He also traveled to Kentucky with a list of 200 questions for Wilbur to prepare for the work of adapting Flora Rh eta Schreiber’s book to the screen, a task that earned him an Emmy Award for outstanding writing in a special program. I knew it was mine.”įield never met Sybil, but Stern did. “I’d come out of the ‘Flying Nun,’” said Field who was 28 years old when the film was made. Later, the real-life Sybil phoned Stern and told him that Field was the only person who could play “the Peggys.”

Stern said, “I heard this voice that I’d never heard before tearing at me. As she morphed into Peggy – one of Sybil’s more prominent alter egos – Joanne Woodward, who played Sybil’s psychiatrist Connie Wilbur, dropped her script. When Field, who had been working with the legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg, auditioned for the role, it was a slam-dunk. Natalie Wood, Susan Sarandon, Lily Tomlin and others were rejected. Other actresses were considered for the part, said Stern. “It was the part of me that reached out to be healthy.” It asked her to be everything she thought she wanted to be, she said. The role was a turning point for the actress. She is a two-time Academy Award winner who also won an Emmy Award for her role as Sybil Dorsett, a real-life woman who once suffered from multiple personality disorder which had manifested itself into 16 different personalities brought on because of maternal child abuse. “This is a remarkable place – the kind of place I grew up in,” said Field. Stern and Field both attended the special event at the Rose Theatre. 10 at the special showing of the 1976 made-for-television movie “Sybil” starring Sally Field with a screenplay written by Stewart Stern.

Greater understanding of mental illness took a leap forward on Sunday, Oct.

Sybil 1976 full movie online