Sidney Lumet (June 24th 1924 - April 9th 2011)

Rest in Peace

Well this is awfully sad news. Sidney Lumet, the film director/screen writer that brought us land mark films including, 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day afternoon (1975), Network (1976), The Fugitive Kind (1959) Long Days Journey into Night (1962) The Pawnbroker (1964) and Serpico (1973),  died at the age of 86 from Lymphoma. At his peak, the prolific filmmaker was making almost consistently one movie a year. Out of his 43 directed movies he was nominated 4 times for directing and once for screenwriting (Prince of the City, 1981) and although he never won the golden naked bald man for a single effort, in 2005 he was awarded with an honorary oscar. 
He is often compared to the likes of Martin Scorsese for they both deliver quality pictures with high levels of intensity. Like Scorsese, Sidney Lumet preferred taking his films to the real streets of New York, making use of the grittiness, the city served as much more than a common back drop and added the realism his movies needed. 

Sidney Lumet in 1935

He was born in Philadelphia and into the world of show business in 1924, his mother was a dancer and his father was an actor and director for the stage. Following in his fathers footsteps at the tender age of four Sidney made his stage debut performing in the Yiddish theatre. Still pursuing acting in the 1930s he played roles in various Broadway productions such as Dead End (adapted onto film in 1937 starring Humphrey Bogart). 
In 1939 before joining the troops in the 1940s he made his film debut in a movie starring Sylvia Sidney called "...One Third of a Nation" as an injured boy in the middle of a legal woe. He appeared only 3 more times on the big and small screen. 
After the war he returned to the stage and was soon directing stage plays. In the early 50s he started directing t.v shows until he got a big break when he directed 12 Angry Men in 1957 , a great start as a film director to say the least. 12 Angry Men stars Henry Fonda as the only man on a jury who believes a teenager on trial for murder to be innocent and manages to get the other jurors to believe the same, the film was nominated for best writing, directing and picture. 

In 2005 with his honorary Oscar

From there he made a largely successful career in films, his last was in 2007 with Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Besides some odd noticeable turkeys including The Wiz, his life long career in film, stage and television has met with the successes many would hope to achieve.
Tonight I think I'm going to enjoy a Sidney Lument double feature with a couple of favourites i haven't seen in awhile starting with Dog Day afternoon and ending with Long Days Journey into night. yes, Thank You Sidney Lumet. 


“The death of Sidney Lumet really marks the end of an era. 
He started in theatre as an actor, worked his way through the golden age of live television, and by the time he made his debut in 1957 with Twelve Angry Men, he was already a seasoned veteran. He had a unique gift with actors"  - Martin Scorsese