Known for The Hidden, Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and Alone in the Dark, Jack Sholder was born in Philadelphia where he studied to become a classical trumpet player. While still in high school, he performed under such conductors as Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. After a year studying chemical engineering, he attended the University of Edinburgh and L'Université de Besançon and graduated from Antioch College with a degree in English literature. Sholder began his career as a film editor, working on the feature documentary King: From Montgomery to Memphis which 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, Sholder directed Alone In The Dark, then wrote Where Are The Children starring Jill Clayburgh and directed Nightmare On Elm Street II. His next feature, The Hidden, won many awards including the Grand Prix at the Avoriaz Film Festival. Premiere Magazine called it "one of the ten most underrated films of the '80s." In 2004, Jack founded the Film & Television Production program at Western Carolina University where he was Professor and Director of the FTP program until 2017.