Post by La Princess on Jan 31, 2007 10:33:23 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone else is a fan. I enjoy his books.
www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/236399,CST-NWS-xsheldon31.article
Author of best-selling novels
Chicago-born writer attended NU; books appealed to women
January 31, 2007
BY BOB THOMAS
LOS ANGELES -- Sidney Sheldon, who won awards in three careers -- Broadway theater, movies and television -- then at age 50 turned to writing best-selling novels about stalwart women who triumph in a world of ruthless men, has died. He was 89.
The Chicago-born writer died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, said Warren Cowan, his publicist. His wife, Alexandra, and his daughter, author Mary Sheldon, were by his side.
Mr. Sheldon's books, with titles such as Rage of Angels, The Other Side of Midnight, Master of the Game and If Tomorrow Comes, provided his greatest fame.
''I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down,'' he said in a 1982 interview. ''I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter.''
Mr. Sheldon, a big, cheerful man, was obviously not aiming at highbrow critics, whose reviews of his books were generally disparaging. Unlike other novelists, he dictated 50 pages a day to a secretary or a tape machine. He corrected the pages the following day, continuing until he had 1,200 to 1,500 pages.
''Then I do a complete rewrite -- 12 to 15 times,'' he said. ''I spend a whole year rewriting.''
Mr. Sheldon began writing as a youngster in Chicago, where he was born Feb. 17, 1917. At 10, he made his first sale: $10 for a poem. During the Depression, he attended Northwestern University and wrote short plays.
At 17, he decided to try his luck in Hollywood. The only job he could find was as a reader of prospective film material at Universal Studio for $22 a week. During World War II, he served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
In the 1950s, Sheldon decided to try TV work. ''I met Patty Duke one day at lunch. So I produced 'The Patty Duke Show,' and . . . for seven years, I wrote almost every single episode of the series.''
Another series, ''Nancy,'' lasted only a half-season, but ''I Dream of Jeannie,'' which he also created and produced, lasted five seasons, 1965-1970.
''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.''
The result was The Naked Face, which was scorned by book reviewers and sold 21,000 copies in hardcover. The novel found a mass market in paperback, reportedly selling 3.1 million. Thereafter Sheldon became a habitue of best-seller lists, often reigning on top.
AP
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/236399,CST-NWS-xsheldon31.article
Author of best-selling novels
Chicago-born writer attended NU; books appealed to women
January 31, 2007
BY BOB THOMAS
LOS ANGELES -- Sidney Sheldon, who won awards in three careers -- Broadway theater, movies and television -- then at age 50 turned to writing best-selling novels about stalwart women who triumph in a world of ruthless men, has died. He was 89.
The Chicago-born writer died Tuesday of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, said Warren Cowan, his publicist. His wife, Alexandra, and his daughter, author Mary Sheldon, were by his side.
Mr. Sheldon's books, with titles such as Rage of Angels, The Other Side of Midnight, Master of the Game and If Tomorrow Comes, provided his greatest fame.
''I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down,'' he said in a 1982 interview. ''I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter.''
Mr. Sheldon, a big, cheerful man, was obviously not aiming at highbrow critics, whose reviews of his books were generally disparaging. Unlike other novelists, he dictated 50 pages a day to a secretary or a tape machine. He corrected the pages the following day, continuing until he had 1,200 to 1,500 pages.
''Then I do a complete rewrite -- 12 to 15 times,'' he said. ''I spend a whole year rewriting.''
Mr. Sheldon began writing as a youngster in Chicago, where he was born Feb. 17, 1917. At 10, he made his first sale: $10 for a poem. During the Depression, he attended Northwestern University and wrote short plays.
At 17, he decided to try his luck in Hollywood. The only job he could find was as a reader of prospective film material at Universal Studio for $22 a week. During World War II, he served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
In the 1950s, Sheldon decided to try TV work. ''I met Patty Duke one day at lunch. So I produced 'The Patty Duke Show,' and . . . for seven years, I wrote almost every single episode of the series.''
Another series, ''Nancy,'' lasted only a half-season, but ''I Dream of Jeannie,'' which he also created and produced, lasted five seasons, 1965-1970.
''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.''
The result was The Naked Face, which was scorned by book reviewers and sold 21,000 copies in hardcover. The novel found a mass market in paperback, reportedly selling 3.1 million. Thereafter Sheldon became a habitue of best-seller lists, often reigning on top.
AP
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
