Vincent Sherman
On set ofThe Hasty Heart (1949), L–R:Patricia Neal, Vincent Sherman andWilkie Cooper (cinematographer)
Born	Abraham Orovitz (1906-07-16)July 16, 1906 Vienna, Georgia, USA
Died	June 18, 2006(2006-06-18) (aged 99) Los Angeles, California
Years active	1928–1983
Spouse	Hedda Comorau (1931–1984; her death)
Children	2
Website	www.vincentsherman.com

Vincent Sherman (bornAbraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies includeMr. Skeffington (1944),Nora Prentiss (1947), andThe Young Philadelphians (1959).

He began his career as an actor on Broadway and later in film. He directedB-movies forWarner Bros. and then moved to directing to A-pictures. He was a good friend of actorErrol Flynn, whom he directed inAdventures of Don Juan (1949). He directed threeJoan Crawford movies:The Damned Don't Cry (1950),Harriet Craig (1950), andGoodbye, My Fancy (1951).

Sherman was bornAbraham Orovitz to Jewish parents.^[1] He was born and raised in the small town of Vienna, Georgia, where his father was a dry-goods salesman.^[2] Not long after graduating fromOglethorpe University in Atlanta, he became a professional actor.^[3]

Sherman arrived in New York City to sell a play and soon became a stage director and actor. As a stage actor, he made his Broadway debut in the ensemble ofEugene O’Neill’sMarco Millions (1928).^[4] He arrived in Hollywood during the early sound era, where he appeared inWilliam Wyler's 1933 filmCounsellor at Law starringJohn Barrymore. In 1938, Sherman signed on atWarner Bros. as a director. His first film as a director was the 1939 horror filmThe Return of Doctor X, which starredHumphrey Bogart. The 2006 release ofThe Return of Doctor X included a director's commentary that Sherman had recorded that year at the age of 99.

Sherman quickly built a reputation for his ability to rewrite any script he was given and turn it into the basis for a successful film. It was these skills that led him to much bigger and star-studded pictures.^[3][5] Sherman was initially known as a "woman's director" during the mid 1940s, but his range expanded as his career developed.^[2]

After his film career wound up, Sherman ended his career in television. In 2004, he was the oldest of 21 individuals interviewed in the documentary filmImaginary Witness, a work that chronicled 60 years of film-making about the Holocaust.^[6]

Sherman was married to Hedda (née Comorau) from 1931 until her death in 1984. The Shermans had two children together, a son, Eric Sherman, and a daughter, Hedwin Naimark.

Sherman had a number of high-profile affairs during his life, including on-set affairs withBette Davis and a three-year relationship withJoan Crawford. In his memoirStudio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director, he described his relationships with Crawford andRita Hayworth. Until his death in 2006, he had been in a decade-long relationship with actressFrancine York.^[7]

Sherman died on June 18, 2006, at age 99, at theMotion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.^[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVincent Sherman.

• Vincent Sherman atIMDb
• Studio Affairs: My Life as a Film Director, by Vincent Sherman, University Press of Kentucky, 1996, 344 pages

• 1906 births
• 2006 deaths
• 20th-century American Jews
• 21st-century American Jews
• American male film actors
• American television directors
• American theatre directors
• Film directors from Georgia (U.S. state)
• Oglethorpe University alumni
• People from Vienna, Georgia
• Western (genre) film directors

• Internet Broadway Database person ID same as Wikidata
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link is on Wikidata