Sam Wanamaker

Sam Wanamaker (born Samuel Watenmaker) (June 14, 1919, Chicago – December 18, 1993, London, England) was an American actor and director.

Related Topics:
June 14 - 1919 - Chicago - December 18 - 1993 - London, England - American - Actor - Director

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Wanamaker began his acting career at the age of just 17. After training at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, he began working with summer stock theatre companies in Chicago and worked on Broadway and in travelling shows. He attended Drake University, Iowa prior to serving in the U.S. Army between 1943-1946 during the Second World War. After learning that he had become blacklisted by the House_Un-American_Activities_Committee after filming Mr. Denning Drives North in the U.K. in the early 1950s, Wanamaker declined to return to the U.S..

Related Topics:
Goodman Theatre - Chicago - Summer stock theatre - Broadway - Drake University - Iowa - U.S. Army - 1943 - 1946 - Second World War - Blacklist - House_Un-American_Activities_Committee - U.K. - 1950s - U.S.

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In 1952, he made his London debut. In 1957, he was appointed director of the New Shakespeare Theatre, in Liverpool. In 1959, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company at Stratford-upon-Avon. In the 1960s and 1970s, he produced or directed several works at Covent Garden and elsewhere including the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations in 1974.

Related Topics:
1952 - London - 1957 - New Shakespeare Theatre - Liverpool - 1959 - Shakespeare Memorial Theatre - Stratford-upon-Avon - 1960s - 1970s - Covent Garden - Shakespeare - 1974

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He worked both as a director and actor in both films and television, and his appearances included such movies as The Spiral Staircase (1974), Private Benjamin (1980), (1986), and Baby Boom (1987).

Related Topics:
The Spiral Staircase - 1974 - Private Benjamin - 1980 - 1986 - Baby Boom - 1987

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In 1940 he married Charlotte Holland, who was an American radio soap star of the 1940s and later an actress. She died in 1997 from cancer at the age of 82. In the 1970s, Sam Wanamaker began an intimate, long-standing relationship with the then-widowed American actress Jan Sterling.

Related Topics:
1940 - Charlotte Holland - 1940s - 1997 - Cancer - 1970s - Jan Sterling

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Wanamaker was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Globe Theatre in London, England, however he did not get to see the theatre's grand opening in 1997, having died of prostate cancer in 1993 at the age of 74. He and his wife are survived by their three daughters, Abby, Jessica & British-based actress Zoe Wanamaker.

Related Topics:
Globe Theatre - London, England - 1997 - Prostate cancer - 1993 - British - Zoe Wanamaker

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