Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

views. He is credited as the person most responsible for saving The Rose Theatre, which led to the modern recreation of

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

Theatre in London, where he is commemorated in the name of the

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. Built making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor theatre, the playhouse recalls the layout and style of th ...

, the site's second theatre.

Early life

Wanamaker was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the son of tailor Maurice Wattenmacker (Manus Watmakher) and Molly (''née'' Bobele). His parents were

Ukrainian Jews The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

from

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...

. He was the younger of two brothers, the elder being William, long-term cardiologist at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

. He trained at the

Goodman School of Drama The Theatre School at DePaul University, previously the Goodman School of Drama (also known as TTS and GSD, respectively) is the drama school of DePaul University. Founded with its first class conducted at the Art Institute of Chicago on January 5 ...

at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

(now at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

) and at Drake University and began working with

summer stock theatre In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...

companies in Chicago and northern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where he helped build the stage of the

Peninsula Players Peninsula Players is a summer theater located in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Founded in 1935 by Richard and Caroline Fisher, it is known as "America's Oldest Professional Resident Summer Theatre." History The Players was founded in 1935 by the br ...

Theatre in 1937.

Career

Wanamaker began his acting career in traveling shows and later worked on Broadway. In 1942 he starred with

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

in the play ''Joan of Lorraine'' and directed ''Two Gentlemen from Athens'' the following year."Actor Sam Wanamaker, 74; rebuilt Globe Theater", ''Chicago Tribune'', December 19, 1993 In 1943, Wanamaker was part of the cast of the play ''Counterattack'' at the National Theatre,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

During the play, he became enamored of the ideals of communism. He attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

prior to serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

between 1943 and 1946, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1947, he returned to civilian life as an actor and director. In 1948 he starred in and directed the original Broadway production of ''

Goodbye, My Fancy ''Goodbye, My Fancy'' is a 1948 play by Fay Kanin. A comedy in 3 Acts and 4 scenes, the work premiered at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario on October 21, 1948 for tryout performances before the production moved to Broadway in New York City. ...

''.

In 1951, Wanamaker made a speech welcoming the return of two of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

. In 1952, at the height of the McCarthy "

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

" period, Wanamaker, who was then acting in the UK, learned that despite his distinguished service in the Army during World War II, his years as a communist could lead to his being blacklisted in Hollywood. He consequently decided to remain in England, where he reestablished his career as a stage and film actor, along with becoming a director and producer. He explained: In 1952, he made his debut as both actor and director in London in

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdra ...

' ''Winter Journey''. The play, which co-starred

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

, was considered "sensational" by critics. He later appeared in other plays, including ''The Big Knife'', ''The Shrike'', ''The Rainmaker'', and ''

A Hatful of Rain ''A Hatful of Rain'' is a 1957 American drama film about a young married man with a secret morphine addiction, based on a 1955 Broadway play of the same name.Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

's musical play ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

'' (revived in New York in 1954 in a translation by Marc Blitzstein.) In 1957, he was appointed director of the neglected New Shakespeare Theatre in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. He brought a number of notable productions to the theatre, such as ''A View From the Bridge'', ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'', ''The Rose Tattoo'' and ''Bus Stop''. It was also transformed into a lively arts centre as a result of including other cultural attractions, such as films, lectures, jazz concerts and art exhibits. As a result of all his various activities, Wanamaker became London's "favourite American actor and director", noted ''The Guardian''. In 1959, he joined the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakesp ...

company at

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, playing

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film ''Tom Jones (1963 film ...

's production that year. In the 1960s and 1970s, he produced or directed several works at venues including the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, and directed the

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Birthday Celebrations in 1974. As a director and actor, he worked in both films and television, with roles in '' The Spiral Staircase'' (1974), '' Private Benjamin'' (1980), '' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987), and ''

Baby Boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds of defined national and cultural populations. People born during these periods are often ca ...

'' (1987). In 1968, he produced and directed the pilot episode of the Western TV series '' Lancer''; a fictionalized version of this is depicted in the 2019 film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a ...

'', and 2021

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

with Wanamaker portrayed by

Nicholas Hammond Nicholas Hammond (born May 15, 1950) is an American-born Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film ''The Sound of Music'' and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series ''The A ...

in the film. He also directed stage productions, including the world premiere production of

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...

's opera '' The Ice Break''. In 1980, he directed

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's opera ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'' starring Luciano Pavarotti at

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

(now broadcast version released as DVD). He was also featured as the widowed and very ruthless department store owner Simon Berrenger on the short-lived television drama ''

Berrenger's ''Berrenger's'' is an American prime-time soap opera television series created by Diana Gould that aired on NBC from January 5 to March 9, 1985. The series revolved around the Berrenger family, a New York dynasty which owned the glamorous depart ...

