Novelist Sidney Sheldon dies at 89

Sidney Sheldon, 89, a writer whose keen grasp of popular tastes fueled a string of feverishly romantic and suspenseful books that made him a perennial best-seller, died yesterday.

Mr. Sheldon died of pneumonia at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to his friend and publicist, Warren Cowan.

A multifaceted writer, Mr. Sheldon won a screenwriting Oscar, a Tony award and had created popular television sitcoms before starting his first novel at age 52. But it was through the novels that he gained his overriding fame.

His books usually revolved around characters of great wealth, beauty, brilliance and bedroom prowess - none of which protected them from infidelity, betrayal and indiscretion. His protagonists usually were women, and his plots were so artfully constructed that his books are the very definition of a page-turner.

With his second novel, The Other Side of Midnight (1974), Mr. Sheldon broke into the blockbuster ranks; the book remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 53 weeks, a record at the time.

About half of his 18 novels - with such titles as Rage of Angels (1980) and Memories of Midnight (1990) - were turned into television movies or miniseries.

Some critics said his dialogue was banal and his plots were unbelievable, but many grudgingly acknowledged the author's unusual talent at producing what the Washington Post once called "good junk reading time after time."

For his part, Mr. Sheldon said: "I don't write for critics. I write for readers."

After a brief first marriage, Mr. Sheldon was married to his second wife, Jorja Curtright, for 33 years; she died in 1985 of a heart attack. In 1989, he married Alexandra Kostoff. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter from his first marriage, novelist Mary Sheldon, and a brother, Richard.

Services will be private.