Sidney Fox

Sidney Fox (born Sarah Liefer; December 10, 1907 – November 15, 1942) was an American stage and film actress in the late 1920s and 1930s.Sidney Fox Beaha's age in some records is given as 30 or 31 when she died, including in the registry for "California Death Records" and in her obituaries in 1942. However, her gravestone in New York, which is inscribed in both Hebrew and English, is dedicated to "Our Daughter" and documents her "Age 34 Years" on the day of her death. United States census records confirm that age and also document that Sadie (later Sidney) Liefer Fox was born in 1907 in Eastern Europe, with the 1920 census citing "Austria"; but in the updated census of 1930, "Austria" is crossed out, and the birthplace for Sidney, her father, and mother is specifically cited as "Poland-Galicia". Those records also confirm that Sadie (Sidney) in 1911 immigrated with her parents to the United States, where they initially resided in either New York City or northern New Jersey. See reference citations under "Early life"."The Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930"
Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce; digital copy of original enumeration page including Sidney "Liefer" Fox's family, New York City, April 3, 1930. FamilySearch, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Fox's Hollywood film debut was in Universal Pictures' 1931 production '' Bad Sister'', which is notable for also being the first film of legendary actress Bette Davis.

Early life

Sarah Liefer was born in 1907 in "Poland-Galicia". In 1911, Sidney emigrated with her Jewish parents—Rucha Rose (née Szapiro) and Jacob Liefer—to New York, where by 1920 her mother had remarried. Rose's second husband was Joseph Fox, who identified himself in government records as a Yiddish-speaking native of Poland. After her mother's marriage to Fox, Sidney adopted her step-father's surname, although the federal census of 1930 shows her younger brother Samuel continued to use his given last name, Liefer, in the Fox household. The census documents that in April that year, 22-year-old Sidney was living with her mother and stepfather on the 500 block of West 178th Street in Manhattan, along with Samuel and their two stepbrothers. Sidney identified herself then professionally as a stenographer, while during any spare time, she was busy pursuing roles in stage productions. Additional sources regarding Fox's early life indicate she was employed in an array of other jobs as well, including work as a seamstress, a secretary in a law firm, and as a model or "mannequin" in a shop on Fifth Avenue.

Stage and film career

By the late 1920s, Fox had begun studying acting to establish a stage or film career. She temporarily joined a touring theatrical company around 1928, and within a year, she was performing on Broadway. She had a role in ''It Never Rains'' in 1929, and the next year, she portrayed the character Rhoda Wampas in the comedy ''Lost Sheep''. In May 1930, the theatre critic for ''Variety'' gave ''Lost Sheep'' a lukewarm review but complimented Fox's energetic performance in the play, noting "That little cutie Sidney Fox, who first came out in ''It Never Rains,'' pleased again with her Rhoda." Someone else in the audience was impressed with Fox, Carl Laemmle Jr., then head of production at Universal Studios."Sidney Fox"
obituary, ''Variety'', November 18, 1942, p. 54, col. 2. Internet Archive. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Laemmle soon signed her to a multi-year contract with the Hollywood film company.

Fox made her film debut in the 1931 Hobart Henley drama '' Bad Sister'', playing opposite Conrad Nagel, Humphrey Bogart, Zasu Pitts, and Bette Davis, who was making her movie debut as well. In 1931, Sidney was selected by motion picture advertisers as a WAMPAS Baby Star, recognizing her as one of the film industry's most promising new actresses. The next year, she starred as Madamoiselle Camille L'Espanaye in the Robert Florey film ''Murders in the Rue Morgue'' opposite Bela Lugosi. Then, in 1933, she played opposite operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin in the English-language version of ''Don Quixote''. Many of her subsequent roles were bit parts in B-movies, although she did have a starring role in the 1935 release ''School for Girls''.

Personal life and death

Fox's relationship with studio executive Carl Laemmle Jr. as his mistress was one of Hollywood's open secrets for several years. In December 1932, however, she wed Charles Beahan (1903–1968), and they remained married until her death. By 1940, according to that year's federal census, Charles and Sidney Beahan were residing together in a $125-a-month rented home at 9421 Charleville Drive in Beverly Hills, California."Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940"
Beverly Hills City, Los Angeles County, California, April 12, 1940. FamilySearch. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Fox is listed in that census as having no occupation and "not seeking employment" in 1940, and Beahan is documented as being employed as a "Literary Agent/Stage & Motion Pic ure".

Two years later, on November 15, 1942, Fox died in Hollywood from an overdose of sleeping pills that authorities ruled "an accident". ''Variety'' announced her passing before this ruling in its issue of November 18. In the paper's brief obituary, Fox's given age, and the date of her death differ from those documented in official government records and on her gravestone in New York:

When Sidney died, Charles was reported to live at 519 North Crescent Drive in Beverly Hills. Following the coroner's investigation of her death, her body was returned to New York City and interred at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, Queens.

Filmography

Sidney Fox's final work of her film career consisted of last-minute retakes she performed in early August 1934 to complete the production of the musical comedy ''Down to Their Last Yacht'' before its release on August 31, 1934."Down to Their Last Yacht (1934)"
production and release details, American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Another film in which she starred, ''School for Girls'', was completed before ''Down to Their Last Yacht'', but this dramatic film was not released in the United States until February 19, 1935."School for Girls (1935)"
production and release details, AFI. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Therefore, ''Down to Their Last Yacht'' includes Fox's final performance on film, but ''School for Girls'' is her final film to be released.

See also

*List of unsolved deaths

References

External links

*

Sidney Fox – Broadway Cast & Staff , IBDB

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Sidney
1907 births
1942 deaths
20th-century American actresses
Accidental deaths in California
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American stage actresses
Drug-related deaths in California
Jewish American actresses
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
WAMPAS Baby Stars
20th-century American Jews