Sam Wanamaker

Samuel Wanamaker (born Samuel Wattenmacker, 14 June 1919 – 18 December 1993) was an American actor and director whose five‑decade career spanned Broadway, Hollywood, and the British stage. Born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire, he trained at the Goodman School of Drama, the Art Institute of Chicago and Drake University before joining summer‑stock companies and the U.S. Army during World II. After the war he returned to New York, starring with Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Lorraine and directing the original Broadway production of Goodbye, My Fancy in 1948. The early 1950s McCarthy era blacklisting prompted him to remain in the United Kingdom, where he quickly became a leading figure in post‑war theatre, directing the London debut of Clifford Odets’ Winter Journey and heading the New Shakespeare Theatre in Liverpool. His work on the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford‑upon‑Avon, the Royal Opera House and numerous television productions cemented his reputation as “London’s favourite American actor and director.” In the 1970s Wanamaker turned his passion for Shakespeare into a lifelong obsession: he founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust, raised millions of pounds, and oversaw the construction of a faithful replica of the original Globe on Bankside, a project that earned him an honorary CBE in 1993. Though he died of lung cancer before the Globe’s official opening, his legacy lives on in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and in the generations of actors—most notably his daughter Zoë Wanamaker—who continue to benefit from his vision. His film credits include The Spiral Staircase, Private Benjamin and Superman IV, and he earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the miniseries Holocaust.