Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 610-617. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Former son-in-law of Lena Horne; was married to her daughter, the journalist and author Gail Lumet Buckley (nee Gail Jones).

Was the originally director of Funny Girl (1968), but left the picture over differences with producer Ray Stark and star Barbra Streisand. He was replaced by William Wyler.

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 he caused some controversy by continuing to shoot his New York based series "100 Centre Street" (2001) for the remainder of the day. Lumet said he told the crew that they could leave if they wanted but that no one did.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982.

It was Lumet's idea to make the characters Cuban and to include the 1980 Mariel harbor boat lift in the story in Scarface (1983).

Ex-father-in-law of Bobby Cannavale and P.J. O'Rourke.

Interviewed in Peter Bogdanovich's "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations With Robert Aldrich, George Cukor, Allan Dwan, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Chuck Jones, Fritz Lang, Joseph H. Lewis, Sidney Lumet, Leo McCarey, Otto Preminger, Don Siegel, Josef von Sternberg, Frank Tashlin, Edgar G. Ulmer, Raoul Walsh." NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

Directed 17 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Katharine Hepburn, Rod Steiger, Al Pacino, Ingrid Bergman, Albert Finney, Chris Sarandon, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, Beatrice Straight, William Holden, Ned Beatty, Peter Firth, Richard Burton, Paul Newman, James Mason, Jane Fonda and River Phoenix. Bergman, Dunaway, Finch and Straight won oscars for their performances in one of Lumets movies.

Studied acting with Sanford Meisner.

Was voted the 42nd Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

One of the original Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End" kids, on Broadway. The play was later adapted as Dead End (1937) by William Wyler.

Children: sound editor Amy Lumet and actress Jenny Lumet.

Wanted to direct Death Wish (1974) with Jack Lemmon in the leading role.

Lumet is often a favorite director for actors, encouraging the creative collaboration of his stars.

Three of his films are listed on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: Serpico (1973) at #84, The Verdict (1982) at #75, and 12 Angry Men (1957) at #42.

Roger Ebert says of Lumet's book Making Movies that it "has more common sense in it about how movies are actually made than any other I have read.".