Ed Sikov (born 1957,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) is an American film scholar and author. His books include ''Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

'' (published in 2002), ''On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

'' (published in 1998), and ''Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedies of the 1950s'' (published in 1994).

Early life

Sikov was born in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, majored in English at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

, and has a PhD from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

; Sikov has since written eloquently of the difficulties he experienced as a gay student in the 1970s. He has lived in New York City since 1979, and currently resides with his husband, Bruce Schackman.

Publishings

Sikov's most recent book is a textbook – ''Film Studies: An Introduction''; before that was ''Dark Victory: The Life of

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

'' (Henry Holt, 2007). He recorded a

commentary track An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

for the Special Collector's Edition DVD of Billy Wilder's ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

'', and is often called upon as a film expert for articles and documentaries, such as the 10-part ''American Cinema'' series produced by the New York Center for Visual History in association with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. He has also written for the British and US editions of ''

Premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

'' magazine as well as for ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'', ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'', ''Connoisseur'', '' Spy'', ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' and ''

Film Quarterly ''Film Quarterly'' (FQ), published by University of California Press, is a journal devoted to the study of film, television, and visual media. When FQ was launched in 1945 (then called ''Hollywood Quarterly''), it was considered "the first serious ...

''. Critical reception to Sikov's books has been appreciative: film historian Jeanine Basinger finds him "a caring biographer" who is exhaustive in his research; his writing has been noted for its unsentimental tone and detailed scholarship. While taking issue with his style, film critic Rex Reed has acknowledged Sikov's accuracy and refusal to "whitewash" facts. Sikov has taught

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

at several colleges and universities, including

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

and his alma maters

and Haverford College. A course he taught at Haverford between 1995 and 2005, ''Sex and Gender on Film'', earned notice as "one of the most popular courses" at that institution. Sikov's contributions as an author and teacher have been curtailed by the onset of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He stopped writing the ''Media Circus'' column in the New York-based Gay City News in early 2020.

Works

*''Film Studies: An Introduction'' *''Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis'' *''On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder'' *''Mr Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers'' *''Screwball: Hollywood's Madcap Romantic Comedies'' *''Laughing Hysterically: American Screen Comedy of the 1950s'' *''American Cinema Study Guide'' *(included in) ''Boys Like Us'', anthology *(included in) ''Friends and Lovers'', anthology

References

External links

Ed Sikov website

Media Circus archive, ''Gay City News''

Interview at NPR

* ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110801971.html What a Bumpy Ride. ''The Washington Post'', November 11, 2007
Dark Victory: The Life of Bette Davis by Ed Sikov. ''The Sunday Times'', November 4, 2007

* ttps://www.theguardian.com/education/2002/oct/05/highereducation.biography Here, there and everywhere. ''The Guardian'', Saturday 5 October 2002
On Sunset Boulevard The Life and Times of Billy Wilder. ''Entertainment Weekly'', December 23, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikov, Ed 1957 births Living people People from Harrison Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers Colorado College faculty Columbia University alumni American gay writers Haverford College alumni LGBTQ people from New York (state) LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania Writers from New York City Writers from Pennsylvania People with Parkinson's disease 20th-century American male writers Columbia University faculty Haverford College faculty