Edwin Sherin (January 15, 1930 – May 4, 2017) was an American director and producer. He is best known as the director and executive producer of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

drama series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1991–2005).

Early life

Sherin was born in

Danville, Pennsylvania Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The population was 4,221 at the census. Danville is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. ...

, the son of Ruth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Berger), a homemaker, and Joseph Sherin, a textile worker. He grew up in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

, and

Inwood, Manhattan Inwood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, at the northern tip of Manhattan Island, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bounded by the Hudson River to the west, Spuyten Duyvil Creek and Marble Hill to the north, ...

. He had a sister, Edith Sherin Markson, who was among the founders of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. When he was 16 years old, Sherin dropped out of

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

and traveled to West Texas, where he worked on a cattle ranch. He eventually resumed his education at the

Fountain Valley School The Fountain Valley School of Colorado is a private, co-educational independent college preparatory school for students in 9th through 12th grades. The school's primary campus is located on of rolling prairie at the base of the Rocky Mountains in ...

in Colorado Springs, graduating in 1948. In 1952, he graduated from Brown University, where he received a degree in international relations. After graduation, Sherin enlisted in the Navy and fought in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

Career

Sherin started out as an actor, training at the

Paul Mann Paul Mann (December 2, 1913 – September 24, 1985) was a Canadian film and theater actor, as well as founder of the Paul Mann Actor's Workshop. His brother was the actor Larry D. Mann. Biography Mann was influential in developing the concept of ...

's Actors Workshop and studying with

John Houseman John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with directo ...

at the

American Shakespeare Theatre The American Shakespeare Theatre was a theater company based in Stratford, Connecticut, United States. It was formed in the early 1950s by Lawrence Langner, Lincoln Kirstein, John Percy Burrell, and philanthropist Joseph Verner Reed. The Ameri ...

. He met

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 1997 ...

while serving as the resident director at

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

, where he cast her and

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

in ''The Great White Hope''. In 1968, he directed the play and its two stars on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, and the production marked the start not only of his Broadway directorial career, but a long professional and personal relationship with Alexander as well. He directed Alexander in ''

First Monday in October ''First Monday in October'' is a 1978 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The title refers to the day on which the United States Supreme Court traditionally convenes following its summer recess. Productions The play premiered on Broadwa ...

'' on Broadway in 1978, ''Hedda Gabler'' at the Hartman Theatre (Connecticut) in 1981 in the American Playhouse television movie ''A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz'', in 1991. and in the Broadway revival of '' The Visit''.Rich, Fran
"'The Visit'; Revenge and Common Greed As the Root of Much Evil"
''The New York Times'', January 24, 1992 While working at the Arena Stage, Sherin directed many plays, including ''The Wall'' (1963–1964), ''Galileo'' (1964–1965), ''St. Joan'' (1965–1966), ''Macbeth'' (1966–1967), ''The Iceman Cometh'' (1967–1968), and ''King Lear'' (1968–1969). Sherin won the 1969

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Director for ''The Great White Hope'' and was nominated for a 1974

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Direction of a Play (''Find Your Way Home''). ''

The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Cha ...

'' was revived on March 17, 1972, at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles where

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and r ...

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' American Graffiti'' (1973), '' Jaws'' (1975), '' Close Encounters of th ...

, Ron Thompson,

Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable ...

, Richard X. Slattery, Lewis J. Stadlen and

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

were among the cast with Sherin directing. In 1974, Sherin directed a revival of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' at

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

with

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire (play), A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and ''Long Day's Journey into Night'', and ...

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' Th ...

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock D ...

, and

Morag Hood Morag Hood (12 December 1942 – 5 October 2002) was a British actress who featured in numerous television programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations in the UK from the 1960s up to the late 1990s. Early life Hood was born in Gla ...

. In 2009, Sherin directed Alexander again in Thom Thomas's ''A Moon to Dance By'' at The Pittsburgh Playhouse and at The

George Street Playhouse George Street Playhouse is a theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the city's Civic Square government and theater district. It's one of the state's preeminent professional theaters committed to the production of new and established ...

in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Television

Sherin executive-produced 163 episodes of the

drama ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'', between 1993 and 2000.Roberts, Jerr
"Robert B. Aldrich Award"
dga.org, accessed April 10, 2011 His television directing credits include all three editions of the current ''

'' franchise; ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

''; '' L.A. Law''; ''

Doogie Howser, M.D. ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' is an American medical sitcom that ran for four seasons on ABC from September 19, 1989, to March 24, 1993, totaling 97 episodes. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, the show stars Neil Patrick Harris in the titl ...

''; '' Homicide: Life on the Street''; and ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

''. Sherin directed the television films ''Lena: My 100 Children'' (1987), '' The Father Clements Story'' (1987), ''Settle the Score'' (1989), ''Daughter of the Streets'' (1990), and ''A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz'' (1991).

Movies

Sherin directed two theatrical films: '' Valdez Is Coming'' with

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

and

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadian actress, known for her movie roles such as '' Coogan's Bluff'' and '' Colossus: The Forbin Project'', and for her role as Katherine Papadopolis on the American television sitcom '' We ...

and ''My Old Man's Place'' with

William Devane William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...

and

Michael Moriarty Michael Moriarty (born April 5, 1941) is an American-Canadian actor and jazz musician. He received an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for his first acting role on American television as a Nazi SS officer in the 1978 mini-series ''Holocaus ...

. Both films were released in 1971.

Personal life

Sherin's first wife was actress Pamela Vevers, with whom he had three sons. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1975, he married actress

. He and Alexander became

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

citizens, having maintained a home in Lockeport, Nova Scotia since 1998.

Death

Sherin died on May 4, 2017, in Nova Scotia, aged 87.

Director

Sources: Internet Broadway Database;Edwin Sherin profile
IBDb.com; accessed April 10, 2011. Internet Off-Broadway Database ;Broadway *'' Prymate'' (2004) *'' The Visit'' (1992 revival) *'' Goodbye Fidel'' (1980) *''

'' (1978) *'' Do You Turn Somersaults?'' (1978) (also at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

) *''

The Eccentricities of a Nightingale ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and the then-work-in-progress "Yellow Bi ...

'' (1976) *'' Rex'' (1976) *''

Sweet Bird of Youth ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra del Lago (travelling incognito as Princess ...

'' (1975 revival) *''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job ...

'' (1974 revival) *''

6 Rms Riv Vu ''6 Rms Riv Vu'' is a play by Bob Randall, who also wrote the book for ''The Magic Show''. Play ''6 Rms Riv Vu'' derives its title from shorthand used by real estate agents in classified advertising. In this case, a six-room apartment with a ...

'' (1972) *''An Evening With Richard Nixon and...'' by

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

(1972) ;

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

*''The White Rose and the Red'' (1964) ;

*''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1974)"'A Streetcar Named Desire' cast and crew"
theatricalia.com, accessed February 6, 2020

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherin, Edwin 1930 births 2017 deaths Actors from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania American emigrants to Canada American male stage actors American television directors Television producers from Pennsylvania American theatre directors Artists from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Emmy Award winners Law & Order (franchise) Male actors from Pennsylvania Film directors from Pennsylvania