Samuel Tecumseh Zolotow
(May 18, 1898 – October 21, 1993) was an American theater reporter for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' who was known for his tenacity in getting the details about how
Broadway shows were performing, relentlessly pursuing producers, press agents and the crowds attending opening nights to get the details he needed for his stories and columns during his half century at the newspaper.
Theater reporting
Zolotow served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, enlisting in 1916. After completing his military service, he was hired in December 1919 by ''The Times'' to work as a copyboy, though it was not until the 1930s that he had earned his own byline.
[Collins, Glenn]
"Sam Zolotow, a Theater Reporter For Many Decades, Is Dead at 94"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', October 23, 1993. Accessed October 18, 2009.
Arthur Gelb, a former theater critic and later managing editor of ''The Times'' described Zolotow as someone who could get any theater information he sought, as long as he had "a corned-beef sandwich, a cigar and a telephone... even if it took him all day and all night". Once on the phone with producer
Max Gordon, trying to pump him for details with little success, Gordon had to tell Zolotow over the phone "Sam, don't look at me that way". Attending theater openings for decades, he could get his best information by working the crowds. During a 1930s call to
Elmer Rice, Zolotow insisted on getting accurate numbers for Rice's current production and was left dumbfounded when Rice retorted "how much money did The New York Times take in last week?"
[
Over his 50 years with the paper, Zolotow had written five columns weekly, arriving early and doing his best to advocate for inclusion of the copy he wrote for each day's paper. He worked alongside such critics as ]Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
, Clive Barnes, George S. Kaufman, Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.
Career
Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next 55 ye ...
, Walter Kerr, Howard Taubman and Alexander Woollcott.[ A May 1969 retirement party was attended by 500 at the Playbill Restaurant in the Royal Manhattan Hotel, with best wishes sent by individuals from the theater, such as ]Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
, Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...
and Leslie Uggams
Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...
, as well as from Mayor John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
, Senator Jacob K. Javits and President Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
.[Gilroy, Harry]
"Broadway Hails Sam Zolotow Of Times at Retirement Fete"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', May 10, 1969. Accessed October 19, 2009.
On the side, Zolotow wrote a guide for new theater productions, ran a messenger service and early on would take wagers on horses. He once left a note that he had left on vacation to spend a week at Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
.[
]
Death
A resident of Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, Zolotow died of stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
on October 21, 1993, at age 94 at the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital in West Los Angeles.[ He was survived by two daughters, two sons, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His wife of 70 years had died in 1991.][
]
References
External links
Sam Zolotow papers, 1944-1967 (bulk 1962-1967)
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zolotow, Sam
1898 births
1993 deaths
American theater critics
Deaths from stomach cancer in California
The New York Times journalists
Writers from Santa Monica, California
United States Navy sailors