Oscar-nominated ‘Midnight Cowboy’ actress Sylvia Miles dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sylvia Miles, whose brief appearances in the films “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely” earned her two Academy Award nominations, has died.

Friend Mauricio Padilha says Miles died Wednesday in an ambulance in New York. The cause is not yet clear. Accounts of her age vary widely, from 86 to 94.

Miles was onscreen for about six minutes of 1969’s “Midnight Cowboy,” playing a woman who invites a male prostitute played by Jon Voight up to her penthouse for sex. Her role in the 1975 detective film “Farewell, My Lovely” was just a few minutes longer.

But each part saw her nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar.

Miles was also a scene-stealing character of the New York party scene, beloved for her outgoing personality and flamboyant fashion sense.