Sam H. Harris

Samuel Henry Harris was born on Manhattan's Lower East Side to poor Jewish parents.

[1][2] After a stint as a cough drop salesman and boxing manager, Harris's first production was Theodore Kremer's The Evil That Men Do, which he co-produced with Al Woods in 1903.

He sold it in 1926 to the Shubert Organization, but it continued to operate under the Harris name for the next 68 years, even after it was converted to a movie house in 1933; the theater finally closed in 1994 and, except for its facade, was demolished in 1997.

He was known for fairness to actors and writers amid the generally harsh treatment prevailing in the industry.

Harris was portrayed by Richard Whorf in the Academy Award-winning biopic, Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942.