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, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los A ...

'' (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 Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. 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 (; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent. Biography Bolm graduated from the Russian Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg in 1904 ...

. When Bolm was asked to choreograph '' The Corsican Brothers'' (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. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, 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 editor of a fashion magazine who is undergoing p ...

'' (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, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

'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 so ...

). 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 actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

'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 the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, (presumably organized by her agent Arthur Pine, 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 ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' 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, website, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original proper ...

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 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 An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

which aired on September 25, 1950, on ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...

''. 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 began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show ...

and

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British-born actor. Young is best known for portraying Wilbur Post in the television comedy '' Mister Ed'' (1961–1966) and voicing Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over ...

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

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

'' 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 We ...

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''. (The last credited member of the cast to pass away was

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 rol ...

who 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 Actors from Galveston, Texas 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women