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Edwin Sherin

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Not to be confused with Ed Sheeran.
Edwin Sherin
Born(1930-01-15)January 15, 1930
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 4, 2017(2017-05-04) (aged 87)
Lockeport, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nationality
Other namesEd Sherin
Occupation(s)Actor, director, producer
Years active1971–2009
Spouse(s)Pamela Vevers (divorced)
​
(m. 1975)​
Children3
RelativesJace Alexander (stepson)

Edwin Sherin (January 15, 1930 – May 4, 2017) was an American-Canadian director and producer. He is best known as the director and executive producer of the NBC drama series Law & Order (1991–2005).

Early life

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Sherin was born in Danville, Pennsylvania, the son of Ruth (née Berger), a homemaker, and Joseph Sherin, a textile worker.[1] He grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Inwood, Manhattan.[1] He had a sister, Edith Sherin Markson, who was among the founders of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.[1][2]

When he was 16 years old, Sherin dropped out of DeWitt Clinton High School and traveled to West Texas, where he worked on a cattle ranch. He eventually resumed his education at the Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs, graduating in 1948.[1] In 1952, he graduated from Brown University, where he received a degree in international relations.[1] After graduation, Sherin enlisted in the Navy and fought in the Korean War.[1]

Career

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Sherin started out as an actor, training at the Paul Mann's Actors Workshop and studying with John Houseman at the American Shakespeare Theatre.[1]

He met Jane Alexander while serving as the resident director at Washington, DC's Arena Stage, where he cast her and James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope. In 1968, he directed the play and its two stars on Broadway,[3] and the production marked the start not only of his Broadway directorial career, but a long professional and personal relationship with Alexander as well. In August 1973, he cast Jones as King Lear for his production on King Lear at The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.[4]

He directed Alexander in First Monday in October on Broadway in 1978, Hedda Gabler at the Hartman Theatre (Connecticut) in 1981[5] in the American Playhouse television movie A Marriage: Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz, in 1991.[6] and in the Broadway revival of The Visit.[7]

Sherin directed six plays at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, one per season for six consecutive seasons: The Wall (1963–64), Galileo (1964–65), St. Joan (1965–66), Macbeth (1966–67), The Iceman Cometh (1967–68), and King Lear (1968–69).[8]

Sherin won the 1969 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director for The Great White Hope[9] and was nominated for a 1974 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, for Find Your Way Home.

In 1972, he directed a revival of The Time of Your Life, at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles, with a cast that included Henry Fonda, Richard Dreyfuss and Jane Alexander.[10]

In 1974, Sherin directed a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire at London's Piccadilly Theatre with Claire Bloom, Martin Shaw, Joss Ackland, and Morag Hood.[11]

In 2009, Sherin directed Alexander again in Thom Thomas's A Moon to Dance By at The Pittsburgh Playhouse, an then at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Television

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Sherin executive-produced 163 episodes of the NBC drama Law & Order, between 1993 and 2000.[12] His television directing credits include all three editions of the current Law & Order franchise; Hill Street Blues; L.A. Law; Doogie Howser, M.D.; Homicide: Life on the Street;[13] and Medium.[14][15]

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

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Sherin directed two theatrical films: Valdez Is Coming with Burt Lancaster and Susan Clark and My Old Man's Place with William Devane and Michael Moriarty. Both films were released in 1971.

Personal life

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Sherin's first wife was actress Pamela Vevers, with whom he had three sons. The marriage ended in divorce.[1][16] In 1975, he married actress Jane Alexander.[12]

He and Alexander became Canadian citizens, having maintained a home in Lockeport, Nova Scotia starting in 1998.[17]

Death

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Sherin died on May 4, 2017, in Nova Scotia, aged 87.[18][19]

