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Best-Selling Author, Sidney Sheldon Dies is dead

Sidney Sheldon, an Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter who went on to become one of the world's most prolific writer, died in California last night at the age of 89.
Sheldon died of complications related to pneumonia at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, near his Palm Springs home, according to his friend and publicist Warren Cowan.
An American icon in the 1970s with novels like "The Other Side of Midnight" and "Bloodline", Sheldon won a screenwriting Oscar, a Tony award and had created popular television series before starting he turned to writing his first novel at the age of 52. However, it was through the novels that he acquired his overriding fame.
He published 18 novels and sold 300 million copies, making him a paperback stand staple for decades. He also wrote for television, creating the hit series "I dream of Jeannie".
He was one of the world's most translated authors, selling more than 300 million books in 180 countries. They were printed in 71 languages, which won him a listing in the "The Guinness Book of Records" as "the world's most translated author."
Sheldon’s second novel, The Other Side of Midnight Sheldon helped him break into the blockbuster ranks. Published in 1974 and made into a motion picture, the novel remained on The New York Times bestseller list for 53 weeks -- a record at the time.
But before his career in fiction took off after turning 50, Sheldon had made his mark in Hollywood movies and television and in Broadway Theater. The Chicago native won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1947 for 'The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer' starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy.
Sheldon is survived by his third wife, Alexandra, a daughter, Mary and a brother Richard. Details of funeral arrangements have not been made known.