Sidney Sheldon: Master Storyteller

Sidney Sheldon (born Sidney Schechtel) was a Jewish American novelist and playwright. Also writing for film and TV, he was incredibly prolific. The first screenplay he wrote was The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer which earned him an Academy Award in 1947. A year later, he was the co-writer for Easter Parade. Though not included in this exhibit, he also wrote the screenplay for the smash hit Annie Get Your Gun in 1950. Additionally, he was the creator, producer, and writer for the hit TV series I Dream of Jeannie which aired from 1965-1970. As his TV career began to wind down in the late 60’s and early 70’s, Sheldon switched his focus to novel writing. Before he died in 2007, he wrote an impressive 18 of them; many of which were very popular. The original screenplays featured in this exhibition once belonged to Sidney Sheldon’s daughter Mary. They were donated to The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art by Michael Friedman in 2023.Both are signed with lovely and somewhat funny inscriptions and contain original photographic stills from the films.