Philip J. Smith, who led Shubert Organization, dies
NEW YORK — Philip J. Smith, who rose from box office treasurer at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway to chairman and co-CEO of the theatrical giant Shubert Organization, has died from complications from COVID-19, according to his daughters. He was 89.
In a career that spanned 63 years, Smith worked in every department of the Shubert Organization and was named general manager of all Shubert Theatres in 1964. The Shubert Organization owns and operates 17 Broadway theatres and six off-Broadway venues.
Smith “influenced every aspect of the professional theatre and earned the respect and admiration of everyone from the stage doormen to the greatest performers and creative talents of our time,” Robert E. Wankel, chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization, said in a statement.
Smith would assume the role of president, and in 2008, he was named chairman and co-CEO alongside Robert E. Wankel. Smith retired in June 2020 and also stepped down as chairman of The Shubert Foundation, the company’s nonprofit arm.
In 2011, Smith was honored with a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in recognition of his contributions to the theater industry. “We may live in smartphones and iPads, but nothing will ever replace the magic of Broadway. I’m so proud to be a part of it,” he said at the time.
Smith was promoted to Shubert vice president in 1969, a post he held for 15 years. One of his most important innovations was the introduction of credit cards as a method of buying show tickets. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Times Square TKTS discount ticket booth. He helped decide what Broadway-goers would see, sometimes produced shows and often invested in them, negotiated labor contracts and maintained the aging theaters.
“It’s never boring here,” he told Playbill in 2005. “I come in here in the morning, and I have no idea what’s going to happen in the course of the day.”