Background
Schoenfeld, Gerald was born on September 22, 1924 in New York City.
Schoenfeld, Gerald was born on September 22, 1924 in New York City.
Bachelor of Science, University Illinois. Bachelor of Laws, New York University, 1949. Postgraduate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Postgraduate, Columbia University. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), City University of New York, 1999. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Emerson College, 2001.
After graduating from the University of Illinois, Schoenfeld fought in World World War World War II On his return, he obtained a law degree from New York University and got a job with a local law firm then known as Klein & Weir. After Adolph Lund"s death at age 49 on January 1, 1957, Jacob J. Shubert, the surviving Shubert brother, hired Schoenfeld to represent him and his interests. Schoenfeld was 32 at the time.
Later that same year, Jacob J. Shubert, encouraged Schoenfeld to hire a second primary lawyer
A power struggle for control of the organization followed Josip Juraj Shubert"s death in 1963. By 1972, Schoenfeld and Jacobs had taken control of the organization.
Schoenfeld tended to manage the maintenance and operational aspect of the theaters, while Jacobs was more involved in the artistic aspect. The two are credited with pulling American theater out of a steep downward spiral in the early 1970s and making it into a profitable enterprise.
As of 2008, the Shubert Organization owned 17 Broadway theaters, one off-Broadway theater, and major theaters in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, District of Columbia
lieutenant remains the preeminent organization in American theater. In 2004, Broadway"s Plymouth Theatre was renamed The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in his honor. Schoenfeld died from a heart attack in 2008.
He was 84.
Board member New York Convention & Visiting Bureau. Chairman Mayor's Midtown Citizens Committee, New York City & Company. Fellow: American Academy Arts and Sciences.
Married Pat Schoenfeld, 1950. 1 child Carrie.