'' in 1985.

Restoring the Globe Theatre

In 1970 Wanamaker's career took a dramatic turn after he was annoyed that while a number of replicas of the Globe Theatre existed in the United States, the site of the original in London was marked by only a plaque on a nearby brewery. He then made it his goal to restore an exact replica of the Globe to feature plays and a museum. It became Wanamaker's "great obsession" to restore Shakespeare's Globe Theatre at its original location. He secured financial support from philanthropists and fellow lovers of Shakespeare, such as

Samuel H. Scripps Samuel Henrick Scripps (October 30, 1927 – February 16, 2007) was a patron of the arts, and played a significant role in gaining support and recognition for theatre and dance companies throughout America in the second half of the twentiet ...

, to see that it would be created. Wanamaker then founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, which raised well over ten million dollars. London, UK (August 2014) - 156

Though, as in the late 16th and 17th centuries, the 20th century Royal family were more or less supportive, British officialdom was far less so, since they wanted to develop the site for new high-rise housing and commercial use.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, which controlled the site, refused to give Wanamaker the precise dimensions of the original Globe.

Edward Chaney Edward Chaney (born 1951) is a British cultural historian. He is Professor Emeritus at Solent University and Honorary Professor at University College London (School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS) – Centre for Early Modern ...

, "Sam Wanamaker's Global Legacy", ''Salisbury Review'', June 1995, pp. 38–40."Sam Wanamaker's Great Obsession," by Karl E. Meyer, ''The New York Times'', December 29, 1996. According to Karl Meyer of ''The New York Times'':

The Shakespeare project helped Mr. Wanamaker keep his sanity and dignity intact. On his first visit to London in 1949, he had sought traces of the original theatre and was astonished to find only a blackened plaque on an unused brewery. He found this neglect inexplicable, and in 1970 launched the Shakespeare Globe Trust, later obtaining the building site and necessary permissions despite a hostile local council. He siphoned his earnings as actor and director into the project, undismayed by the scepticism of his British colleagues.

On the south bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in London, near where the modern recreation of

stands today, is a plaque that reads: "In Thanksgiving for Sam Wanamaker, Actor, Director, Producer, 1919–1993, whose vision rebuilt Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on Bankside in this parish". There is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

on the river-side wall of the theatre, and the site's Jacobean indoor theatre, opened in January 2014, is named the

after him. For his work in reconstructing the Globe Theatre, Wanamaker, in July 1993, was made an honorary

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE). He was also honoured with the Benjamin Franklin Medal by the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

in recognition of his contribution to theatre. When multi-

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning British actor

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...

accepted his third Tony on stage in New York City during the televised ceremonies on June 8, 2014, he did so with a note of thanks to Wanamaker.

Personal life

In 1940, Wanamaker married Canadian actress Charlotte Holland. In her 2014 memoir, ''I Said Yes to Everything'',

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's ''Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dougl ...

claimed that during production of the film ''

Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, and Malcolm McDowell. The story was inspired by actual events conc ...

'' (1976), Wanamaker engaged in an affair with British actress

Lynne Frederick Lynne Frederick (25 July 1954 – 27 April 1994) was an English actress, film producer, and fashion model. In a career spanning ten years, she made over thirty appearances in film and television productions. Known for her classic English rose b ...

, who was twenty-one at the time. Actress

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is a British-American actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. A nine-time Olivier Award nominee, she won for '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1979) and '' Electra ...

is his daughter and film historian Marc Wanamaker is his nephew.

Death

Wanamaker died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

in London on December 18, 1993, aged 74, prior to the grand opening of the Globe by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on June 12, 1997. He was survived by three daughters, Abby, Zoë, and Jessica.

Filmography

Actor

*''

My Girl Tisa ''My Girl Tisa'' is a 1948 film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker. It is based on the play ''Ever the Beginning'' by Lucille S. Prumbs and Sara B. Smith (copyrighted 14 May 1946). Plot In 1905, Tisa Kepes is a ...

'' (1948) as Mark Denek *'' Give Us This Day'' (1949) as Geremio *''

Mr. Denning Drives North ''Mr. Denning Drives North'' is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring John Mills, Phyllis Calvert and Sam Wanamaker. The plot concerns an aircraft manufacturer (Mills) who accidentally kills the boyfriend (Herbert ...