Director

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Broadway
Off-Broadway
  • The White Rose and the Red (1964)[29]
London West End
  • A Streetcar Named Desire (1974)[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimes, William (May 8, 2017). "Edwin Sherin, Theater and 'Law & Order' Director, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Edith Markson, 81, Promoter of Theater". The New York Times. September 16, 1994. p. B-8. Archived from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  3. ^ Barnes, Clive (1968-10-04). "Theatre: Howard Sackler's 'Great White Hope'; Play at the Alvin Stars James Earl Jones Edwin Sherin Staged Cheated Hero's Story". The New York Times. p. 40. Archived from the original on 2020-08-11. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  4. ^ Gussow, Mel (August 2, 1973). "James Earl Jones Meets the Challenge of King Lear". The New York Times. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2017-12-12. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Gussow, Mel (1981-10-02). "Theater:Jane Alexander Plays 'Hedda Gabler'". The New York Times. p. C-5. Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  6. ^ "Chapter: 1991 Section:Variety (Weekly) July 15, 1991". Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews. Vol. 17: 1991–1992. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1994. p. 70. ISBN 0-8240-3796-0. Retrieved 2023-11-29 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Rich, Frank (1992-01-24). "Review/Theater: The Visit; Revenge and Common Greed As the Root of Much Evil". The New York Times. p. C-1. Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  8. ^ "Production History" (PDF) (Press release). Arena Stage. 2023-12-01. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  9. ^ "History | 1968-1969 15th Drama Desk Awards". Drama Desk. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2023-12-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ Lane, Bill (1972-04-08). "Hollywood Beat: Fans Still Talking About Grammy Deal". Baltimore Afro-American. p. 10. Retrieved 2012-01-22 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ^ Kolin, Philip C. (2000). "London, 1974". Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 97. ISBN 0-521-62610-2 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ a b Roberts, Jerry (March 2002). "54th Annual DGA Awards Preview | Robert B. Aldrich Award". DGA Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 6. Archived from the original on 2002-04-16. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  13. ^ Bianculli, David (1997-11-12). "A Trifecta For 'Homicide' Fans". Daily News. Archived from the original on 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  14. ^ "Filmography, Edwin Sherin" Archived 2012-09-23 at the Wayback Machine movies.msn.com, accessed April 11, 2011
  15. ^ "Edwin Sherin, Filmography" movies.amctv.com, accessed April 11, 2011
  16. ^ "Notes on People", The New York Times, March 15, 1975, p. 13
  17. ^ "South Shore enchants actress". The Chronicle Herald. Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  18. ^ McNary, Dave (May 5, 2017). "'Law & Order' Director, DGA Official Ed Sherin Dies at 87". Variety. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  19. ^ Shanley, Patrick (May 5, 2017). "Edwin Sherin, Director of 'The Great White Hope' on Broadway and 'Law & Order,' Dies at 87". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  20. ^ Jones, Kenneth."'Prymate' Quietly Closes on Broadway" Archived 2010-06-19 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 10, 2004
  21. ^ Gussow, Mel."Play: 'Goodbye Fidel' About Cuban Exiles; Between Parties" The New York Times (abstract), April 24, 1980
  22. ^ Arbuzov, Alekseĭ Nikolaevich.Script Do You Turn Somersaults?: A Play in Two Parts (books.google.com), Samuel French, Inc., 1978, ISBN 0-573-60832-6, p.4
  23. ^ Barnes, Clive."Stage:Williams' Eccentricities" The New York Times (abstract), November 24, 1976, p. 23
  24. ^ Barnes, Clive. "'Rex' by Rodgers Stars Williamson", The New York Times, April 26, 1976, p. 32
  25. ^ Barnes, Clive."The Stage:'Sweet Bird' of Brooklyn" The New York Times (abstract), December 4, 1975, p. 53
  26. ^ Kanfer, Stefan. "The Theater: Brute Strength". Time. December 30, 1974.
  27. ^ Randall, Bob.Script 6 rms riv vu: a Comedy in Two Acts (books.google.com), Samuel French, Inc., 1973, ISBN 0-573-61545-4, p. 3
  28. ^ "An Evening With Richard Nixon and... Broadway Original Cast". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  29. ^ "The White Rose and the Red Off-Broadway Original Cast". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  30. ^ "A Streetcar Named Desire | Cast & Crew". theatricalia.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
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