Sidney Sheldon#Personal life

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.[http://www.cnn.com/chat/transcripts/sidney.sheldon.html "Sidney Sheldon: A chat with the best-selling author Sidney Sheldon about his book Tell Me Your Dreams"], CNN, July 13, 1999 Sheldon enlisted in the military during World War II as a pilot in the War Training Service, a branch of the Army Air Corps. His unit was disbanded, but he was discharged because of a recurring slipped disc before he was deployed.{{cite news |last1=Obituaries |title=Sidney Sheldon |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sidney-sheldon-434541.html |work=The Independent |date=1 February 2007}}

In 1937, Sheldon moved to Hollywood, where he reviewed scripts and collaborated on a number of B movies.

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. Sheldon received a Tony Award in 1959 for his musical Redhead, starring Gwen Verdon.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mtishows.com/people/sidney-sheldon|title=Sidney Sheldon|website=Music Theatre International|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}} 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.

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20070131/sidney-sheldon-top-novelist-won-oscar-tony-and-emmy|title=Sidney Sheldon, top novelist, won Oscar, Tony and Emmy|date=2007-01-31|website=Daily News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-22}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-27-ca-42619-story.html|title=The Return of 'Annie Get Your Gun'|date=2000-10-27|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} 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.

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."

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.{{Cite news|url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/patty-duke-show|title=Patty Duke Show, The|date=2017-10-22|website=Television Academy Interviews|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}} Following the show's success, Sheldon had signed an agreement with Screen Gems to handle the development of various television series.{{Cite news |date=1964-06-15 |title=Fates & Fortunes |work=Broadcasting |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/64-OCR/1964-06-15-BC-OCR-Page-0093.pdf |access-date=2021-10-30}}

In 1965, Sheldon created, produced, and wrote I Dream of Jeannie starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/news/i-dream-of-jeannie-facts|title=Unbottling Jeannie: Magic and Mischief on the Set of a Sitcom Favorite|last=Cashill|first=Robert|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=2019-05-22}} 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.Marsha Ann Tate & Earl Houser, What America Watched: Television Favorites from the Cornfields to the Cosmos, McFarland, 2022, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cD1ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Mark+Rowane%22+%22Allan+Devon%22+%22Christopher+Golato%22&pg=PA99 p. 99]

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."

In 1970, Sheldon wrote all 17 episodes of the short-lived series Nancy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/nancy/|title=Nancy|website=Television Obscurities|date=August 14, 2009 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-22}}

In 1979, Sheldon created and wrote for the series Hart to Hart starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/2010-fall-hart-to-hart-reunion|title=One from the Hart: A Hart to Hart Reunion|website=The Paley Center for Media|date=September 14, 2010|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}} The show aired on ABC and ran for five seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hart-to-hart-gay-remake_n_55f9cee9e4b08820d9171e6c|title=There's A Gay Remake In Store For This Iconic TV Series|last=Wong|first=Curtis M.|date=2015-09-18|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}}

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.[https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_en_ot/obit_sheldon "Author Sidney Sheldon dies at 89"], Associated Press, January 30, 2007. [http://bachlab.balbach.net/coolreading/SidneySheldon.txt Archive copy]. The novels contained suspense and devices to keep the reader turning the page:

{{blockquote|"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. 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." 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." 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."[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-25-et-levine25-story.html "Mr. Blockbuster"], The Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2004.

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."Sheldon, Sidney, The Other Side of Me, Warner Vision Books, 2005

He was married for thirty years to Jorja Curtright, a stage and film actress, who later became an interior designer.{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193591/bio|title=Jorja Curtright|website=IMDb|access-date=2019-05-22}} 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{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jorja-curtright/credits/247477|title=Jorja Curtright {{!}} TV Guide|website=TVGuide.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}} in episode 25, "Bigger Than a Bread Box".Nick at Nite's Classic TV Companion, edited by Tom Hill, © 1996 by Viacom International, p. 191 Curtright died of a heart attack in 1985. Their daughter, Mary Sheldon, became a novelist as well.[http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/hot-property/la-fi-hotprop-mary-sheldon-beverly-hills-20160309-story.html Los Angeles Times: "Author Mary Sheldon, daughter of Sidney Sheldon, sells in Beverly Hills" by Neal J. Leitereg] March 19, 2016{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/sidney-sheldon-and-his-novelist-daughter-mary-explore-their-literary-bloodlines-vol-16-no-23/|title=Sidney Sheldon and His Novelist Daughter Mary Explore Their Literary Bloodlines|website=PEOPLE.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-22}}

Sheldon married Alexandra Joyce Kostoff, a former child actress,Alexandra Sheldon herself received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars {{cite book |last=Frenzel |first=Gerhard G. |title=Portrait of the Stars |year=1999 |publisher=Palm Springs Walk of Stars |location=Palm Springs, CA |page=99 |lccn=98093956 |oclc=41260876 }}{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202035148/http://www.thesunrunner.com/Interviews/Sidney_Sheldon/sidney_sheldon.html Sidney Sheldon]}} in Las Vegas in 1989.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-09-vw-1372-story.html|title=The Newly Married Sidney Sheldons Honored at Party|date=1989-11-09|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-05-07|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}