'' (1952) as Chick Eddowes *'' The Secret'' (1955) as Nick Delaney *'' The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959) as Narrator (voice) *'' The Criminal'' (1960) as Mike Carter *''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...

'' (1962) as Filipenko *'' Man in the Middle'' (1964) as Maj. Leon Kaufman, a psychiatrist *'' The Spy Who Came In from the Cold'' (1965) as Peters *''

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines ''Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines; Or, How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes'' is a 1965 British period comedy film that satirizes the early years of aviation. Directed and co-written by Ken Annakin, the film ...

'' (1965) as George Gruber *''

Warning Shot In military and police contexts, a warning shot is an intentionally harmless artillery shot or gunshot with intent to enact direct compliance and order to a hostile perpetrator or enemy forces. It is recognized as signalling intended confronta ...

'' (1967) as Frank Sanderman *''

The Day the Fish Came Out ''The Day the Fish Came Out'' (Greece: Otan ta psaria vgikan sti steria) is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Greek–British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis who also designed the film's futuristic costumes. The film stars Tom Courte ...

'' (1967) as Elias *''

Danger Route ''Danger Route'' is a 1967 British spy film directed by Seth Holt for Amicus Productions and starring Richard Johnson as Jonas Wilde, Carol Lynley and Barbara Bouchet. It was based on Andrew York's 1966 novel ''The Eliminator'' that was the work ...

'' (1968) as Lucinda *''

Arturo UI ''The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'' (german: Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui, links=no), subtitled "A parable play", is a 1941 play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht. It chronicles the rise of Arturo Ui, a fictional 1930s Chicago ...

'' (1972, TV Movie) as O'Casey *'' The Law'' (1974, TV Movie) as Jules Benson *''

Mousey ''Mousey'' (released as ''Cat and Mouse'' in theaters and on UK television) is a 1974 Canadian thriller action drama film directed by Daniel Petrie, and starring Kirk Douglas, Jean Seberg and John Vernon. Although made for television, it was ...

'' (1974, TV Movie) as Inspector *'' The Spiral Staircase'' (1975) as Lieutenant Fields *'' The Sell Out'' (1976) as Harry Sickles *''

'' (1976) as Carl Rosen *''

Billy Jack Goes to Washington ''Billy Jack Goes to Washington'' is a 1977 American political drama film starring Tom Laughlin, the fourth film in the ''Billy Jack'' series, and although the earlier films saw enormous success, this film did not. The film only had limited sc ...

'' (1977) as Bailey *''

The Billion Dollar Bubble ''The Billion Dollar Bubble'' is a 1978 American film made for the BBC series '' Horizon'' and directed by Brian Gibson about the story of the two-billion-dollar insurance embezzlement scheme involving Equity Funding Corporation of America. Th ...

'' (1978) as Stanley Goldblum *''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at s ...

'' (1978) as Sterndale Rockford *''

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

'' (1978, TV mini-series) as Moses Weiss *'' Contro 4 bandiere'' (1979) as Ray MacDonald *''

Charlie Muffin ''Charlie Muffin'' is a 1979 made-for-TV film based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Brian Freemantle. In the U.S., the picture was later re-released under the title ''A Deadly Game''. A Euston Films production, the movie features Da ...

'' (1979, TV Movie) as Ruttgers *'' Private Benjamin'' (1980) as Teddy Benjamin *'' The Competition'' (1980) as Andrew Erskine *'' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'' (1981) as Bernard Baruch *'' Our Family Business'' (1981, TV Movie) as Ralph *''

I Was a Mail Order Bride ''I Was a Mail Order Bride'' is a 1982 American made-for-television romantic comedy film directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and starring Valerie Bertinelli and Ted Wass. Plot Kate Tosconi is a journalist in her early 20s working in Chicago for a wom ...

'' (1982, TV Movie) as Frank Tosconi *''

Heartsounds ''Heartsounds'' is an American drama television film directed by Glenn Jordan and written by Fay Kanin, based on the book ''Heartsounds: The Story of a Love and Loss'' by Martha Weinman Lear. It stars Mary Tyler Moore and James Garner, with Sam W ...

'' (1984, TV Movie) as Moe Silverman *''

Irreconcilable Differences ''Irreconcilable Differences'' is a 1984 American comedy-drama film starring Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, and Drew Barrymore. The film was a minor box-office success, making over $12 million. For their performances, both Long and Barrymore were no ...

