Sidney Kingsley (b. October 22, 1906, d. March 20, 1995) was an American dramatist and playwright, whose works are little-discussed but massively influential.
Kingsley specialized in meticulously researched dramas about high-intensity jobs and situations such as medicine, government, and law enforcement, into which he also incorporated progressive social commentary. His first play, the medical drama Men in White, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1933. This and his later works The Patriots, Detective Story, and Dead End would influence dozens of police and medical procedurals on film and TV.
In 1951 Kingsley was placed on the The Hollywood Blacklist, perhaps explaining why his output as a playwright diminished after that time. He was, however, later elected President of the Director's Guild of America in 1968.
Works written by Sidney Kingsley include:
- Men in White (1933)
- Dead End (1935)
- Ten Million Ghosts (1936)
- The World We Make (1939)
- The Patriots (1943)
- Detective Story (1949)
- Darkness at Noon (1951)
- Lunatics and Lovers (1954)
- Night Life (1962)
