Sidney Lumet (1924-2011) was born on this day. He directed over 50 films, among the most notable were 12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Verdict, and (his last movie) Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead.

He was nominated 4 times for the Academy Award for Best Director but never won. He did get an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement (I just discovered that the official name is an Academy Honorary Award) in 2005.

A quintessential New Yorker, he once said in an interview about how he wanted to go out, “Burn me up and scatter my ashes over Katz’s Delicatessen.” (His actual final resting place is Temple Beth Cemetary in Elmont, New York.)

Anyway, don’t go out if you don’t have to, wear a mask if you do go out, wash your hands, post cat pictures, and be excellent to each other.