Sydney Omarr, born Sidney Kimmelman on 5 August 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [1] was an American astrologer and an astrology consultant to the rich and famous. His daily Sun Sign Horoscope column appeared in more than 200 newspapers and his annual forecast books for each sign of the zodiac sold over 50 million copies.[2]
Contents |
1 Early Life
2 Career as Writer and Media Astrologer
3 Celebrity Status
4 Later Years
5 Interesting Facts
6 Bibliography
7 References
8 External links
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Early Life
Omarr was born into a modest Jewish background, being the son of a grocer and a housewife. At grade school, he was performing sleight of hand tricks in magic shops and local talent shows. He regarded numerology as his first love, and wrote a few books, including Thought Dial, on the topic, but was unable to earn a living as a numerologist so he pursued a similar natural inclination to astrology.[2]
He decided to change his name when aged 15, he saw a movie called "Shanghai Gesture" starring Victor Mature as a character named Omar, with one "r." To optimize his chance for success he followed numerological formulas to change the "i" to "y" in his first name and added a second "r" to his adopted last name, Omarr.[2]
At the age of 17, Omarr enlisted in the Army and was sent to Okinawa during World War II. Here he was able to specialize in astrology and his weekly Armed Forces Radio Program "Sydney Omarr's Almanac", broadcast throughout the Pacific Theatre predicted the outcomes of professional boxing matches and horse races.[3] He wrote the horoscope column for the U.S. Army's Stars and Stripes Newspaper, and he believed his private horoscope work for US President Franklin D. Roosevelt won him that position.[citation needed]
Career as Writer and Media Astrologer
When Omarr completed his stint in the Army, he studied journalism at Mexico City College. He went on to become a reporter for the United Press and a radio news director and editor for CBS Hollywood.[1] Benson Srere, who worked with Omarr at the United Press news service in the early 1950s, said Omarr was valued by his readers "not because they believe every word he wrote, but because it always contained threads of hope and encouragement."[2]
Omarr's first book was entitled Sydney Omarr's Private Course on Numerology, which he self-published and sold for $2.00. While he wrote numerous books on the subject of astrology, including My World of Astrology and his autobiography Answer in the Sky, he is probably the most widely known for his books on the popular sun sign astrology. This entailed a daily Sun Sign Horoscope column which appeared in more than 200 daily newspapers[4] of the Los Angeles Times syndicate. Each year Omarr wrote 12 annual forecasts - one for each sign of the zodiac and one overall book. These popular titles sold 50 million copies.[2]
Toward the end of his life, Omarr wrote a series of astrological guides published by Penguin, called Sydney Omarr's Day-By-Day Astrological Guide. While he authored the books up until his death, his protégés have taken over the work, and Signet continued to publish the series. For his Los Angeles Times syndicate columns, he wrote each and every daily horoscope column personally, usually three weeks in advance.[citation needed]
He believed he had been an astrologer in many previous lifetimes, and he was able to do full planetary horoscopes in his head when given an individual's birth coordinates and birth time.
Celebrity Status
By the 1970s, Omarr appeared on various radio and television shows including Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Johnny Carson, Regis Philbin and Tom Snyder.[2] He became friends with movie actresses like Kim Novak, Mae West and Rita Hayworth[2] and the walls of his Westside appartment were covered with framed photographs of him with celebrities such as Angie Dickinson, Jayne Mansfield, Aldous Huxley and Henry Miller. In 1966 he was married for eight months to Jeraldine Saunders,[1] a former model, cruise director, and the creator of the Love Boat concept for ABC Television.[5]
Later Years
In 1971 Omarr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and as the disease slowly eroded his body he lost his sight in the early 1990s and became paralyzed from the neck down. He continued to work long hours and dictated his column to an assistant. Sydney Omarr died on 2 January 2003 at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California of a heart attack. His ex-wife and several friends were by his side.[2]
Interesting Facts
- Omarr is mentioned in Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel Inherent Vice.[6]
- Omarr was born at 10:27 am on Aug.5, 1926 in Philadelphia with the Sun, Mercury and Neptune in Leo and Libra rising on the ascendant.[2]
- Playboy termed Omarr Mr Astrology.[1]
Bibliography
- Sydney Omarr's Astrology, Love, Sex, and You (2002) Signet. ISBN 978-0451206930
- My World of Astrology (1982) Wilshire Book Co. ISBN 978-0879801038
- Sydney Omarr's New Millennium Guide (1999 2nd edition) Signet ISBN 978-0451198297
- Sydney Omarr's Astrological Revelations about you Paperback: (1999) Llewellyn Publications ISBN 978-1567185041
- Sydney Omarr's Astrological Guide to Love & Romance (1999)
References
- ^ a b c d Martin, Douglas (2003/01/04). "Sydney Omarr Dies at 76; Popular Astrologer and Leo". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sahagun, Louis (January 03, 2003). "Sydney Omarr, 76; Astrologer to Stars Wrote World's Best-Read Horoscopes". LA Times (Los Angeles, CA). Retrieved November 2012.
- ^ "Celebrity astrologer Sydney Omarr dies at 76". The Post and Courier. January 4 2003. Retrieved 4-01-2003.
- ^ "Famed astrologer dead at 76". Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago): pp. 6. January 4, 2003. "Astrologer Sydney Omarr, whose column appeared in the Sun-Times for 32 years ..."
- ^ The Love Boat Lady: The authorized real life story of Jeraldine Saunders. Glendale, CA: Auld Shamrock Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1475079647.
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^ Pynchon, Thomas (2009) Inherent Vice Penguin Group: US, p.34 ISBN 9781101594674
External links
- Astrology's Memorial to Sydney Omarr and His Work
- Celebrity astrologer Sydney Omarr dies at 76 (January 4 2003) The Post and Courier (Associated Press)
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