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Sylvia Miles(1924-2019)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
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Sylvia Miles
A definitive documentary on the history of nudity in the movies, beginning with the silent movie era through present day, examining the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped this rich history.

Skin delves into the gender bias concerning nudity in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has pushed for gender equality in feature films today. A deep discussion of pre-code Hollywood and its amoral roots, the censorship that cleaned up Hollywood and how the MPAA was formed leads into a discussion of how nudity changed cinematic culture through the decades. It culminates in a discussion of what are nude scenes like in the age of the #METOO movement?

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Pam Grier, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Smith, Sean Young, Peter Bogdanovich, Amy Heckerling Traci Lords, Mariel Hemingway, Bruce Davison

Available Everywhere on Digital/VOD, August 18, 2020
Play trailer1:47
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies (2020)
5 Videos
28 Photos
Sylvia Miles was an American actress, born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City. She was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, without ever winning the Award.

Miles was born under the name "Sylvia Scheinwald". Her parents were furniture maker Reuben Scheinwald and his wife Belle Feldman. Miles attended Washington Irving High School, located in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. She received her acting education at the Actors Studio, located the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.

Miles made her theatrical debut in 1947, at the age of 23. She started appearing on television in 1954. Her film debut was the gangster film "Murder, Inc." (1960), dramatizing the career of an organized crime group active from c. 1930 to 1940. The real-life group were enforcers for the National Crime Syndicate, a loose confederation of American crime organizations.

Subsequent film appearances for Miles included the generation-gap themed drama "Parrish" (1961), the serial-killed themed horror film "Violent Midnight" (1963), and the child-labor themed drama "Pie in the Sky" (1964), Meanwhile, Miles lost a chance at television fame, when playing the character of comedy writer Sally Rogers in the 1960 pilot episode "Head of the Family". The pilot was the basis of the popular television show "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966), and Sally Rogers was part of the main cast. But in the regular series, Miles was replaced by fellow actress Rose Marie (1923-2017).

Miles had a scene-stealing performance in her next film project, "Midnight Cowboy" (1969). She played Cass, an aging kept woman, who invites Joe Buck (played by Jon Voight) to her apartment for sex. The role allowed Miles to Show off her "voluptuous figure" and overall sex-appeal. For this role, she received her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The award was instead won by rival actress Goldie Hawn (1945-).

Miles subsequent films included the meta-fictional drama "The Last Movie" (1971), the mystery film "Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?" (1971), and the seduction-themed comedy-drama "Heat" (1972). Her most notable role at the time was that of Jessie Halstead Florian in the crime thriller "Farewell, My Lovely". The film was the second film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1940 novel, and depicted private detective Philip Marlowe working in a missing-person case. For her role in the film Miles received her second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The award was instead won by rival actress Lee Grant (c. 1925-).

Miles subsequent films films included the rivalry-themed drama "92 in the Shade" (1975), the period comedy "The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday" (1976), the supernatural horror film "The Sentinel" (1977), the repossession-themed comedy "Zero to Sixty" (1978), and the heist film "Shalimar".

The 1980s opened with Miles playing murdered prostitute Madame Zena in the horror film "The Funhouse" (1981), with the murder setting off the film's main plot. She next played theatrical producer Myra Gardener in the mystery film "Evil Under the Sun" (1982). The film was an adaptation of the 1941 novel by Agatha Christie, and featured Myra as one on the film's murder suspects.

Miles' next few films included hospital-themed comedy "Critical Condition" (1987), the fairy-tale themed fantasy film "Sleeping Beauty" (1987), the romantic comedy "Crossing Delancey" (1988), the mafia-themed comedy-drama "Spike of Bensonhurst" (1988), and the revenge-themed black comedy "She-Devil" (1989). Her most notable role in this period was that of Dolores the Realtor in the corporate-raider themed drama "Wall Street" (1987), a box office hit of the time.

Miles' career slowed down in the 1990s, in part due to her increasingly poor health. She was suffering from anemia and respiratory issues. Her next few films included the friendship-themed comedy "Denise Calls Up" (1995), the marijuana-themed comedy "High Times' Potluck" (2002), and the strip-club themed comedy "Go Go Tales" (2007).

