Biography

John Jacob Sher (16 March 1913 – 23 August 1988) was an American newspaper columnist, songwriter, film director, film writer, and producer. 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. 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. Sher's 1971–1972 television play, Goodbye, Raggedy Ann was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Original Teleplay.