Born in Vladislavov, in the
Suwałki Governorate of
Congress Poland, a part of the
Russian Empire (present-day
Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania) to a
Lithuanian-Jewish 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 in 1881. They settled in
Syracuse, New York, where a number of Lithuanian
Jewish families were already living. His father's
alcoholism 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 only had a 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 to be the successful operators of several theaters in
upstate New York.
Theatre empire 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 Street 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 foundation for what was to become the largest theatre empire of 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: "under the personal direction of Sam. S. Shubert."
Death and legacy in New York City, 1913 In the early hours of May 11, 1905, Shubert was traveling to
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on business, when the passenger train he was on collided with several freight cars, including one containing
dynamite, which exploded, in the Lochiel neighborhood of south
Harrisburg. Severely injured in the
train wreck, he succumbed to his injuries the next day. His body was brought back to New York for burial in the
Salem Fields Cemetery in
Brooklyn. His brothers named multiple theaters in his honor, beginning as early as October 1906 in
Kansas City, Missouri. The
Shubert Theatre in Boston, which opened in 1910, was also named in his honor. The Sam S. Shubert Theater and Shubert Building—as listed on the
National Register of Historic Places—opened in 1910 in
Saint Paul, Minnesota; it is now known as the
Fitzgerald Theater. In 1913, his brothers opened the
Sam S. Shubert Theatre in the heart of the
Broadway Theater District. The Boston and New York City buildings still carry the Shubert name and continue as active theaters, with the latter being one of the great landmarks of Broadway. Other theaters named in his honor include the
Majestic Theatre in Chicago, which was purchased by
The Shubert Organization in 1945 and renamed. The
Shubert Foundation, formed in 1945, was also named in his honor. ==Notes==