Philip J. Smith, chairman emeritus of the Shubert Organization, dies of Covid

Philip J. Smith, chairman of the powerful Shubert Organization, whose empire of Broadway theaters and showcase productions made him one of New York’s most influential real estate and cultural entrepreneurs, died on Friday in a Manhattan hospital. He was 89.

A statement released by Shubert and his daughters, Linda Phillips and Jennifer Stein, said the cause was complications of Covid-19.

From a baronial suite in Shubert Alley in the heart of the theater district, Mr. Smith, a low-key businessman who started as a movie usher, presided for more than a decade over the nation’s oldest and largest theatrical company, an archipelago of 17 Broadway theaters, many of them historic landmarks; six Off Broadway stages; and other properties, including a theater in Philadelphia.


-more-

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/theater/Philip-J-Smith-dead.html#:~:text=At%20a%20party%20one%20night,%2C%20a%20dancer%2C%20in%201960.