Bill Sikes won several awards in the early 1960s. Oliver Reed played Sikes in the musical's 1968 film adaptation which also won several awards, with Reed's performance often cited as the best portrayal of Sikes - being labelled as "the sinister core of the film". His songs are removed from the film, making his performance of the character closer to that of the novel rather than the stage version. The famous climax of the 1948 film adaptation is retained and Bill Sikes dies in the same manner of being shot then accidentally hanging himself. In Disney's animated version, "Oliver & Company" (1988),
Jesse Sykes in the '90s was meeting songwriter Townes Van Zandt after a Seattle show. In 1990 Sykes moved to Seattle, Washington, and began playing in bands. Sykes was formerly in the band Hominy with then husband, Jim Sykes, who played guitar. The band released a self-titled album in 1998 on the Ivy label. In 1998, she met Phil Wandscher, who was well known for both co-founding and for being fired from alt-country band Whiskeytown. They formed the band Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. Members of The Sweet Hereafter included Anne Marie Ruljancich on viola, Bill Herzog on bass, Kevin Warner