Sidney Lumet Died From Lymphoma at Age 86: Directed; "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon," "Network." and "12 Angry Men" He was once married to CNN's Anderson Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt and Lena Horne's Daughter

"12 Angry Men" was Sidney Lumet's first feature film that he had directed.  It was released in 1957.
Sidney Lumet was born in Philadelphia on June 25, 1924. His parents were actors and he started in the entertainment business at the age of 4 doing radio. At the age of 5 he had acted in a Yiddish play.  His mother died when he was young.  He was educated at the Professional Children's School, where he had studied acting and later went on to Columbia University.  In 1950, he had worked as an assistant to Yule Brenner. He launched his career in directing in New York doing off Broadway shows. He later moved onto doing television for CBS for such shows as; "Danger," "Mama," and "You are There," with Walter Cronkite.   His first feature film was, "12 Angry Men" in 1957.   He then went onto directing hits such as; "Serpico" with Al Pacino, "Murder on the Orient Express." "Dog Day Afternoon" in  1975, "Network" in 1976 with Faye Dunaway, and "Verdict"  in 1982. Mr Lumet was known to make his cast rehearse scenes and make them prepared for filming. He, like Woody Allen preferred to film in New York City and preferred to work with actors who were method actors such as, Al Pacino. He never won an Academy award for his directing skills, but he did win a Lifetime Achievement award in 1975.  Personally,  he  was married 4 times.  Once to CNN's Anderson Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt from 1956 -1963.  He then married Lena Horne's daughter, Gail Jones from 1963-1978.  From 1980 to the present, Mary Gimbel.  He died of lymphoma at his home in Manhattan at the age of 86.