Sydney Omarr facts for kids
Sydney Omarr (born August 5, 1926 – died January 2, 2003) was a famous American astrologer. An astrologer is someone who studies how the positions of stars and planets might influence people's lives. Sydney Omarr was known for giving astrology advice to many rich and famous people.
He wrote a daily newspaper column called Sun Sign Horoscope. This column appeared in over 200 newspapers! He also wrote yearly forecast books for each of the zodiac signs, and these books sold more than 50 million copies.
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Early Life and Name Change
Sydney Omarr was born Sidney Kimmelman in Philadelphia. His family was middle class, and his father worked as a grocer. When he was in elementary school, he loved magic shows and even performed magic tricks himself.
When he was 15, Sidney changed his name. He saw a movie with a character named Omar. He was very interested in numerology, which is the study of how numbers might affect people's lives. Because of numerology, he changed "Sidney" to "Sydney" and added an extra "r" to "Omar," making it "Omarr." He even wrote books about numerology, but he couldn't make a living from it, so he focused on astrology instead.
Sydney Omarr During World War II
When he was 17, Omarr joined the Army during World War II. He said he picked April 4, 1944, to join because the date had "all fours," which he thought was good luck due to numerology.
Later, he was transferred to the Air Force in California. Omarr claimed he was sent to Okinawa and had a weekly radio show called Sydney Omarr's Almanac for soldiers. He even tried to predict sports results on his show. He also claimed he wrote the horoscope column for the U.S. Army's Stars and Stripes newspaper.
Career as a Writer and Media Astrologer
After the Army, Omarr studied journalism. He worked as a reporter for the United Press news agency for ten years. Then, he worked for CBS Hollywood as an editor and radio news director. A friend from his journalism days, Benson Srere, said that people liked Omarr's writing because it always gave them "hope and encouragement."
Later in his life, Omarr wrote a series of astrology guides published by Penguin. These books were called Sydney Omarr's Day-By-Day Astrological Guide. Even after he passed away, other astrologers continued his work, and the books are still published today.
Omarr believed he had been an astrologer in many past lives. He could even figure out complex horoscopes in his head if he knew someone's birth details. For his newspaper columns, he personally wrote each daily horoscope, usually about three weeks before it was published.
His first book was Sydney Omarr's Private Course on Numerology. He sold it himself for $2.00. While he wrote many books on astrology, he was most famous for his books about "sun sign astrology." This is the type of astrology that focuses on your zodiac sign based on your birth date. His daily Sun Sign Horoscope column was very popular. Each year, he wrote 12 forecast books, one for each zodiac sign, plus an overall book. These books sold 50 million copies!
In the 1970s, Omarr appeared on many radio and TV shows, including The Merv Griffin Show and Johnny Carson. He was friends with famous people like actress Mae West. In 1966, he was married for eight months to Jeraldine Saunders, who created the idea for the TV show Love Boat.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1971, Omarr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects the body. As the disease got worse, he lost his eyesight in the early 1990s and became unable to move his body from the neck down.
Sydney Omarr passed away from a heart attack on January 2, 2003, in Santa Monica, California. He is buried in Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
Omarr is even mentioned in a book called Inherent Vice by author Thomas Pynchon.
