Winfield Sheehan

Winfield Sheehan
Sheehan in 1919
Born	Winfield R. Sheehan September 24, 1883
Died	July 25, 1945 (aged 61)
Spouse	Kay Laurell(m.1916-1927; her death)
Children	1

Winfield R. Sheehan(September 24, 1883 – July 25, 1945) was a film company executive. He was responsible for much ofFox Film Corporation's output during the 1920s and 1930s.

As studio head, he won anAcademy Award for Best Picturefor the filmCavalcadeand was nominated three more times.

Most famously, he nurtured the budding stardom of then-child starShirley Temple,in such films asStand Up and Cheer!andCurly Top.

A native ofBuffalo, New York,Sheehan served in theSpanish–American Waras a teen. After working as a cub reporter he became a police reporter for New York'sThe Evening Worldin the early 1900s. In 1910, Sheehan became the fire commissioner's secretary and in 1911 performed similar duties for the police commissioner. In the latter capacity, he helped the newly established studio ofWilliam Fox,stay afloat in the face of increasing pressure to fold from theMotion Picture Patents Company,which routinely absorbed, intimidated, and ultimately destroyed most fledgling studios.

The Fox case played a vital role in the destruction of the Motion Picture Patents Company's absolute control. Afterward, Sheehan became William Fox's personal secretary and two years later became the studio's general manager and vice president. He then served as Fox's chief of production from 1926 until 1935 when the studio became part of20th Century-Foxand was replaced byDarryl Zanuck.After that, Sheehan became an independent producer until his death in 1945.

External links

• Winfield SheehanatIMDb