Sidney D. Kirkpatrick (born 1955) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a bestselling historical author. He grew up in Stony Brook, Long Island and attended Kent School, Connecticut, Hampshire College, Massachusetts and New York University.
His documentaries include:
My Father the President (1982), in which Ethel Derby, second daughter of President Roosevelt, describes her childhood.
His books include:
A Cast of Killers (pub. 1986), ISBN 978-5-551-54135-6 a non-fiction account of Hollywood director King Vidor's private attempt to solve the William Desmond Taylor murder case.
Turning the Tide: One Man Against the Medellin Cartel ISBN 978-0-451-40317-9 (with Peter Abrahams), (pub. 1991) a novelized account of a conflict which took place in the Bahamas between drug baron Carlos Lehder and an American professor Richard Novak's investigating hammerhead sharks there.
Lords of Sipan (pub. 1992), ISBN 978-0-688-10396-5, a non-fiction account of the discovery, looting, and eventual recovery by Dr. Walter Alva of artifacts from the tombs in Sipan, Peru.
Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet (pub. 2000) ISBN 978-1-57322-896-1 , a biography of Edgar Cayce, the psychic.
The Revenge of Thomas Eakins (pub. 2006), ISBN 978-0-300-10855-2 a biography of Thomas Eakins, the artist.
Hitler's Holy Relics: A True Story of Nazi Plunder and the Race to Recover the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire (pub. 2010), ISBN 978-1-41659-062-0 , a true account of art historian-turned-Army sleuth Walter Horn's WWII investigation of Nazi plunder and Germanic mysticism.
On April 28, 2010, at U.C. Berkeley, Kirkpatrick delivered a lecture on Dr. Walter Horn's activities with the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives division of the U.S. Army during World War II.
On May 30, 2008, Kirkpatrick gave a lecture called 'Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet' at the New York Open Center [1] in Manhattan. In the lecture, Kirkpatrick provided a window into the inner workings Edgar Cayce whose ideas and psychic predictions made him the father of holistic medicine as well as one of the most influential mystics of modern time.
Kirkpatrick is the stepfather of fine artist Mercedes Thurlbeck, and father-in-law of actor and producer Stephen Blackehart. He plays squash, collects grave rubbings and rings church bells.