John Jacob Sher (16 March 1913 – 23 August 1988) was an American newspaper columnist, songwriter, film director, film writer, and producer.

Career

Born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, Sher wrote for several magazines, including the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

,'' ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

,'' ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

,'' '' Radio Mirror,'' ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

,'' and ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Coll ...

.'' He also had been a columnist for the ''New York Reporter'', and from 1937 to 1940 ''

Screen & Radio Weekly ''Screen & Radio Weekly'' was a nationally syndicated Sunday tabloid-newspaper-supplement published by the ''Detroit Free Press'' from 1934 to 1940 that covered film, radio, and fashion – and included a short story. History The concept for t ...

,'' a nationally syndicated Sunday supplement published by the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...

.'' Sher wrote a number of films for

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

, including in 1959, ''

The Wild and the Innocent ''The Wild and the Innocent'' is a 1959 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Jack Sher and starring Audie Murphy and Sandra Dee as two inexperienced young people who get into trouble when they visit a town for the very first time. Th ...

,'' which he also directed. In the 1979 remake for TV, '' The Kid from Left Field,''

Gary Coleman Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid ...

(1968–2010), who starred in the series, accepted the

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Best Children's Special of Episode in a Series. Sher's 1971–1972 television play, '' Goodbye, Raggedy Ann'' was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Original Teleplay.

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 Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a su ...

'' (1953) – writer * '' Off Limits'' (1953) – writer * '' The Kid from Left Field'' (1953) – writer * ''

World in My Corner ''World in My Corner'' is a 1956 American film noir drama sport film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Audie Murphy and Barbara Rush. It was one of the few non-Westerns Murphy made in his career. Plot Tommy Shea (Audie Murphy), a boxer from Je ...

'' (1956) – writer * '' Walk the Proud Land'' (1956) – writer * ''

Four Girls in Town ''Four Girls in Town'' is a 1957 American CinemaScope Technicolor drama film, directed by Jack Sher, about four girls trying to be movie stars. Plot When the leading lady drops out of a new film to be shot in New Orleans, studio head James Manni ...

'' (1957) – writer, director * '' Joe Butterfly'' (1957) – writer * '' Kathy O''' (1958) – writer, director * ''

'' (1959) – writer, director * ''

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver ''The 3 Worlds of Gulliver'' is a 1960 Eastmancolor Columbia Pictures fantasy film loosely based upon the 1726 novel ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift. The film stars Kerwin Mathews as the title character, June Thorburn as his fiancée Eli ...

'' (1960) – writer, director * ''

Love in a Goldfish Bowl ''Love in a Goldfish Bowl'' is a 1961 teen film directed by Jack Sher starring singing idols Tommy Sands and Fabian. Plot Gordon Slide and Blythe Holloway are two platonic best friends at a college, both from single-parent families. They are so ...

'' (1961) – writer, director * ''

Paris Blues ''Paris Blues'' is a 1961 American musical romantic drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sidney Poitier as expatriate jazz saxophonist Eddie Cook, and Paul Newman as trombone-playing Ram Bowen. The two men romance two vacationing America ...

'' (1961) – writer * '' Critic's Choice'' (1963) – writer * '' Move Over, Darling'' (1963) – writer * '' Slither'' (1973) – producer

Television

* ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'' – 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); : Sher contributed 8 essays * ''Twelve More Sport Immortals,'' Ernest Victor Heyn (1904–1995) (ed.), Bartholomew House (1951); : Sher contributed 6 or more essays

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sher, Jack 1913 births 1988 deaths American columnists American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American directors American male songwriters American lyricists American television writers 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century male musicians