| Sylvia Miles | |
| Birth Name: | Sylvia Scheinwald |
| Birth Date: | 1924 9, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Actors Studio |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1947–2019 |
| Spouse: | |
Sylvia Miles (née Scheinwald;[1] September 9, 1924 – June 12, 2019) was an American actress. She was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975).
Miles was a fixture in New York City society, having lived there her entire life. She performed in many Off-Broadway shows, including starring in a one-woman musical based on her life, titled It's Me, Sylvia! in 1981. A documentary about her life titled I Was Always Sylvia aired on New York City public television channel WNET as part of The 51st State series.[2] [3]
Miles was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City. She was the second daughter of Jewish parents, Belle (née Feldman) and Reuben Scheinwald, a furniture maker.[4] She was educated at Washington Irving High School and the Actors Studio.
Miles began her career on stage in 1947, and on television and film in 1954.
In the early 1960s, she played the role of Sally Rogers in the pilot episode of what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was later taken by Rose Marie for the series.[5] Her early television work included appearances in three episodes of Naked City (TV series) and two episodes of Route 66 (TV series) (cf. as Red in "The Thin White Line," Route 66, S2E11). She appeared Off-Broadway in “Ruthless!” The Musical (1992) at the Players Theatre, NYC, playing Sylvia St. Croix (originally played by Joel Vig in drag); she was one of the few females to play the role. She appeared on Broadway in two productions, most notably the 1976 revival of The Night of the Iguana.[6]
Miles was cast in the film Midnight Cowboy (1969) as an aging Park Avenue kept-woman, who invites Joe Buck (Jon Voight) up to her penthouse apartment for sex—another role in which Miles showed off her voluptuous figure.[7] The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, although she appeared on-screen for about six minutes.[8] She received a second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her slightly larger role (eight minutes) in Farewell, My Lovely (1975).
Miles starred in Andy Warhol's underground feature film Heat (1972), [9] appearing in a lingering nude scene with Joe Dallesandro. She had a role in the Indian suspense film Shalimar (1978).[10] She appeared in Evil Under the Sun (1982), the film version of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, portraying a Broadway producer.[11] She played real-estate agent Dolores in the Oliver Stone film Wall Street (1987), a role she reprised in (2010).[12]
Miles was also featured in the mainstream films 92 in the Shade, Critical Condition, The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday, Crossing Delancey, and the 1989 comedy She-Devil, in which she played the mother of Meryl Streep's character.[13] [14] In her final years, Miles appeared in a few roles on television such as Sex and the City and One Life to Live, and in the films Go Go Tales and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
In 1975, Miles complained about being typecast as a prostitute in almost all of her then 14 movies and 26 off-Broadway plays to date. "Do I look like a prostitute? What does a hooker look like, anyway? Me?"[15]
In a New York restaurant in 1973, Miles publicly dumped a plate of food onto critic John Simon's head for his negative comments about her in a review of a play she starred in.[16]
Wayland Flowers and his puppet Madame first uttered the widely quoted line, "Sylvia Miles and Andy Warhol would attend the opening of an envelope". In 1976, People magazine repeated the joke in the article "What Would a Manhattan Party Be Without the Ubiquitous Sylvia Miles?" without citing a source.[17] [18]
In 1948, Miles married William Myers, but the couple divorced two years later. From 1952 to 1958, she was married to Gerald Price. From 1963 to 1970, she was married to radio disc jockey Ted Brown. Brown cited Miles' lack of desire to have children as the main cause for their divorce.[4]
In the 1960s and the 1970s she often played chess at a competitive level and was a member of the Manhattan Chess Club.[19] [20] [21]
Miles died on June 12, 2019, while en route to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan at the age of 94.[22] [23] She had been in declining health in recent years and was in nursing home care in her final months. During Miles' final years she was suffering from anemia and respiratory issues.[24]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Murder, Inc. | Sadie | ||
| 1961 | Parrish | Eileen | ||
| 1963 | Violent Midnight | Silvia | ||
| 1964 | Pie in the Sky | Rose | ||
| 1969 | Midnight Cowboy | Cass | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1971 | The Last Movie | Script Clerk | ||
| 1971 | Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? | Christine | ||
| 1972 | Heat | Sally Todd | ||
| 1975 | Farewell, My Lovely | Jessie Halstead Florian | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1975 | 92 in the Shade | Bella | ||
| 1976 | The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday | Madam 'Mike' | ||
| 1977 | The Sentinel | Gerde | ||
| 1978 | Zero to Sixty | Flo Ames | ||
| 1978 | Shalimar | Countess Rasmussen | ||
| 1981 | The Funhouse | Madame Zena | ||
| 1982 | Evil Under the Sun | Myra Gardener | ||
| 1987 | Critical Condition | Maggie | ||
| 1987 | Sleeping Beauty | Red Fairy | ||
| 1987 | Wall Street | Dolores the Realtor | ||
| 1988 | Crossing Delancey | Hannah Mandelbaum | ||
| 1988 | Spike of Bensonhurst | Congresswoman | ||
| 1989 | She-Devil | Francine Fisher | ||
| 1995 | Denise Calls Up | Gail's Aunt Sharon | ||
| 2000 | The Boys Behind the Desk | |||
| 2002 | High Times' Potluck | Ma | ||
| 2003 | Rose's | Ms. P | ||
| 2007 | Go Go Tales | Lilian Murray | ||
| 2010 | Dolores the Realtor | |||
| 2019 | Japanese Borscht | Mary Tess | (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 1971-1974 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself | 5 episodes |
| 1985 | Miami Vice | Muriel Goldman | 1 episode |
| 2002 | One Life to Live | Stella | |
| Sex and the City | Joan | 1 episode |
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