Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), which earned him an Oscar in 1948.

His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70), and Hart to Hart (1979–84). It was not until after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973), and Rage of Angels (1980) that he became most famous.

Sheldon's novels have sold over 300 million copies in 51 languages, making him consistently cited as one of the top ten best-selling fiction writers of all time.