Miles returned to the role Dolores the Realtor in the sequel film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" (2010). It was her last notable film role. She spend the last months of her life in a nursing home, and died during her transportation to a hospital in 2019. She was 94-years-old, one of the oldest living actresses at the time.
BornSeptember 9, 1924
DiedJune 12, 2019(94)
BornSeptember 9, 1924
DiedJune 12, 2019(94)
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  • Nominated for 2 Oscars

Photos28

Joe Dallesandro and Sylvia Miles in Heat (1972)
Beverly D'Angelo and Sylvia Miles in The Sentinel (1977)
Meryl Streep and Sylvia Miles in She-Devil (1989)
Meryl Streep and Sylvia Miles in She-Devil (1989)
Rachel Ticotin, Bob Dishy, and Sylvia Miles in Critical Condition (1987)
Sylvia Miles in Critical Condition (1987)
Director Alison Thompson with Actors Kim Chan, Sylvia Miles and Frank Gorshin.
Rex Harrison, Dharmendra, Shammi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman, Sylvia Miles, and John Saxon in Shalimar (1978)
Sylvia Miles at an event for Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Sylvia Miles at an event for The Lovely Bones (2009)
Sylvia Miles at an event for Becoming Jane (2007)
Sylvia Miles and Celia Weston at an event for Becoming Jane (2007)

Known for

Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Midnight Cowboy
7.8
  • Cass
  • 1969
Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, and Daryl Hannah in Wall Street (1987)
Wall Street
7.3
  • Dolores the Realtor
  • 1987
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Evil Under the Sun
7.0
  • Myra Gardener
  • 1982
The Funhouse (1981)
The Funhouse
5.9
  • Madame Zena
  • 1981

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Japanese Borscht (2019)
    Japanese Borscht
  • Old Monster (2013)
    Old Monster
  • Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
    Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
  • Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Michael Imperioli, and Jason O'Mara in Life on Mars (2008)
    Life on Mars
  • Go Go Tales (2007)
    Go Go Tales
  • High Times Potluck (2002)
    High Times Potluck
  • Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon in Sex and the City (1998)
    Sex and the City
  • The Boys Behind the Desk
  • Leslie France in Confessions of a Florist (2003)
    Confessions of a Florist
  • Kristen Alderson, Kassie Wesley DePaiva, Erika Slezak, Trevor St. John, and John-Paul Lavoisier in One Life to Live (1968)
    One Life to Live
  • Denise Calls Up (1995)
    Denise Calls Up
  • Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr in She-Devil (1989)
    She-Devil
  • Tattinger's (1988)
    Tattinger's
  • Sasha Mitchell in Spike of Bensonhurst (1988)
    Spike of Bensonhurst
  • Crossing Delancey (1988)
    Crossing Delancey

Soundtrack

  • Go Go Tales (2007)
    Go Go Tales
    • ("Bed, Bath and Beyond")

Videos6

Con Artist
Full Movie 16:08
Con Artist
Trailer
Trailer 2:06
Trailer
Farewell, My Lovely
Trailer 2:29
Farewell, My Lovely
The Funhouse: Collector's Edition [Blu-Ray]
Trailer 1:29
The Funhouse: Collector's Edition [Blu-Ray]
High Times' Potluck
Trailer 1:49
High Times' Potluck
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies
Trailer 1:47
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies

Personal details

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    • September 9, 1924
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • June 12, 2019
    • Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(respiratory failure)
    • Ted BrownSeptember 4, 1963 - 1970 (divorced)
  • Stage: Appeared in Tennessee Williams' play "Vieux Carre," at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, England, with Karl Johnson, Di Trevis, Rich Kane, Betty Hardy, Jonathan Kent and directed by Keith Hack.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article
    • 2 Pictorials

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Infamous for dumping a plate predominantly of steak tartare (as well as potato salad, pâté and Brie cheese, not pasta which has largely been incorrectly reported) on the head of dyspeptic theater critic John Simon of New York magazine in The Ginger Man, a New York City restaurant, after he gave her a nasty, scathing review in a 1973 play and labelled her as 'one of New York's leading party girls and gate-crashers'.
  • Quotes
    People will come and go, but theatrical memorabilia will never let you down as long as you keep it in clear plastic.

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