'' (1984) as David Kessler *''

The Ghost Writer ''The Ghost Writer'' is a 1979 novel by the American author Philip Roth. It is the first of Roth's novels narrated by Nathan Zuckerman, one of the author's putative fictional alter egos, and constitutes the first book in his '' Zuckerman Bound ...

'' (1984, TV Movie) as E.I. Lonoff *''

'' (1985, TV Series) as Simon Berrenger *'' The Aviator'' (1985) as Bruno Hansen *''

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

'' (1985, TV Movie) as Ambassador Arthur Ingram *'' Deceptions'' (1985, TV Movie) as Jim Nolan *'' Raw Deal'' (1986) as Luigi Patrovita *''

Sadie and Son Sadie may refer to: People Given name or nickname Women * Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898–1989), first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the United States and to practice law in Pennsylvania * Sadie Benning (born 1973), American ...

'' (1987, TV Movie) as Marty Goldstein *''

'' (1987) as Fritz Curtis *'' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987) as David Warfield *'' The Two Mrs. Grenvilles'' (1987, TV Movie) as District Attorney *''

'' (1988, TV series based on the 1987

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

) as Fritz Curtis *''

Judgment in Berlin ''Judgment in Berlin'' is a 1984 book by federal judge Herbert Jay Stern about a hijacking trial in the United States Court for Berlin in 1979, over which he presided. From the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945 until the reunification o ...

'' (1988) as Bernard Hellring *'' Tajna manastirske rakije'' (1988) as Ambassador Morley *'' The Shell Seekers'' (1989, TV Movie) as Richard *''

Always Remember I Love You ''Always Remember I Love You'' is a 1990 television film starring Patty Duke and Stephen Dorff, produced by Gross-Weston Productions in association with Stephen J. Cannell Productions. It tells the story of a teenage boy who, after finding out he ...

'' (1990, TV Movie) as Grandfather Mendham *''

Running Against Time ''Running Against Time'' is a 1990 American science fiction television film directed by Bruce Seth Green, written by Stanley Shapiro and Robert Glass, and starring Robert Hays, Catherine Hicks, and Sam Wanamaker. Based on Shapiro's 1986 novel '' A ...

'' (1990, TV Movie) as Doctor Koopman *''

Guilty by Suspicion ''Guilty by Suspicion'' is a 1991 American drama film about the Hollywood blacklist, McCarthyism, and the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Written and directed by Irwin Winkler, it stars Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, an ...

'' (1991) as Felix Graff *''

Pure Luck ''Pure Luck'' is a 1991 American comedy film starring Martin Short and Danny Glover. It is a remake of the popular French comedy film '' La Chèvre'' (1981). Plot The film opens as the klutzy Valerie Highsmith arrives at an airport in Puerto V ...

'' (1991) as Highsmith *''

City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...

'' (1992) (uncredited) *''

Killer Rules A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

'' (1993, TV Movie) as Gambon *'' Bloodlines: Murder in the Family'' (1993, TV Movie) as Gerald Woodman *'' Wild Justice'' (1994, TV Movie) as Kingston Parker (final film role)

Television

*''

'' (1978 TV Mini-Series) as Moses Weiss *''

Cameo Theatre ''Cameo Theatre'' is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1950 to 1955. Television in the round The live series, produced by Albert McCleery, introduced to television the concept of theater-in- ...

'' in "Manhattan Footstep" (episode # 1.4) June 7, 1950 *''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' – as Patrick Laurence in "The Lonely Chair" (episode # 1.8) October 30, 1960 *'' The Defenders'' – as Dr. Ralph Ames in "The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms" (episode # 1.7) October 28, 1961 *'' The Defenders'' – as James Henry David in "A Book for Burning" (episode # 2.27) March 30, 1963 *'' Man of the World'' – as Nicko in "The Bandit" (episode # 2.1) May 11, 1963 *''

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

'' – as Sprague in "Festival of Pawns" (episode # 1.10) December 11, 1963 *'' The Outer Limits'' – as Dr. Simon Holm in "

A Feasibility Study "A Feasibility Study" is an episode of the original '' The Outer Limits'' television show. It first aired on 13 April 1964, during the first season. It was remade in 1997 as part of the revived ''The Outer Limits'' series with a minor title chang ...

" (episode # 1.29) April 13, 1964 *'' The Defenders'' – as Edward Banter in "Hollow Triumph" (episode # 3.35) June 20, 1964 *'' The Defenders'' – as United States Attorney Brooker in "A Taste of Ashes" (episode # 4.8) November 12, 1964 *''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels w ...

