Sidney Franklin (born Sidney Frumkin; 11 July 1903 – 26 April 1976) was the first American to become a successful

matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

, the most senior level of

bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

Biography

Sidney Franklin was born in Brooklyn, New York to Orthodox Jewish parents. In 1922, he traveled to Mexico City, where he began a career in bullfighting. He fought bulls in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama. In ''

Death in the Afternoon ''Death in the Afternoon'' is a non-fiction book written by Ernest Hemingway about the ceremony and traditions of Spanish bullfighting, published in 1932. The book provides a look at the history and the Spanish traditions of bullfighting. It al ...

'',

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

wrote:

Franklin is brave with a cold, serene and intelligent valor but instead of being awkward and ignorant he is one of the most skillful, graceful and slow manipulators of a cape fighting today. His repertoire with the cape is enormous but he does not attempt by a varied repertoire to escape from the performance of the veronica as the base of his cape work and his veronicas are classical, very emotional, and beautifully timed and executed. You will find no Spaniard who ever saw him fight who will deny his artistry and excellence with the cape.

And later Hemingway adds,

He is a better, more scientific, more intelligent, and more finished matador than all but about six of the full matadors in Spain today and the bullfighters know it and have the utmost respect for him.

Franklin appeared in a few films in the USA and Mexico. Later he presented bullfights on American TV. He wrote an autobiography, ''Bullfighter from Brooklyn'', and was a close friend of the American actor and legend James Dean, who was a big fan of the art of bullfighting. He died at home in 1976, age 72, of natural causes. He was gay, his sexual identity having been an open secret among those who knew him, but remaining unknown to the public.

Influence

According to A.E. Hotchner, " Lillian Ross's career with ''The New Yorker'' was founded on the success of her profile of the bullfighter Sidney Franklin." – ''Papa Hemingway'', A.E. Hotchner, 1955.

Partial filmography

*''

The Kid from Spain ''The Kid from Spain'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Leo McCarey. Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar composed the songs, and Busby Berkeley is credited with creating and directing the film's musical scenes. It was Jane Wyman's film debut ...

'' (1932)

References

*Franklin, Sidney (1952) ''Bullfighter from Brooklyn''. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc. *Paul, Bart (2009). ''Double-Edged Sword: The Many Lives of Hemingway's Friend, the American Matador Sidney Franklin''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. *"Sidney Franklin: Bullfighter from Flatbush" http://www.jewsinsports.org/Publication.asp?titleID=3¤t_page=375
Sidney Franklin Collection.
P-894; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. *"Yanqui Matador"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Sidney 1903 births 1976 deaths American bullfighters Jewish American sportspeople People from Brooklyn Vaudeville performers LGBT Jews American LGBT sportspeople Gay sportsmen LGBT bullfighters 20th-century American Jews 20th-century LGBT people