Search found 74 matches

by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 11:40 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

moira - Thanks again for the opportunity to share my research on Sylvia. I'll give the "scoop" on the Bogie-Sidney scandal that never made the headlines. The night of the Bogart-Sidney run-in, Sylvia's almost-third husband, Carleton Alsop, ran outside to fetch her. Bogie was bleeding profu...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 7:50 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Hi Joe - Years after leaving Hollywood behind, Sidney mentioned that her favorite film was Mary Burns, Fugitive. She sang nothing but praises for her director, William K. Howard. “I learned more about picture making, about how a film was put together, from Howard than from almost anyone. He was one ...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 7:26 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Moira - Don't worry, we're doing just fine. Family emergencies always come first. My thoughts were with you. You're right, it's important to cover Sidney's involvement with politics/social issues. Her commitment on this score, was as devout as her job as an actor. In the 1930’s, Sidney was alarmed a...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 5:25 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Lzcutter - Dead End is a favorite of mine, too. That scene where Sylvia is ironing her kid brother's (Billy Halop) shirt, allowed her to complain (profusely) in her later years, "I was always ironing somebody's shirt!" Sidney felt she had been typecast and wanted more variety, which is par...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 3:56 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

movieman1957 - Excellent question. During the 1950's and early 60's, Sylvia financed her son's education. When he was diagnosed with ALS, expenditures increased considerably. It was rare for Sidney to talk about personal finances, but at one point she revealed a crisis that occurred prior to 1960. T...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 1:43 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Truly the most important person in Sylvia's life was her son Jody. Her "comeback" to films in 1945, was partially due to doctor's advice that Jody (age 5), in fragile health, would do better in California. After her divorce from Luther Adler (1946), Sylvia, as a single mom, was determined ...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 1:11 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Hi Sue Sue, thanks for the warm welcome and good question. Sidney's role as the chain-smoking case-worker in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice was a role she resisted, at first. She kept throwing the scripts he'd send into the garbage. She finally relented and flew to California, where Burton made a point to...
by oscotto
December 18th, 2016, 12:36 am
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Aside from acting, Sylvia had a life-long passion for needlework. Her skills culminated in two best-selling books: Sylvia Sidney's Needlepoint Book (1968), and Sylvia Sidney: Question and Answer Book on Needlepoint (1974). She did cross-country book tours, and aficionados of needle work showed up in...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 11:33 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Moira - I didn't come across any comment by Sidney on working with Robert Duvall (and vice-versa). As I mentioned to Clore, neither did Ed Asner have memories to share from the NAKED CITY episode, "A Hole in the City." I did enjoy the Route 66 episode. Her scenes with George Maharis were e...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 11:21 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Clore - Very interesting details on Raft's career. I'm glad Sylvia had the opportunity to work with him and appreciate what he had to offer. Sidney, Raft and Fritz Lang, You and Me (1938) G5.jpg I did get to see Sidney's episode on Naked City (1961). Ed Asner was also in this. I met Asner earlier th...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 10:56 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Moira - Sylvia was well-acquainted with the ups-and-downs of an acting career, certainly by the time she was 18. A few silent films (1926-27) acquainted her with what it was like to be an "extra." In her Hollywood talkie debut Thru Different Eyes (1929), she returned home to New York to pl...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 4:50 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Clore - I'll have to put Souls at Sea on my must-see list. I've always thought him a pleasant, likeable screen presence. I agree, Thirty Day Princess was a great change of pace for Sylvia. Her 1958-59 cross-country tour in Auntie Mame also proved how funny she could be. Typical reviews raved: "...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 3:08 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Moira - re: the team of Raft and Sidney. I had to laugh when I read a 1933 Boston Herald review of Pick Up. “Miss Sidney scores her points quietly, efficiently. She is always in character. Mr. Raft is in and out of his ... one cannot dodge the impression she is patiently and ever so subtly teaching ...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 2:31 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

For Jezebel38 - I agree, Sylvia's portrayal in An American Tragedy gave the film its most genuine moments. She carried a certain pathos with rare naturalness that was certainly recognized by the film industry. Sidney did not get along with von Sternberg. Along with his volatile temper, she found him...
by oscotto
December 17th, 2016, 1:53 pm
Forum: Archived Guest Stars
Topic: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18
Replies: 36
Views: 68064

Re: Welcome Scott O'Brien for a Q & A on Sylvia Sidney 12-17 & 12-18

Moira - Sylvia was frank about how her parents unhappy relationship affected her. Before they came to the U.S., Victor Kosow and Rebecca Saperstein both escaped the pogroms and slaughter of Russian/Polish Jews. By the time Sylvia (born Sophia Kosow in New York, 1910) was five, Victor abandoned his w...