Classic Movie Travels: Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New York, to Rebecca and Victor Kosow on August 8, 1910. Her parents divorced in 1915 and she was later adopted by her stepfather, a dentist named Sigmund Sidney. Her mother worked as a dressmaker under the name Beatrice Sidney.
Sidney became an actress by the age of 15 to combat her shyness. She studied at the Theatre Guild School for Acting, where she appeared in performances and garnered praise from theatre critics. She made her first film appearance as an extra in D.W. Griffith’s The Sorrows of Satan (1926).
During the course of the Great Depression, Sidney appeared in many films in which she typically portrayed a working-class heroine or a woman affiliated with a gangster, working with the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and more. She appeared in An American Tragedy (1931), Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), Sabotage (1936), in addition to many others. She also performed in the early three-strip Technicolor film, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936).
Sidney married publisher Bennett Cerf in 1935 and they divorced in 1936. In 1938, she married acting teacher and actor Luther Adler. They had a child named Jacob. Sidney and Adler divorced in 1946. Her third and final marriage was to radio producer Carlton Alsop, which ended in divorce in 1951.
After being one of the highest-paid actresses in the 1930s, her roles waned significantly in the 1940s. In the 1950s, she took on the role of Fantine in Les Misérables (1952). Though the film flopped by the studio’s standards, Sidney received critical praise. Sidney appeared on television frequently during this period on shows such as Playhouse 90, Route 66, and My Three Sons.
In addition, Sidney was active on Broadway, with a stage career that spanned roughly five decades. Some of her stage credits included appearances in Prunella, The Fourposter, and Barefoot in the Park.
Sidney received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973). As the years went on, she played supporting characters in Beetlejuice (1988) and Mars Attacks! (1996)—both directed by Tim Burton, who was a fan of Sidney.
Aside from her work as an entertainer, Sidney was gifted in needlepoint and published two books on the subject. She also raised showed pug dogs, her favorite breed.
Sidney passed away on July 1, 1999, from esophageal cancer at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She was 88 years old.
Today, some of Sidney’s residences remain. In 1925, she and her family lived at 201 W. 11th St., New York, New York. This building stands.
In 1930, she resided at 33 5th Ave., New York, New York. This building also remains standing.
In 1936, Sidney resided at 120 E. 39th St., New York, New York, which also remains.
In the last years of her life, she resided at 22 Valerie Ln., Danbury, Connecticut, where she bred and raised her pugs. This home also remains.
Sidney is further remembered with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her work in motion pictures. Her star is located at 6245 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek, Ph.D., is a film historian, professor, and avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the “Hometowns to Hollywood” blog, in which she profiles her trips to the hometowns of classic Hollywood stars. She has also been featured on the popular classic film-oriented television network, Turner Classic Movies. A regular columnist for Classic Movie Hub, her articles have appeared in TCM Backlot, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, The Dark Pages Film Noir Newsletter, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
