A young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.A young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.A young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.
- Won 4 Primetime Emmys
- 6 wins & 5 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe real "Sybil" was identified in 1998 as Shirley Mason, an art teacher who died in 1998 at the age of 75 in Lexington, Kentucky. Flora Rheta Schreiber, who wrote the book on which "Sybil" was based, gave her the name based on the women prophets of Greek mythology, the Sibyls, who spoke with multiple voices.
- GoofsWhen Sybil and Richard first ride the subway, a man wearing a hat is sitting next to them. Hours later, when they return on the subway, the same man is sitting next to them again.
- Quotes
Dr. Cornelia Wilbur: [Hugging Sybil] Once a long time ago when I was a little girl in Montana, I was laying in the grass looking at the ants. And the sun was warm on my back and the grass was deep and soft and the insects were buzzing... everything was drowsy. Then all of a sudden, I saw this one ant who was struggling to pick up this grain of sand that was far too heavy to carry alone. And he struggled. And pretty soon, ANOTHER ant came along and helped the first ant and together they carried it away! Well, I got so excited that I hollared to my mother and she came out and plopped down in the grass beside me and she said, now isn't that miraculous how much two creatures can accomplish together... when they care about each other.
- Alternate versionsThe original TV-version ran two nights for a total of four hours (198 minutes minus the commercials). Most video copies are pared down in length, one running 122 minutes and another "expanded" to 132 minutes. Both these versions are missing key scenes such as:
- The introduction of of the alternate personality "Vanessa"
- Sybil's first date with Richard
- Her recollection of her childhood sweetheart.
- Sybil dissociating into the personality of an infant, leading to Dr. Wilbur's memorable statements "My god Sybil, what did that monster do to you? What happened in the green kitchen?"
- Dr. Wilbur confronting Willard Dorsett over him having left his daughter in the care of such an obvious and dangerously disturbed woman as Hattie
- Sybil's two male personalities arguing with Dr. Wilbur about them being able to father children
- Sybil finally confronting and learning to accept all of her personalities while under hypnosis
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)