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The Other Side of Me Born on February 11, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Sidney Sheldon has much to write about. He is a phenomenon, a writer who has scripted success on Broadway, in Hollywood, on the big screen as well as the small screen, and in countless bookstores that have carried his bestsellers in 51 languages in 180 countries. So, here we have someone who has a (almost) rags-to-riches story to script, and does he know how to tell a tale! The autobiography starts with his (abortive) attempt at suicide when he was 17. He failed, and learnt how to handle failure that inevitably followed success in his career as a writer, much like a lift in a building. He was a child when his first poem was published, in the name of his uncle, because his father Otto Schechtel (the last name was later changed by Sidney to Sheldon, and soon adopted by the rest of the family, too) did not want to suffer the embarrassment of receiving a rejection slip. Instead, the uncle got a $5 cheque. Most of us know of Sheldon as a novelist, and it comes as a surprise that his first book,
The Naked Face, came out when he was 53. While it won critical acclaim, it was the second book,
The Other Side of Midnight, which topped the bestseller chart, a position that many of his subsequent books were to also occupy. The depression left its scars on Sheldon and his family. His father and mother, Natalie, fought constantly. He did his best to support the family, especially since his father was always chasing mirages of great riches, which never materialised, and his mother had to work hard to keep the hearth going. Eventually, they were divorced. In 1937, Sidney left home and went to Hollywood, where he became a script reader, and eventually “rose” to writing scripts for a few B-grade movies like
Mr. District Attorney and the Carter Case (1941). With the World War II looming, he enrolled in the Air Force, became a pilot, but did not see action. While he was awaiting postings in New York, he found work writing musicals for Broadway. He did very well and at one time three of his musicals
— Jackpot, Merry Widow and Dream with Music —
were playing simultaneously in different Broadway theatres in Manhattan. In 1947, he won an Oscar for the screenplay for the comedy,
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer. Action shifts from the stage to the sets, to the then-looked-down-upon small screen. When he was asked to do the script of the
Patty Duke show, which he created in 1963, Sheldon said he would write all the scripts and not follow the accepted practice of have other writers to keep the series going. He was to pen down 79 scripts for the show, and also give TV-viewers
I Dream of Jeannie, which is still brings a smile on many faces. This autobiography reads more like a career chronicle of Sheldon, who skimps on giving personal details, except of his childhood. We know that he married Jorja, an actress, and they were together until she died in 1985. He went through periods of no work and extreme depression, and she was right there, besides him, and he was there for her. Their daughter, Mary, graduated from the prestigious Wellesley College, and is also a writer. She has written
Perhaps I’ll Dream of Darkness, Halfway Home, Reflection
and Pandora Brown. Her two daughters are also writers. Lizy, published her first novel,
December First, at the age of 16, and younger sister Rebecca is hard at work on her first opus, The Adventures of Cutie the Space
Kitten. Now, these are the kind of details that one would expect in the book, but they are not there. Sheldon is no literary writer; his writing does not reflect his political views, or what he holds dear and what he reviles. Unfortunately, neither does his autobiography. Sheldon writes it as a thriller. It holds interest and leaves the reader wanting to know more about the protagonist. |
When you are an octogenarian, you are well justified in wanting to write an autobiography. However, you should have done something to write about, and you should know how to write about your life. 