Sam S. Shubert

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Samuel S. Shubert (August 27, 1878 – May 13, 1905) was a Polish-born American producer, writer, director, theatre owner/operator and a member of the Shubert family.

Born in Neustadt, Poland (now Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania), 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, settling in Syracuse, New York, where a number of Jewish families from their hometown in Poland were already living. However, his father's alcoholism kept the family in difficult financial circumstances, and at a very young age, Sam Shubert had to take work as a shoeshine boy. 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 him being promoted 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 to him and his two brothers to be the successful operators of several theaters in upstate New York.

The Shubert brothers decided to expand to the huge market in New York City and at the end of March, 1900, Sam Shubert leased the Herald Square Theatre at the corner of Broadway and 35th St. in Manhattan. Leaving younger brother Jacob at home to manage their existing theatres, he and older brother Lee moved to New York City, where they laid the foundations for what was to become the largest theatre empire in the 20th century.

In 1905, Sam Shubert was traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on business, when the passenger train he was on, collided with several freight cars in the Lochiel neighborhood of south Harrisburg. Severely injured in the train wreck, Sam Shubert succumbed to his injuries two days later, aged 26. His body was brought back to New York for burial in the Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn.

In 1913, Sam Shubert's brothers opened a prestigious new theatre at 225 West 44th Street, in the heart of the Broadway theatre district, 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 purchased the Majestic Theatre at 22 West Monroe St. in Chicago, Illinois and it too was renamed the Sam S. Schubert Theatre, Chicago.