Sonia Darrin (born Sonia Paskowitz; June 16, 1924 – July 19, 2020) was an American film actress, best known for her role as Agnes Lowzier in ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, The Big Sleep (1946 film), in 1946 and again The Big Sleep ...

'' (1946).

Early years

Darrin was born to Louis and Rose Paskowitz, the New York-born off-spring of Jewish emigrants from Russia, who lived in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

. She had two brothers, Adrian and Dorian. Her father operated a clothing store in Galveston. Around 1940, the family moved to Los Angeles, California.

Career

The family lived in San Diego for a period, during which her dancing teacher was

Adolph Bolm Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent. Biography Bolm graduated from the Rus ...

. When Bolm was asked to choreograph ''

The Corsican Brothers ''The Corsican Brothers'' (french: Les Frères corses) is a novella by Alexandre Dumas, père, first published in 1844. It is the story of two conjoined brothers who, though separated at birth, can still feel each other's physical distress. It h ...

'' (1941), he used the entire class. This led Darrin to be interviewed by

LeRoy Prinz LeRoy Jerome Prinz (July 14, 1895 – September 15, 1983) was an American choreographer, director and producer, who was involved in the production of dozens of motion pictures, mainly for Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers, from 1929 through ...

, the dancing director at

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

, leading to a small role in '' The Hard Way'' (1943). She also danced in the film ''

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fictional fashion magazine who ...

'' (1944). Darrin's best known role was that of ''femme fatale'' Agnes Lowzier in

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

's film ''

'' (1946), in which she plays a paramour of minor Los Angeles gangster Joe Brody (played by

Louis Jean Heydt Louis Jean Heydt (April 17, 1903 – January 29, 1960) was an American character actor in film, television and theatre, most frequently seen in hapless, ineffectual, or fall guy roles. Early life Heydt was born in 1903 (not 1905, as many sour ...

). Notwithstanding several scenes in which Agnes trades quips with

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

's character, Darrin received no onscreen credit for her work in ''The Big Sleep''; this despite the fact that she had already been credited by ''The New York Times'' in a captioned promotional photo published five days before the film 's opening, and had been the guest of honor at a promotional event held on August 14 at the Pelham Heath Inn in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, (presumably organized by her agent

Arthur Pine Arthur Pine (born Arthur Pincus; April 20, 1917 – October 26, 2000) was an American publicist, literary agent, self-help author, composer and playwright. He is also widely credited as the man behind the initial incarnation of Citizenship Day ...

, who also represented the venue). Darrin learned years later that this snub had resulted from a heated dispute between Pine and studio chief Jack Warner. On October 18, less than 2 months after the film's premiere, the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' reported that Darrin and Pine had collaborated on an unofficial ''Big Sleep''

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

song, which was set to premiere the following day on a live broadcast on WOR.Gross, Ben (October 18, 1946
"Listening In"
''New York Daily News''. Retrieved September 14, 2020. Pine's best efforts notwithstanding, neither this broadcast nor the August 14 dinner appears to have had any appreciable effect on Darrin's ongoing lack of recognition. Several years later, Darrin did finally receive an onscreen credit for her signature performance, when she recreated the role of Agnes in a television adaptation which aired on September 25, 1950, on ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

''. She also worked with

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

and

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...

on their early television programs.

Personal life

All three of Darrin's marriages ended via either annulment or divorce: the first, to dentist Sidney Sircus, lasted 19 months. She later wed plastic surgeon Jacob Aronoff—the father of her three eldest children (two sons and a daughter)—and theatrical designer/marketing services company president William "Bill" Reese, with whom she parented the former child actor

Mason Reese Mason Reese is an American former child actor and restaurant entrepreneur who appeared in numerous television commercials in the 1970s, including Underwood Deviled Ham, Ivory Snow, Dunkin' Donuts, and Post Raisin Bran. Early life and acting car ...

. Darrin's final two public appearances were on ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...

'' in the 1970s (as Sonia Reese), and in a documentary film about her brother, Dorian, in 2007. She resided on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

of Manhattan for over 50 years. Darrin died of natural causes in New York City on July 19, 2020, at the age of 96. She was the last surviving cast member of ''The Big Sleep'' after

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting role ...

died in January 2018.

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darrin, Sonia 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from San Diego American film actresses American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American actresses Paskowitz family People from Galveston, Texas 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women