Sidney Harmon

Sidney Harmon (April 30, 1907 – February 29, 1988) was a film producer and screenwriter. Harmon was nominated for the 1942 Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Talk of the Town. He began his career working as a writer on radio and in the theater in the 1930s. Harmon produced Sidney Kingsley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Men in White.[1]

Biography

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1907,[2] Harmon produced Broadway plays throughout the 1930s (1931-1937).[3] Harmon was one of many members of the Group Theatre to move into film.[4] He married artist Lily Harmon (née Perlmutter) in 1934; they divorced in 1940.[5] He was active in films from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1959, he co-founded the Theatre Group at the University of California at Los Angeles with John Houseman and Robert Ryan.[6]

Harmon, with Ryan and others, founded the Oakwood School in 1951.[7]

In retirement, Harmon was active in the cultural life of Palm Springs; he was the first director emeritus of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.[8] The Desert Theatre League's Sidney Harmon Award honored members "in recognition of the advancement of theatrical excellence both on and off the stage."[9]

Harmon died in Rancho Mirage, California on February 29, 1988.

Career

Writer (1940s-1960s)
  • The Talk of the Town (1942) (story) ... aka George Stevens' The Talk of the Town
  • Drums in the Deep South (1951) (screenplay)
  • Mara Maru (1952) (story)
  • Mutiny (1952) (writer)
  • Man Crazy (1953) (writer)
  • Hand in Hand (1960) (story)

Producer (1950s-1960s)

Miscellaneous Crew
  • Men in War (1957) (presenter)

References
  1. "Sidney Harmon, 80; Producer". Los Angeles Times. March 26, 1988.
  2. "Sidney Harmon, 29 Feb 1988". California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento: Department of Public Health Services. Birth Date: 31 August 1907.
  3. The Broadway League. "Sidney Harmon – Broadway Cast & Staff". IBDB Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  4. Buhle, Paul; Wagner, Dave (2003). Hide in Plain Sight: The Hollywood Blacklistees in Film and Television, 1950-2002. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-40396-144-0.
  5. "Lily Harmon, 85, Portraitist and Book Illustrator," New York Times (14 Feb. 1998). Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  6. Jarlett, Franklin (1997). Robert Ryan: A Biography and Critical Filmography. McFarland. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-7864-0476-6.
  7. "The Oakwood Story - Oakwood School". Oakwood School. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  8. Fessier, Bruce (December 3, 2015). "Paul Anka delivers McCallum benefit show his way". Desert Sun. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  9. "Desert Theater League nominations for four area theater companies". KCDZ 107.7 FM News. August 2, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.


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