Miles was a fixture in New York City society, having lived there her entire life. She performed in many Off-Broadway shows, including starring in a one-woman musical based on her life, titled It's Me, Sylvia! in 1981.[2] A documentary about her life titled I Was Always Sylvia aired on New York City public television channel WNET as part of The 51st State series.[3][4]
In the early 1960s, she played the role of Sally Rogers in the pilot episode of what would become The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was later taken by Rose Marie for the series.[2] Her early television work included appearances in three episodes of Naked City (TV series) and two episodes of Route 66 (TV series) (cf. as Red in "The Thin White Line," Route 66, S2E11). She appeared Off-Broadway in “Ruthless!” The Musical (1992) at the Players Theatre, NYC, playing Sylvia St. Croix (originally played by Joel Vig in drag); she was one of the few females to play the role. She appeared on Broadway in two productions, most notably the 1976 revival of The Night of the Iguana.[9]
Miles was cast in the film Midnight Cowboy (1969) as an aging Park Avenue kept-woman, who invites Joe Buck (Jon Voight) up to her penthouse apartment for sex—another role in which Miles showed off her voluptuous figure.[10][8] The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, although she appeared on-screen for about six minutes.[11][8] She received a second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her slightly larger role (eight minutes) in Farewell, My Lovely (1975).[2]
In 1975, Miles complained about being typecast as a prostitute in almost all of her then 14 movies and 26 off-Broadway plays to date. "Do I look like a prostitute? What does a hooker look like, anyway? Me?"[18]
In a New York restaurant in 1973, Miles publicly dumped a plate of food onto critic John Simon's head for his negative comments about her in a review of a play she starred in.[19]
Wayland Flowers and his puppet Madame first uttered the widely quoted line, "Sylvia Miles and Andy Warhol would attend the opening of an envelope".[8] In 1976, People magazine repeated the joke in the article "What Would a Manhattan Party Be Without the Ubiquitous Sylvia Miles?" without citing a source.[5][20]
Personal life
In 1948, Miles married William Myers, but the couple divorced two years later.[8] From 1952 to 1958, she was married to Gerald Price.[8] From 1963 to 1970, she was married to radio disc jockey Ted Brown.[8] Brown cited Miles' lack of desire to have children as the main cause for their divorce.[7]
Death
Miles died on June 12, 2019, while en route to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan at the age of 94.[8][21] She had been in declining health in recent years and was in nursing home care in her final months.[10] During Miles' final years she was suffering from anemia and respiratory issues.[6]