You might know Sidney Sheldon solely for writing the gilt-covered bestsellers your grandma keeps in her beach bag, but there was much more to the prolific novelist than books with titles like Rage of Angels and The Other Side of Midnight. Sheldon, who died yesterday afternoon of complications from pneumonia, was also an award-winning screenwriter, garnering a best original screenplay Oscar for 'The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer' in 1947. But it was later, in 1965, that he made one of his most lasting and important contributions to American pop culture: he created and produced 'I Dream of Jeannie, ' the sexy genie-in-a-bottle sitcom which touched the lives (and, let's face it, the groins) of a generation of American boys. Next time you listen to Christina Aguilera or dress up as a slutty genie for Halloween, remember to pour out a libation for Sid, who was truly a master.

Author Sidney Sheldon Dies at 89 [AP]