career as a photographer. Sidney also appeared at the beginning of each episode as the crotchety travel clerk on the short-lived late-1990s revival of Fantasy Island. She also was featured on Starsky & Hutch; The Love Boat; Magnum, P.I.; Diagnosis Murder; and Trapper John, M.D.
Her Broadway career spanned five decades, from her debut performance as a graduate of the Theatre Guild School in June 1926 at age 15, in the three-act fantasy Prunella to the Tennessee Williams play Vieux Carré in 1977.[16] Other stage credits included The Fourposter, Enter Laughing, and Barefoot in the Park. In 1982, Sidney was awarded the George Eastman Award by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.
Personal life
editSidney was married three times, first to publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935; they divorced six months later in 1936, on grounds of incompatibility.[17][18][19] She married actor and acting teacher Luther Adler in 1938, by whom she had her only child, son Jacob (born c. 1940[20]), who died of ALS in 1985.[21] Adler and Sidney divorced in 1946,[1] with Sidney alleging Adler was a "bachelor at heart...My husband said marriage was not for him. He said he was too temperamental to be tied down, and just refused to live with me." Both parents were granted custody of Jacob, with each parent having him for six months of the year.[20] On March 5, 1947, she married radio producer Carlton Alsop;[22] roughly four years later, attorney Melvin Belli assisted Sidney in her divorce suit,[23] brought on grounds of extreme cruelty. Waiving any alimony request and seeking only restoration of her maiden name,[24] Sidney was granted the decree and the divorce was finalized on July 24, 1951.[25]
She published two books on the art of needlepoint, and raised and showed pug dogs.[26]
Death
editSidney died on July 1, 1999 from esophageal cancer at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan at age 88.[27][28]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Broadway Nights | Herself | Lost film |
| 1929 | Thru Different Eyes | Valerie Briand | |
| 1930 | Five Minutes from the Station | Carrie Adams | Short film |
| 1931 | City Streets | Nan Cooley | |
| Confessions of a Co-Ed | Patricia Harper | ||
| An American Tragedy | Roberta "Bert" Alden | ||
| Street Scene | Rose Maurrant | ||
| Ladies of the Big House | Kathleen Storm McNeill | ||
| 1932 | The Miracle Man | Helen Smith | |
| Merrily We Go to Hell | Joan Prentice | ||
| Make Me a Star | Unknown | Uncredited | |
| Madame Butterfly | Cho-Cho San | ||
| 1933 | Pick-Up | Mary Richards | |
| Jennie Gerhardt | Jennie Gerhardt | ||
| 1934 | Good Dame | Lillie Taylor | |
| Thirty-Day Princess | Nancy Lane / Princess Catterina | ||
| Behold My Wife | Tonita Storm Cloud | ||
| 1935 | Accent on Youth | Linda Brown | |
| Mary Burns, Fugitive | Mary Burns | ||
| 1936 | The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | June Tolliver | |
| Fury | Katherine Grant | ||
| Sabotage | Mrs. Verloc | ||
| 1937 | You Only Live Once | Joan Graham | |
| Dead End | Drina Gordon | ||
| 1938 | You and Me | Helen Dennis | |
| 1939 | ...One Third of a Nation... | Mary Rogers | |
| 1941 | The Wagons Roll at Night | Flo Lorraine | |
| 1945 | Blood on the Sun | Iris Hilliard | |
| 1946 | The Searching Wind | Cassie Bowwman | |
| Mr. Ace | Margaret Wyndham Chase | ||
| 1947 | Love from a Stranger | Cecily Harrington | |
| 1952 | Les Misérables | Fantine | |
| 1955 | Violent Saturday | Elsie Braden | |
| 1956 | Behind the High Wall | Hilda Carmichael | |
| 1971 | Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate | Elizabeth Gibson | TV movie |
| 1973 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | Mrs. Pritchett | Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1975 | The Secret Night Caller | Kitty | TV movie |
| Winner Take All | Anne Barclay | TV movie | |
| 1976 | God Told Me To | Elizabeth Mullin | |
| Raid on Entebbe | Dora Bloch | TV movie | |
| Death at Love House | Clara Josephs | TV movie | |
| 1976 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | Miss Coral | |
| Snowbeast | Mrs. Carrie Rill | TV movie | |
| 1978 | Damien - Omen II | Aunt Marion | |
| Siege | Lillian Gordon | TV movie | |
| 1980 | The Gossip Columnist | Alma Lewellyn | TV movie |
| F.D.R.: The Last Year | Cousin Polly | TV movie | |
| The Shadow Box | Felicity | TV movie | |
| 1981 | A Small Killing | Sadie Ross | TV movie |
| 1982 | Hammett | Donaldina Cameron | |
| 1983 | Copkiller | Margaret Smith | |
| The Brass Ring | Grandmother | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Finnegan Begin Again | Margaret Finnegan | TV movie |
| An Early Frost | Beatrice McKenna | TV movie Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | |
| 1987 | Pals | Ferb Stobbs | TV movie |
| 1987 | The Witching of Ben Wagner | Grammy | TV movie |
| 1988 | Beetlejuice | Juno | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1990 | Andre's Mother | Mrs. Downs – Andre's Grandmother | TV movie |
| 1992 | Used People | Becky | |
| 1996 | Mars Attacks! | Grandma Florence Norris | Final film role |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Cameo Theatre | Unknown | Episode: "The Gathering Twilight" |
| 1952 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Unknown | Episode: "Experiment" |
| 1952 | Tales of Tomorrow | Natalie | Episode: "Time to Go" |
| 1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Joyce | Episode: "Night Be Quiet" |
| 1952 | Lux Video Theatre | Laura Barrie | Episode: "Pattern for Glory" |
| 1953–1955 | The Ford Television Theatre | Unknown | 2 episodes |
| 1954 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Unknown | Episode: "Catch My Boy on Sunday" |
| 1955 | Star Stage | "famous stage actress" | title unknown[29] |
| 1955–1956 | Celebrity Playhouse | Meg Fraser | 2 episodes |
| 1955-1956 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Mrs. Cosick | Episode: "Man on the Ledge" |
| 1955–1957 | Climax! | Louella Wheedron | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | Unknown | Episode: "Circle of Fear" |
| 1960 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Beulah | Episode: "Escape" |
| 1961 | Naked City | Florence | Episode: "A Hole in the City" |
| 1961 | Route 66 | Hannah Ellis | Episode: "Like a Motherless Child" |
| 1962 | The Defenders | Adela Collins | 2 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Mrs. Arnold | Episode: "Five Moments Out of Time" |
| 1964 | Route 66 | Lonnie Taylor | Episode: "Child of a Night" |
| 1964 | The Nurses | Mrs. Sands | Episode: "To All My Friends on Shore" |
| 1969 | My Three Sons | Miss Houk | Episode: "Teacher's Pet" |
| 1975–1976 | Ryan's Hope | Sister Mary Joel | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Starsky & Hutch | Olga Grossman | Episode: "Gillian" |
| 1977 | Westside Medical | Unknown | Episode: "Tears for Two Dollar Wine" |
| 1977 | Eight Is Enough | Evelin (Abby's Aunt) | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | WKRP in Cincinnati | Mother Carlson | Episode: "Pilot – Part 1" |
| 1978 | Kaz | Molly | Episode: "A Fine Romance" |
| 1979 | Supertrain | Agatha | Episode: "Superstar" |
| 1979 | California Fever | Mother | Episode: "Movin' Out" |
| 1981 | The Love Boat | Natalie | Episode: "I Love You Too, Smith" |
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Mrs. Flanner | Episode: "Come Along with Me" |
| 1983 | Magnum, P.I. | Elizabeth Barrett | Episode: "Birdman of Budapest" |
| 1984 | Domestic Life | Mrs. Moscewicz | Episode: "Small Cranes Court" |
| 1984 | Whiz Kids | Dolly | Episode: "The Lollipop Gang Strikes Back" |
| 1984 | Trapper John, M.D. | Mildred Prosser | Episode: "Aunt Mildred Is Watching" |
| 1986 | Morningstar/Eveningstar | Binnie Taylor | 7 episodes |
| 1988 | Dear John | Mrs. Lumenski | Episode: "Dancing in the Dark" |
| 1989 | The Equalizer | Judge | Episode: "Trial by Ordeal" |
| 1989 | Thirtysomething | Rose Waldman | Episode: "Be a Good Girl" |
| 1993 | Diagnosis: Murder | Alice | Episode: "Miracle Cure" |
| 1998 | Fantasy Island | Clia | 7 episodes, (final appearance) |
Radio appearances
edit| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Philip Morris Playhouse | Angels with Dirty Faces[30] |
| 1941 | Philip Morris Playhouse | Wuthering Heights[31] |
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- 1 2 "Sylvia Sidney, 30's Film Heroine, Dies at 88". The New York Times. July 2, 1999. Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ↑ Bergan, Ronald (July 6, 1999). "Obituary: Sylvia Sidney". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
- ↑ "Sylvia Sidney Sued By Father". The New York Times. November 19, 1933. p. 20. Archived from the original on May 1, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- ↑ O'Brien, Scott (2016). Sylvia Sidney: Paid by the Tear. BearManor Media. p. 16; ISBN 978-1593939434
- ↑ "Sylvia Sidney – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
- ↑ "The Squall – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Crime – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
- ↑ "May 01, 1927, page 40 - Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
- 1 2 "Sylvia Sidney". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Actress Sylvia Sidney born". Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- ↑ Vallance, Tom (July 21, 1999). "Obituary: Sylvia Sidney". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022.
