Harry Sherman

Harry "Pop" Sherman (November 5, 1884 – September 25, 1952) was an American film producer known for his work in the Western genre during the 1930s and 1940s. He introduced the character Hopalong Cassidy to the silver screen, and is the father of screenwriter Teddi Sherman.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Sherman had an early love for film (Westerns in particular), working as a theater owner on the East Coast while starting his family. In 1913, while seeking movies to show at his theater, he traveled to Hollywood and met D.W. Griffith; Sherman ended up giving Griffith a loan for the money needed to complete Birth of a Nation.

Sherman arrived in Hollywood full-time in 1926, and worked at both Pathe and MGM before striking out on his own as an independent producer. He brought the popular Hopalong Cassidy character to the big screen in 1935, and would go on to produce 50+ more films in the series before turning duties over to Hopalong actor William Boyd. Sherman took pride in his clean-cut stories and righteous characters. He died in 1952 after entering the hospital for abdominal surgery.