Sidney Armus (December 19, 1924 – June 21, 2002) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Born in the Bronx, New York, he made his Broadway debut in the original production of the musical '' South Pacific'' in 1949. Prior to that he spent six months in England playing the role of "Stefanowski" in the London company of '' Mister Roberts'', which starred Tyrone Power. Armus appeared in many off-Broadway productions in New York before his debut. While studying with

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of ...

at the

Dramatic Workshop Dramatic Workshop was the name of a drama and acting school associated with the New School for Social Research in New York City. It was launched in 1940 by German expatriate stage director Erwin Piscator. Among the faculty were Lee Strasberg and Ste ...

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSSR ...

, he was seen in 'The Flies,' 'There is No End,' and 'Crew 55' (sourced from the original theatre program for 'South Pacific', 1949.) Sidney played the character of "Itchy" Flexner, the social director, in the Broadway production of the musical comedy ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

Peter Filichia Peter Filichia (born 1946) is the former New York-based theater critic for ''The Star-Ledger'' newspaper in Newark, New Jersey and New Jersey's television station News 12, as well as for ''The Asbury Park Press'' . In addition, Filichia has two ...

"Side by Side by Sidney Armus: Filichia re-encounters Sidney Armus, who no longer lives over a pretzel factory"
TheaterMania, January 16, 2002. which opened at the Imperial Theatre on June 25, 1952, and closed on November 28, 1953, after 598 performances. ''Wish You Were Here'' is a musical with a book by Arthur Kober and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. The musical was adapted from Kober's 1937 play, ''Having Wonderful Time'', and revolves around a summer camp for adults. Other Broadway productions Sidney appeared in on Broadway were "The Flowering Peach" (1954), "The Cold and the Warm" (1958) with Suzanne Pleshette and Maureen Stapleton, and "Harold" (1962). In films, Armus had memorable roles in ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite be ...

'', '' One Fine Day'', '' Postcards from the Edge'', and '' The Thomas Crown Affair''. In television he appeared on ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, it ...

'', and '' The Defenders'', as well as many 1950s early television dramas such as ''

Goodyear Playhouse ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Tel ...

'' and ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...

''. In the early 90s, Armus appeared in several ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' episodes playing various judges. In his later career he owned and operated Theatre 22, an

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

theater in New York City, where he directed plays. He died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

References

External links

* * * 1924 births 2002 deaths American male stage actors Entertainers from the Bronx 20th-century American male actors Male actors from New York City {{US-film-actor-1920s-stub