Biography for
Sam Wanamaker More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

14 June 1919, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Date of Death

18 December 1993, London, England, UK (cancer)

Mini Biography

Actor and director, born in Chicago, IL. He studied at Drake University, IA, then trained at Goodman Theatre, Chicago, worked with summer stock companies in Chicago as an actor and director, and made his London debut in 1952. In 1957, he was appointed director of the New Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, and in 1959 joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company at Stratford-upon-Avon. He produced or directed several works at Covent Garden and elsewhere in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations in 1974. He worked both as director and actor in films and television, his appearances included The Spiral Staircase (1975), Private Benjamin (1980), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), and Baby Boom (1987).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Lester A Dinerstein

Spouse

Charlotte Holland

(25 May 1940 - 18 December 1993) (his death) 3 children

Trivia

1997: Founder of the International Shakespeare Globe Centre, The Globe Theater, Bankside, Southwark, London.

1994: He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award: Society of London Theatre's Special Award for Lifetime Achievement (1993 season).

In the 1970s he and actress Jan Sterling entered into a relationship, and although they never married, they stayed together until his death in 1993.

1943-46: Served in the Army during and after WWII.

Had three daughters: Abby, Jessica and actress Zoë Wanamaker.

Although Wanamaker was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Globe Theatre in London, England, he did not get to see the theatre's grand opening in 1997, having died of prostate cancer four years earlier.

After learning that he had been blacklisted during the McCarthy "Red Scare" period after filming Mr. Denning Drives North (1952) in the U.K., he stayed and settled in England.

1993: He was awarded an honorary CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to the Globe Theater.

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