Background
Sommers, Ben was born on December 1, 1906 in New York City. Son of Abraham and Dora (Milgrim) Schusterman.
shoe manufacturing company executive
Sommers, Ben was born on December 1, 1906 in New York City. Son of Abraham and Dora (Milgrim) Schusterman.
Sudent, Public Schools, Brooklyn.
He established the Capezio Foundation in 1951, which focused on dance, especially the regional ballet movement. In 1978, the same year he managed to persuade the United States Postal Service to issue stamps commemorating dance, he established National Dance Week, followed by International Dance Week in 1985. Born in New York City, Sommers became a stock boy at Capezio at the age of 14 and worked his way up to become company president in 1940.
In 1962 Sommers married Estelle Loshin, née Goldstein, (1919-1994).
Like him, she was a dancewear specialist who in 1947 transformed her first husband"s store, Loshin"s, into a retailer of leotards and other outfits. From 1964-1975 Estelle managed the Capezio Fashion Shop, where she innovated spandex bodywear, and from 1970 until her death in 1994 she was vice president and head administrator for the Capezio Dance-Theatre shops.
Sommers died at Lenox Hill Hospital on 30 April 1985, after suffering a heart attack shortly after attending that year"s Capezio Awards.
Married Jean Gerstner Sommers, December 25, 1928 (divorced November 1961). 1 child Carolyn; Married Estelle Goldstein Loshin, December 2, 1962.