Warner Bros. director Vincent Sherman dies

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., June 20 (UPI) -- Vincent Sherman, whose film directing career began in 1939 at Warner Bros. in Hollywood, Calif., and who made 30 movies and television shows, has died at 99.

Sherman died Sunday at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Born Abraham Orovitz on July 16, 1906, in Vienna, Ga., a talent agency receptionist later renamed him Vincent Sherman.

He graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and attended law school, but decided to move to New York where he landed parts in Theater Guild productions and summer stock.

In 1937, he was hired by Warner Bros. to rewrite old scripts for the B-picture unit. He went on to direct films starring Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Errol Flynn in the 1940s.

In 1943, Sherman directed "The Hard Way," which was spotlighted as a forgotten masterpiece at the Telluride Film Festival in 1996.

During the McCarthy era, Sherman was "gray listed" and lost what he considered his most productive years for standing by colleagues accused of being communist.

He is survived by his son Eric, companion Francine York, daughter Hedwin Naimark, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.