Herman Shumlin, a leading producer and director of serious Broadway drama, was born in Atwood, Colorado on December 6, 1898. Although his formal education ended after only one year of high school, he became a reporter for the New York Clipper (a theatrical weekly) in 1924.
Continuing a theatrically-oriented career, he served as a motion picture editor for Billboard from 1924 to 1925 and later as a press agent for Schwab and Mandel (1926) and manager for producer Jed Harris (1927), before turning to theatrical production on his own by staging the drama The Celebrity in 1927. In 1930 Shumlim experienced his first real successes with The Last Mile and Grand Hotel.
Some of Shumlin's best work during the 1930's arose from his association with Lillian Hellman who was originally a play reader in his office. He produced and directed The Children's Hour for her in 1934 and later staged four other Hellman dramas including The Little Foxes (1939), Watch on the Rhine (1941) and The Searching Wind (1944). During World War II he directed Watch on the Rhine for Warner Brothers, following it with Confidential Agent in 1945.
Besides the Hellman dramas, the best known hits that Shumlin produced and/or directed include The Male Animal (1939 or 1940), The Corn is Green (1943), which starred Ethel Barrymore, and Inherit the Wind (1955) with Paul Muni and Melvyn Douglas. His controversial production of The Deputy in 1964 earned him a Tony Award. Some of Shumlin's other stagings include The Merchant of Yonkers (later The Matchmaker, 1938), Wedding Breakfast (1954), Only in America (1959), and Tall Story (1959). Spofford, staged in 1967, was his one attempt at writing a play.
Described as a “passionate political liberal” Shumlin was a generous contributor to many social action causes. He also served as secretary of the League of New York Theatres and was active on behalf of the Council for the Living Theatre and the Committee of Theatrical Producers.
Herman Shumlin was married three times (Rose Keane, Carmen Englander, and Diana Shumlin), the first two of which ended in divorce. He died on June 14, 1979.
