Screening Room Books Timeline In the Press SidneySheldon.com | Sidney Sheldon Timeline
 
Timeline1 1917 Sidney Sheldon is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1937 Sheldon arrives in Hollywood where he finds work at Universal Studios as a script reader for $17.00 a week. With collaborator, Ben Roberts, he also writes a number of "B" movies.


1941 Sheldon joins the Air Force serving in World War II as a pilot.


1942 Sheldon has three musical hits simultaneously playing on Broadway - the revised "Merry Widow," "Jackpot" and "Dream with Music".


Mid-'40's Sheldon returns to Hollywood where he begins a long career as a successful screenwriter with MGM and Paramount Studios.


1948 Sheldon wins an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer" starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The film also wins the 1947 Box Office Blue Ribbon Award for its screenplay.


Sheldon is awarded the Screen Writers Guild Award for Best Musical for "Easter Parade," starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. He receives the Box Office Blue Ribbon Award for its screenplay, as well.


1951 Sheldon receives the Screen Writers Guild Award for Best Musical for "Annie Get Your Gun," starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel.


1959 Returning briefly to Broadway, Sheldon wins a Tony Award as co-author of the musical, "Redhead," starring Gwen Verdon.


1963 Sheldon begins a new facet in his writing career with the creation of the "Patty Duke" television show. He writes an unprecedented 78 scripts in three years for the series.


1964 Sheldon creates, produces and writes "I Dream of Jeannie" in his co-production capacity with Screen Gems. He writes all but two dozen scripts in five years, using three pseudonyms, while simultaneously writing scripts for "The Patty Duke Show."


1967 Sheldon receives an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy for the hit series "I Dream of Jeannie."


timeline3 1969 Sheldon's first novel, The Naked Face, is published and wins an Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America.


1974 Sheldon's second book, The Other Side of Midnight, hits the New York Times bestseller list, going on to hold the paper's then record of 52 weeks on the charts.


1975 Sheldon's A Stranger in the Mirror is published and becomes a bestseller in both hard and soft cover.


1977 Sheldon's fourth novel, Bloodline becomes a #1 bestseller.

1980 Rage of Angels is published and goes to #1 on the bestseller lists the week before its official publication date, staying at the top for 18 weeks and on the lists for 42 weeks.


1982 Sheldon's sixth novel, Master of the Game, debuts at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and stays there for 11 weeks.


1983 "Sidney Sheldon Day" is celebrated by Mayoral proclamation in his hometown of Chicago.


1986 Another Sheldon #1 bestseller, If Tomorrow Comes, is published.


1987 Advance orders for Sheldon's eighth novel, Windmills of the Gods, are the heaviest in publisher, William Morrow's history. The novel debuts at #1 two days before its official release date.


1988 Sheldon's novel, The Sands of Time, debuts on the New York Times bestseller list before its official release date. Advance orders exceed one million copies.

Sheldon receives a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


Timeline4 1990 Sheldon's tenth novel, Memories of Midnight, a sequel to his first blockbuster hit, has a record first printing for publisher, William Morrow of 1.1 million copies.


1991 Sheldon's international bestseller, The Doomsday Conspiracy, is published.


1992 The Stars Shine Down is published and sets record breaking sales for the author.


1993 Sheldon receives the prestigious Prix Literature 1993 at the Deauville Film Festival.


1994 Sidney Sheldon publishes his thirteenth novel, Nothing Lasts Forever, a dazzling novel that sweeps readers into the frenetic world of a big San Francisco hospital.

Sheldon is named National Spokesman for Libraries For The Future.


1995 Sheldon is honored by libraries across the country, the American Library Association and The Los Angeles Public Library, with their Honorable Citizen Award.

Sidney Sheldon's fourteenth novel, Morning, Noon & Night is published.


1997 Sheldon is honored by The Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Translated Author in the World.

The Best Laid Plans is published with an initial printing of one million copies.

Best Laid Plans hits New York Times Bestseller list


1998 Tell Me Your Dreams is published and hits the New York Times Bestseller list.

1999 Sidney Sheldon honored with "Great Authors of the Twentieth Century" Stamp and it is declared Sidney Sheldon Day by Mayor of Beverly Hills

2000 The Sky is Falling published.

2004 Are You Afraid of the Dark? published.

2005 Sidney Sheldon's memoir, The Other Side of Me, is published.

2007 Sidney Sheldon passed away on January 30, 2007. His wife, Alexandra, was by his side.