'' – as Dr. Arcularis in "The Night of the Howling Light" (episode # 1.14) December 17, 1965 *''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' – as Asa Longworth in "Parson Comes to Town" (episode # 11.31) April 30, 1966 *'' Run for Your Life'' – as Major Joe Rankin in two episodes *'' The Baron'' – as Sefton Folkard in "You Can't Win Them All" (episode # 1.19) February 1, 1967 *''

Judd for the Defense ''Judd, for the Defense'' is an American legal drama originally broadcast on the ABC network on Friday nights from September 8, 1967, to March 21, 1969. Synopsis The show stars Carl Betz, who had previously spent eight years in the role of Dr. A ...

'' – as Shelly Gould in "The Gates of Cerberus" (episode # 2.8) November 15, 1968 *''

Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which t ...

'' in "A Wen" (episode # 1.233) December 27, 1971 *'' Rafferty'' – as Hollander in "Rafferty" (Pilot) (episode # 1.1) September 5, 1977 *''

Return of the Saint ''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian bro ...

'' – as Domenico in "Dragonseed" (episode # 1.22) February 25, 1979

Director

*'' The Defenders'' (TV series) – episode "Eyewitness" (1965) *''

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

'' (TV series) – episode "The Bitter Wind" (1966) *''

Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

'' (TV series) – episodes "Do Not Mutilate or Spindle", "Game with a Dead End" and "How Close Can You Get?" (1966) *''

Cimarron Strip ''Cimarron Strip'' is an American Western television series starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown. The series was produced by the creators of '' Gunsmoke'', and aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Reruns of the original show ...

'' (TV series) – episode "Broken Wing" (1967) *''

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

'' (TV series) – episode "Sabers in the Sun" (1967) *''

Dundee and the Culhane ''Dundee and the Culhane'' is an American Western drama series starring John Mills and Sean Garrison that aired on CBS from September 6 to December 13, 1967. Synopsis ''Dundee and the Culhane'' follows the exploits of two frontier lawyers who pro ...

'' (TV series) – episode "The Jubilee Raid Brief" (1967) *''

Coronet Blue ''Coronet Blue'' is an American adventure drama series that ran on CBS from May 29 until September 4, 1967. It starred Frank Converse as Michael Alden, an amnesiac in search of his identity. Brian Bedford co-starred. The show's 13 episodes were f ...

'' (TV series) – episodes "The Rebels", "Man Running", "Saturday" and "The Presence of Evil" (1967) *'' Lancer'' (TV series) – episode "The High Riders" (1968) *''

Premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

'' (TV series) – episode "Lassiter" (1968) *''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ITV ...

'' (TV series) – episode "To Trap A Rat" (1968) *''

The File of the Golden Goose ''The File of the Golden Goose'' is a 1969 British neo noir thriller film directed by Sam Wanamaker and starring Yul Brynner, Charles Gray and Edward Woodward. Its plot involves an American detective being sent to Britain to track down a majo ...

'' (1969) *'' The Executioner'' (1970) *''

Catlow ''Catlow'' is a 1971 American Western film, based on a 1963 novel of the same name by Louis L'Amour. It stars Yul Brynner as a renegade outlaw determined to pull off a Confederate gold heist. It co-stars Richard Crenna and Leonard Nimoy. Nimo ...

'' (1971) *''

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger ''Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' is a 1977 fantasy film directed by Sam Wanamaker and featuring stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film stars Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton. The third and final ''Sin ...

'' (1977) *'' Columbo: The Bye-Bye Sky High IQ Murder Case'' (1977) (TV) *'' David Cassidy - Man Undercover'' (TV series) – episode "Cage of Steel" (1978) *''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

'' (TV series) – episode "Death in the Slow Lane" (1979) *''

'' (TV series) – episode "Vicious Circle" (1979) *''Mrs. Columbo'' aka '' Kate Loves a Mystery'' (TV series) – episodes "A Puzzle for Prophets" and "Falling Star" (1979) *'' The Killing of Randy Webster'' (1981) (TV) *'' Columbo: Grand Deceptions'' (1989) (TV)

Notes

References

External links

* * *, video
Interview with Sam Wanamaker
September 18, 1992 ostly about directing opera {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanamaker, Sam 1919 births 1993 deaths Male actors from Chicago American emigrants to England American expatriates in England Film directors from Illinois American male film actors American male radio actors American male stage actors American theatre directors Burials at Southwark Cathedral Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from prostate cancer Drake University alumni Jewish American male actors American male Shakespearean actors Laurence Olivier Award winners Hollywood blacklist United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Jewish socialists 20th-century American male actors American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Honorary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire