Samuel S. Shubert (August 27, 1878 – May 13, 1905) was an American producer and theatre owner/operator. He was the middle son in the
Shubert family
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...
and was raised in
Syracuse, New York.
Biography
Born in Vladislavov, in the
Suwałki Governorate
Suwałki Governorate (russian: Сувалкская губерния, pl, gubernia suwalska, lt, Suvalkų gubernija) was a guberniya, governorate (administrative area) of Congress Poland ("Russian Poland") which had its seat in the city of Suwał ...
of
Congress Poland, a part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(present-day
Kudirkos Naumiestis
Kudirkos Naumiestis () is in the Šakiai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located south-west of Šakiai.
History
The settlement was first mentioned in 1561 as a village called ''Duoliebaičiai.'' In 1639 the town was renamed ''Vladisla ...
,
Lithuania) to a
Lithuanian-Jewish
Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...
family, he was the second son and fifth child of Duvvid Schubart and Katrina Helwitz. He was four years old when the family emigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in 1881. They settled in
Syracuse, New York, where a number of
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish families from there already were living. His father's
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
kept the family in difficult financial circumstances, and at a very young age Sam Shubert had to work as a shoeshine boy.
Syracuse operations
He eventually obtained a job at the Grand Opera House, selling programs and working in the box office. Although he had only rudimentary education, Sam Shubert had a quick mind for mathematics, which resulted in his promotion to assistant treasurer. After accepting the position of treasurer at the ''
Wieting Theatre'', the largest in the city of Syracuse, Shubert soon developed an interest in the production of plays. With borrowed money, he embarked on a venture that led him and his
two brothers Two Brothers may refer to:
Films
* ''Two Brothers'' (1929 film), a 1929 German silent film, directed by Mikhail Dubson
* ''Two Brothers'' (2004 film), a 2004 French-British film, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
* ''The Two Brothers'' (film), a ...
to be the successful operators of several theaters in
upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...
.
Theatre empire
The Shubert brothers decided to expand to the huge market in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and at the end of March 1900, Sam Shubert leased the
Herald Square Theatre
The Herald Square Theatre was a Broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City, built in 1883 and closed in 1914. The site is now a highrise designed by H. Craig Severance.
History
The Park Theatre opened in 1883 (also known as the New Park Theat ...
at the corner of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and 35th Street in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Leaving younger brother
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
at home to manage their existing theatres, he and older brother
Lee moved to New York City, where they laid the foundation for what was to become the largest theatre empire in the 20th century.
Sam Shubert had the idea for his first original production, ''Fantana'', which premiered at the ''Lyric Theatre'' on January 14, 1905. "The show was Sam's idea, and he more or less cowrote the libretto. When his coauthor, Robert B. Smith, claimed to have done all the actual writing, Sam admitted that he had but would not change the credits." He also took the directing credit for the 1904 revival of the comedy opera ''
Wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thai ...
'': "under the personal direction of Sam. S. Shubert."
Railroad accident
In May 1905, Sam Shubert was traveling to
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
on business, when the passenger train he was on collided with several freight cars in the Lochiel neighborhood of south
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
. Severely injured in the
train wreck
A train wreck, train collision, train accident or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an acci ...
, Sam Shubert succumbed to his injuries two days later at the age of 26. His body was brought back to New York for burial in the
Salem Fields Cemetery in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
In 1913, Sam Shubert's brothers opened a prestigious new theatre at 225 West 44th Street, in the heart of the
Broadway Theater District
New York City's Theater District (sometimes spelled Theatre District, and officially zoned as the "Theater Subdistrict") is an area and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan where most Broadway theaters are located, as well as many other theaters, ...
, which was named in his honor. The
Sam S. Shubert Theatre remains in operation today as one of the great landmarks of Broadway. In 1945,
The Shubert Organization
The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers in the late 19th century. They steadily expanded, owning many theaters ...
purchased the
Majestic Theatre Majestic Theatre or Majestic Theater may refer to:
Australia
* Majestic Theatre, Adelaide, former name of a theatre in King William Street, Adelaide, built 1916, now demolished
* Majestic Theatre, Launceston, a former cinema in Tasmania designed b ...
, at 22 West Monroe Street in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, and it too was renamed the Sam S. Shubert Theatre.
"Bank of America Theatre history
cinematreasures.org, retrieved December 30, 2009
Notes
*Hirsch, Foster. ''The Boys From Syracuse'' (1998), SIU Press.
References
External links
*
* ''Shubert Foundation biography''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shubert, Sam S.
1878 births
1905 deaths
People from Kudirkos Naumiestis
Lithuanian Jews
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
American theatre managers and producers
American entertainment industry businesspeople
Jewish American writers
Businesspeople from Syracuse, New York
Shubert Organization
Railway accident deaths in the United States
Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania
Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery
19th-century American businesspeople