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.{{cite news |title=The Other Side of Me |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59483-096-9 |work=Publishers Weekly}}

A resident of Palm Springs, California,{{cite book|last=Johns|first=Howard|title=Palm Springs Confidential: Playground of the Stars!|year=2004|publisher=Barricade Books|location=Fort Lee, NJ|isbn=9781569802694|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781569802694/page/55 55, 86]|oclc=54392060|lccn=2004041116|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781569802694/page/55}}{{LCC|PN2285 .J56 2004}} Sheldon died on January 30, 2007, of pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California, twelve days before his 90th birthday.{{cite web|url=http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/sidneysheldon/sheldon_bio.html|title=Welcome to SidneySheldon.com: The Official Website of the World's Master Storyteller|work=hachettebookgroup.com}}[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/obituaries/01sheldon.html?ex=1185944400&en=6926e71f21afa7d5&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNsidneysheldon "Sidney Sheldon, Author of Steamy Novels, Dies at 89"], The New York Times, January 31, 2007. His remains were cremated; the ashes were interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

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{{Cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/sidney-sheldon|title=Sidney Sheldon {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|access-date=2019-05-07}} had a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars dedicated to him in 1994.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121208224143/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars%20by%20date/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf Palm Springs Walk of Stars: By Date Dedicated]}} In 1990, Sheldon received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}

1. The Other Side of Midnight (1973)
2. Memories of Midnight (1990)

1. The Stars Shine Down (1992)
2. The Best Laid Plans (1997)
3. The Sky Is Falling (2001)

• The Naked Face (1970)
• A Stranger in the Mirror (1976)
• Bloodline (1977)
• Rage of Angels (1980)
• Master of the Game (1982)
• If Tomorrow Comes (1985)
• Windmills of the Gods (1987)
• The Sands of Time (1988)
• The Doomsday Conspiracy (1991)
• Nothing Lasts Forever (1994)
• Morning, Noon, and Night (1995)
• Tell Me Your Dreams (1998)
• Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2004)

• The Other Side of Me (2005)

• 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)

• Gomes

• 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

• "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)

• Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941)
• She's in the Army (1942)
• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
• Easter Parade (1948)
• The Barkleys of Broadway (1949)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
• Nancy Goes to Rio (1950)
• Three Guys Named Mike (1951)
• Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
• No Questions Asked (1952)
• Just This Once (1952)
• Dream Wife (1953) (also director)
• Remains to be Seen (1953)
• You're Never Too Young (1955)
• Pardners (1956)
• Anything Goes (1956)
• The Birds and the Bees (1956)
• The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
• All in a Night's Work (1961)
• Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)
• The Other Side of Midnight (1977)
• Bloodline (1979)

• Colgate Theatre (episode "Adventures of a Model," 1958)
• The Patty Duke Show
• I Dream of Jeannie
• Nancy
• Hart to Hart (co-wrote pilot, 1979)
• Rage of Angels (1983 miniseries, based on his book)
• Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986 miniseries, based on his book, a sequel to Rage of Angels)
• Master of the Game (1984 miniseries, based on his book)
• If Tomorrow Comes (1986 miniseries, based on his book)
• Windmills of the Gods (1988 miniseries, based on his book)
• Memories of Midnight (1991 miniseries, based on his book)
• A Stranger in the Mirror (1993 made-for-TV movie)

{{reflist}}

• Abbott, Alana Joli (2009). "Sheldon, Sidney." Newsmakers 2008 Cumulation. Gale.

• {{cite web|url=http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/meet_ss.html |title=Sidney Sheldon: Meet Sidney Sheldon (Former official site)|publisher=HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (Internet Archive) |access-date=January 5, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070105141616/http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/meet_ss.html |archive-date = January 5, 2007}}
• {{emmytvlegends name|sidney-sheldon}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/meet_ss.html |title=Sidney Sheldon: Meet Sidney Sheldon (Official tribute)|publisher=HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (Internet Archive) |access-date=December 10, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071210005900/http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/meet_ss.html |archive-date = December 10, 2007}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/timeline.html |title=Sidney Sheldon: Timeline |publisher=HachetteBookGroupUSA.com (Internet Archive) |access-date=December 10, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071210220728/http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/features/sidneysheldon/timeline.html |archive-date = December 10, 2007}}
• [http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1042/ Sidney Sheldon Papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20131209201540/http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1042/ |date=December 9, 2013 }} at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
• {{IMDb name|791084|Sidney Sheldon}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{EmmyTVLegends name|sidney-sheldon}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060226204413/http://wiredforbooks.org/sidneysheldon/ 1987 audio interview with Sidney Sheldon at Wired for Books.org]}} by Don Swaim
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070222022812/http://www.sidewalkstv.com/webclips/s/sidneysheldon.html Two Sidney Sheldon Interviews] on Sidewalks Entertainment
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/obituaries/01sheldon.html?ex=1185944400&en=6926e71f21afa7d5&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNsidneysheldon Sheldon's obituary at NYTimes.com]
• {{Find a Grave|17759833}}
• 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.

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{{Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Musical}}

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Category:1917 births

Category:2007 deaths

Category:20th-century American novelists

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Category:American male novelists

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