Phone: 828-227-2324
Email: jsholder@email.wcu.edu
Office Address: Belk 279

Jack Sholder was born in Philadelphia where he studied to become a professional trumpet player.  While still in high school, he performed under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. 

After studying at Drexel Institute of Technology, the University of Edinburgh and L'Université de Besançon he graduated from Antioch College with a degree in English literature.

Jack began his career as an editor working on the documentary King: From Montgomery to Memphis that was nominated for an Academy Award.  He won an Emmy for his editing work on 3-2-1 Contact. After writing and directing several award-winning short films, Jack directed Alone In The Dark in 1982 starring Martin Landau, Jack Palance and Donald Pleasance.  He then wrote Where Are The Children for Columbia Pictures, and directed Nightmare On Elm Street II.

His next feature, The Hidden, won many awards including the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Film Festival, Jury Award at the Sitges Film Festival, and Best Director at Fantasporto. Premiere Magazine called it "one of the ten most underrated films of the '80s."  This was followed by Renegades with Kiefer Sutherland and By Dawn's Early Light for HBO with Martin Landau, James Earl Jones, Rip Torn, Rebecca de Mornay, and Powers Boothe. 

Jack directed four movies for the Fox Network: 12:01 with Jonathan Silverman and Martin Landau; Dark Reflection; Generation X, based on the Marvel comic book; and Runaway Car.  He directed Hands That See with Courtney Cox for Showtime.  In 1998 he wrote and directed Evil Never Dies for Artisan Entertainment and, in 2000, completed Arachnid for Filmax (Barcelona) and Lion’s Gate.

In 2002, Jack directed Beeper, a thriller starring Harvey Keitel that was shot in India.  And in 2003 he directed Twelve Days of Terror for Fox Television Studios and Discovery, a fictionalized account of an infamous series of shark attacks that took place in New Jersey in 1916.

In addition, Jack has directed episodes of Vietnam War Stories, Gabriel's Fire, Pensacola, Tales From The Crypt and Tremors, as well as the pilot for Richard Donner’s The Omen for NBC.

In 2004, Jack was appointed Director of the Motion Picture & Television Production program at Western Carolina University where he is Professor in the Department of Stage & Screen.   He currently lives in Asheville, NC.