Sonia Darrin

Sonia Darrin (born Sonia Paskowitz; June 16, 1924 – July 19, 2020) was an American film actress, best known as Agnes Lowzier in The Big Sleep (1946).[1]

Sonia Darrin
Darrin is second from the left in still from The Big Sleep (1946)
Born	Sonia Paskowitz (1924-06-16)June 16, 1924 Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Died	July 19, 2020(2020-07-19) (aged 96) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1941–1970s
Spouse(s)	William Reese
Children	4 (including Mason Reese)

Early years

Darrin was born to Louis and Rose Paskowitz, the New York-born off-spring of Jewish emigrants from Russia, who lived in Galveston, Texas.[2] She had two brothers, Adrian and Dorian.[3] Her father operated a clothing store in Galveston. Around 1940, the family moved to Los Angeles, California.[4]

Career

The family lived in San Diego for a period where her dancing teacher was Adolph Bolm. When Bolm was asked to choreograph The Corsican Brothers (1941), he used the entire class. This led Darrin to be interviewed by LeRoy Prinz, the dancing director at Warner Brothers, leading to a small role in The Hard Way (1943).[2] Darrin danced in the film Lady in the Dark (1944).[4]

Her best known role was that of femme fatale Agnes Lowzier in Howard Hawks's film The Big Sleep (1946) in which she plays a supposed bookstore clerk trading comments with Humphrey Bogart and paramour of minor Los Angeles gangster Joe Brody (played by Louis Jean Heydt). Despite her supporting role, Darrin was not credited for her four scenes in The Big Sleep. Darrin discovered years later that her agent had a row with Jack Warner, and the studio chief used it as a means of humiliation.[2] She worked with Ed Wynn and Alan Young on their early television programs.[4]

Personal life

Darrin married William "Bill" Reese, a theater set designer and marketing services company president. The couple had four children, three sons and a daughter, and lived in Manhattan. Their youngest son is the former child actor Mason Reese. Her last two public appearances were on The Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, and in a documentary film about her brother, Dorian, in 2007.[5]

She resided on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for over 50 years.[3] Darrin died of natural causes in New York City on July 19, 2020 at the age of 96.[6] She was the last surviving cast member of The Big Sleep[3] after Dorothy Malone died in January 2018.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1941	It Started with Eve	Nightclub Patron	Uncredited
1941	The Corsican Brothers	Opera Spectator	Uncredited
1942	My Gal Sal	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
1943	The Hard Way	Chorus Girl	Uncredited
1943	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Villager at Festival	Uncredited
1943	The North Star	Dancing Peasant	Uncredited
1944	Lady in the Dark	Office Girl	Uncredited
1946	The Big Sleep	Agnes Lowzier	Uncredited
1947	Bury Me Dead	Helen Lawrence
1948	I, Jane Doe	Nurse	Uncredited
1949	Caught	Miss Chambers	Uncredited
1950	Federal Agent at Large	Mildred	(final film role)

References

1. "Sonia Paskowitz in the 1940 United States Census". Ancestry.com.
2. "Sonia Darrin obituary". The Times. London. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020. (subscription required)
3. Lumenick, Lou (February 17, 2016). "Meet the 92-year old New York woman who once starred with Humphrey Bogart". New York Post. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
4. "Isle Girl in Gotham Lonely for Seawall". The Galveston Daily News. Texas, Galveston. August 20, 1950. p. 5. Retrieved December 24, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Schuler, Ron (March 25, 2009). "The Disappearance of Agnes Lowzier". Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
6. Barnes, Mike (July 29, 2020). "Sonia Darrin, Femme Fatale in Bogart's 'The Big Sleep,' Dies at 96". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 8, 2020.

External links

• Sonia Darrin on IMDb