Two-Time Academy Award Nominated Actress Sylvia Miles Has Passed Away
CORRECTION, June 14, 2019: In an article on June 12, The Associated Press reported incorrectly the actress’ age and that she died in an ambulance on the way to a New York hospital. The AP issued a correction to the article stating that Miles’ niece and a longtime friend said she was 94, and her niece said she was declared dead while at the hospital. A corrected version of the story is below. We apologize to the family of Sylvia Miles and our readers for any confusion.
Sylvia Miles, the actress and socialite best known for her appearances in “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely,” passed away on June 12, 2019.
The Associated Press originally reported that the two-time Academy Award nominee died while in an ambulance on her way to the hospital. The article was later updated stating that Miles’ niece confirmed the actress had been declared dead while at the hospital.
Friend and fashion publicist Mauricio Padilha told the AP that Miles had complained to a health care provider in her New York home that she was not feeling well.
The cause of Miles’ sudden passing has not yet been released. Based on her IMDB biography, Miles was born on Sept. 9, 1924, which would make her 94 when she died.
Journalist Michael Musto was a friend of Miles and confirmed her death.
“She was one of my first celebrity interviews (in the 1970s) and was charismatic and career driven,” Musto said, according to Variety. “She’d run up to directors at Studio 54 and say ‘Hire me!’ She was very proud of her two Oscar nominations.”
My memories of Sylvia Miles. The good, the glamorous, and the slightly exasperating lol. RIP.https://t.co/NVMWH9vmh1
— michael musto (@mikeymusto) June 12, 2019
Musto noted on Twitter that he and Miles were preparing to appear in an indie film together. He referred to the actress as “the good, the glamorous, and the slightly exasperating.”
Another friend of Miles, actress Geraldine Smith, told Variety that Miles considered her friends in New York to be her family.
Smith also told Page Six that Miles had been in a nursing home for a time, but as her health began to deteriorate, the veteran actress decided to leave because “she didn’t want to die there.”
Two-time Oscar nominated actress and camp icon Sylvia Miles has died at 94. Her old pal Geraldine Smith told Page Six that Sylvia ‘didn’t want to die’ in her nursing home and left her facility before the end. https://t.co/mQxCpedU22 pic.twitter.com/mEaO3b1hxb
— ShowBizLondon celebs (@showbizlondon) June 12, 2019
“We went out for a big lunch to celebrate her coming home,” Smith told Page Six. “She was very excited and telling us to order whatever we wanted. ‘Order drinks; order desserts!’ We had a wonderful time.”
Smith added that “a part of New York has gone” with her friend’s passing.
Another brief but memorable credit to Miles’ acting career includes her role as Dolores, a spunky and feisty realtor in the film “Wall Street.”
Sylvia Miles, the actress nominated for two Academy Awards for her brief but unforgettable parts in “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely,” has died https://t.co/3OcUBdFDjW
— NYT Obituaries (@NYTObits) June 12, 2019
Her roles might have been “small,” but her big personality and distinguishable voice more than made up for what she lacked in screen time.
“She was pretty much the same person off screen as she was on screen,” Padilha told the AP. “She was quite a character.”
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