Jeff Sherman

Jeff Sherman was born August 27, 1956 in Phoenix, Arizona to parents Robert F. Sherman and Virginia Sherman, also an Arizona native. He graduated from Washington High, and took theater at Phoenix College. Jeff began filmmaking when he was 12 years old, shooting many short films on 8mm and 16mm film. Influences include Hitchcock, Arthur Penn, Michael Cimino and many independent filmmakers as well, including Terry Gilliam. One of his earliest and most prolific influences was a local Phoenix television show by the name of "Wallace and Ladmo", a show that was a big influence on a multitude of other budding Arizona artists as well, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg, whose career also began by making 8mm movies in the Phoenix area! Most of Jeff's early movies were cast with friends, family, unwilling neighbors and pets, as well as dummies, fake blood, bicycles and go-karts launched from high places in a manner that left everyone shaking their heads, and almost giving his mother a heart attack during one of his "life-like" stunts! Growing up in the summers of the late sixties and seventies in Prescott, Arizona was advantageous for Jeff as there were always movies being filmed around there - "Easy Rider", "Billy Jack", "Bless The Beasts And Children", "Junior Bonner" and "The Gumball Rally" were films that he managed to partake in, mostly just as an extra but also witnessing first-hand movie making history. After meeting Sam Peckinpah on the set of "Junior Bonner" he felt that he knew what his calling was. Jeff is owner/operator of Groom Creek Productions.