The Return of the Classic Films Obituary Thread

[CBHagman]

38. Actress Sylvia Syms, 89

Now this is a thought-provoking obituary. Much of it is devoted to exploring the plot and real-life repercussions of 1961 Sylvia Syms film sometimes shown on TCM, Victim, which was one of the earliest movies to deal with the criminalization of homosexuality. But there's also a lot on Sylvia Syms' life experiences and her wide-ranging career. She'd probably fit right in on DU.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/01/28/sylvia-syms-actress-dies/

Sylvia May Laura Syms was born Jan. 6, 1934, in London, where her father was a trade union leader and passed along to her a lifelong loyalty to the Labour Party and the rights of workers.

As a child, Ms. Syms and her siblings were evacuated from London during the German airstrikes in World War II. Her mother stayed behind in the city as an auxiliary nurse and suffered a head injury during a bombing raid. She died in 1946, leaving Ms. Syms emotionally scarred and “near breakdown,” by her own account.

In 1953, Ms. Syms graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts with a special award that paved the way for immediate stage and screen work. In her London theater debut, George Bernard Shaw’s “The Apple Cart,” she had a small role in 1954 alongside star Noel Coward. He once asked her to lunch at the Savoy Hotel because, she said, he liked her hat. “It was the first posh restaurant I have ever been to,” Ms. Syms recalled.

IMDB credits:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843401/