Jack Sher

John Jacob Sher (16 March 1913 – 23 August 1988) was an American newspaper columnist, songwriter,^[1][2] film director,^[3] film writer, and producer.^[4]

Career

Born in Minneapolis, Sher wrote for several magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, Redbook, Radio Mirror, Reader's Digest, and Collier's. He also had been a columnist for the New York Reporter, and from 1937 to 1940 Screen & Radio Weekly, a nationally syndicated Sunday supplement published by the Detroit Free Press.^[5]

Sher wrote a number of films for Audie Murphy, including in 1959, The Wild and the Innocent, which he also directed. In the 1979 remake for TV, The Kid from Left Field, Gary Coleman (1968–2010), who starred in the series, accepted the NAACP Image Award for Best Children's Special of Episode in a Series.^[6] Sher's 1971–1972 television play, Goodbye, Raggedy Ann was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Original Teleplay.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Selected Credits

Broadway

• The Perfect Set-Up? – playwright

Songs:

"Make This a Slow Goodbye," Jack Sher (words), Farlan Myers (music)

Film

• My Favorite Spy (1951) – writer
• Shane (1953) – writer
• Off Limits (1953) – writer
• The Kid from Left Field (1953) – writer
• World in My Corner (1956) – writer
• Walk the Proud Land (1956) – writer
• Four Girls in Town (1957) – writer, director
• Joe Butterfly (1957) – writer
• Kathy O' (1958) – writer, director
• The Wild and the Innocent (1959) – writer, director
• The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) – writer, director
• Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961) – writer, director
• Paris Blues (1961) – writer
• Critic's Choice (1963) – writer
• Move Over, Darling (1963) – writer
• Slither (1973) – producer

Television

• Bewitched – 3 episodes

"It Takes One to Know One (26 November 1964; season 1, episode 11) – writer

"No More Mr. Nice Guy" (23 March 1967; season 3, episode 28) – writer

"Art for Sam's Sake" (23 February 1967; season 3, episode 24) – writer

• The Wackiest Ship in the Army – 1 episode

"The Stowaway" (31 October 1965; season 1, episode 7) – writer

• Goodbye, Raggedy Ann (1971) – producer, writer
• Holmes and Yo-Yo (1976–77) (TV series) – creator
• The Kid from Left Field (1979) – writer

Books

• Twelve Sport Immortals, Ernest Victor Heyn (1904–1995) (ed.), Bartholomew House (1951); OCLC 44087908, 2573468, 664373471

Sher contributed 8 essays

• Twelve More Sport Immortals, Ernest Victor Heyn (1904–1995) (ed.), Bartholomew House (1951); OCLC 1515524

Sher contributed 6 or more essays

References

1. The ASCAP Biographical Dictionary (3rd ed.), American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (1966); OCLC 10721505, 592540213
2. ASCAP Biographical Dictionary (4th ed.), compiled for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers by Jaques Cattell Press, R.R. Bowker (1980); OCLC 12259500, 890660836
3. The Film Encyclopedia, by Ephraim Katz (1932–1992), Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1979); OCLC 1123262590, 251399291
4. "Jack Sher: Ex-Columnist, Screenwriter" (obituary), Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1988, Part 1, p. 26 (accessible via Newspapers.com; subscription required)
5. Contemporary Authors – A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields, Vol. 126, Gale Research (1989); ISSN 0275-7176; OCLC 527378544, 1028569556
6. "13th Image Awards Named," Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1980 (photo of Gary Coleman accepting award from presenters Danielle Spencer & Kim Fields)

   (accessible via Newspapers.com, part 6, p. 1 & Newspapers.com, part 6, p. 2; subscription required)
7. The Filmgoer's Companion, Leslie Halliwell (1929–1989) (ed.); OCLC 842978340

   (4th ed.), Hill & Wang (1974); OCLC 925160908
   (7th ed.), Granada Publishing (1980); OCLC 633901962
   (8th ed.), Charles Scribner's Sons (1984); OCLC 251485092
   (9th ed.), Charles Scribner's Sons (1988); OCLC 751456122
8. International Motion Picture Almanac, Richard Gertner (ed.); William Pay & Dale Monroe (assoc. eds.); Quigley Publishing Co.; ISSN 1044-1697

   (1977 ed.) (1977)
   (1980 ed.) (1980)
9. Biography Index – A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines, Vol. 16, September 1988 – August 1990, H. W. Wilson Company (1990); ISSN 0006-3053; OCLC 30326352, 956660504, 36821512
10. Michael Singer's Film Directors – A Complete Guide (9th international ed.), Michael Singer (ed.), Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publishing Co. (1992); OCLC 476495741

External links

• Jack Sher at IMDb