- ↑ "Sylvia Sidney Interview". YouTube. October 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ↑ "Mary Armitage's FILM CLOSE-UPS". The Mail. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. January 29, 1949. p. 3 Supplement: Sunday Magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
- ↑ O'Brien, Scott (2016). Sylvia Sidney: Paid by the Tear. BearManor Media. pp. 266–267; ISBN 978-1593939434
- ↑ "The Polly Bergen Show". Classic Television Archives. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
- ↑ "Prunella Charming in Guild Youths' Hands". The New York Times. June 16, 1926. p. 23.
- ↑ "Why Hollywood Stars Don't Stay Married" (PDF). Chigago Sunday Tribune. p. 4. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "SYLVIA SIDNEY MARRIED.; Actress Wed to Bennett Cerf, New York Publisher, in Arizona. (Published 1935)". October 2, 1935. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Publishing: A Cerfit of Riches". Time. December 16, 1966. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- 1 2 "Divorced On Novel Ground". The Daily Mirror. February 28, 1946. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Died". Daily News. August 13, 1985. p. 94. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ Acme Telephoto (March 10, 1947). "Sylvia's Secret's Out". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. p. 6. ProQuest 1928196904. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
Screen actress Sylvia Sidney and Carleton Alsop, radio producer, disclosed their secret Mar. 5 marriage in Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Reynolds were the only witnesses.
- ↑ Kilgallen, Dorothy (March 22, 1951). "On Broadway". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 23. ProQuest 1854531795. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
Sylvia Sidney has engaged Prince Troubetzkoy's lawyer, Mel Belli, to help in her divorce suit against Carlton Alsop.
- ↑ "Sylvia Sidney Sues to Divorce Third Husband". The Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1951. p. 14. ProQuest 166212557.
The complaint, filed in Superior Court, said that on many occasions, Alsop, 51, berated his 41-year-old wife in the presence of other persons without cause or justification. Miss Sidney charged that her husband's conduct caused her great mental and physical suffering and impaired her health. [...] No specific request for alimony was made in the document and Miss Sidney informed the court that there is no community property. She asked for the legal right to resume her maiden name. The petition said she and Alsop parted last Oct. 5. They were married here March 5, 1947.
- ↑ "Divorces". The Billboard. August 4, 1951. p. 41. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ↑ Frankel, Haskel (March 18, 1979). "Theater". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ↑ Bergan, Ronald (July 6, 1999). "Sylvia Sidney". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Actress Sylvia Sydney Talks with Designer Mel Odom 1999". YouTube. March 22, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ↑ "Debut". Long Beach Independent. September 9, 1955. p. 30. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Johnny Presents". Harrisburg Telegraph. September 19, 1941. p. 17. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Raymond Massey and Sylvia Sidney in 'Wuthering Heights'". Harrisburg Telegraph. October 11, 1941. p. 26. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Chad (October 25, 2019). "Sylvia Sidney". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- 1 2 "Sylvia Sidney". Television Academy. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "1973 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "The 46th Academy Awards | 1974". www.oscars.org. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Supporting Actress". Bafta. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- 1 2 "Sylvia Sidney". Golden Globes. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "KCFCC Award Winners – 1970-79". Kansas City Film Critics Circle. December 14, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "George Eastman Award | George Eastman Museum". www.eastman.org. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Past Saturn Awards". www.saturnawards.org. Archived from the original on April 4, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
- ↑ Vallance, Tom (July 20, 1999). "Obituary: Sylvia Sidney". The Independent. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
Sources
edit- Miller, Sally, Sylvia: A Memoir Of Hollywood Star Sylvia Sidney, Synergy Book Service (September 15, 2004), ISBN 0-9758581-0-6/ISBN 978-0975858103
- Sylvia Sidney at IMDb
- Sylvia Sidney at the Internet Broadway Database
- Sylvia Sidney at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Sidney accepting her Golden Globe (1986) on YouTube
External links
edit
- Cum a ajuns Sylvia Sydney, fiica unei croitorese din Bacău, să ia minţile bărbaţilor de la Hollywood. Românca era văzută ca simbol al frumuseţii perfecte, 21 May 2016, Ionela Stănilă, Adevărul
