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Sam Wanamaker

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Actor

The Resume

    (June 14, 1919-December 18, 1993)
    Born in Chicago, Illinois
    Birth name was Samuel Watenmaker
    Appeared in the films 'Give Us This Day' (1949), 'Taras Bulba' (1962), 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' (1965), 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' (1966), 'Voyage of the Damned' (1976), 'Death on the Nile' (1978), 'Private Benjamin' (1980), 'Superman IV: The Quest for Peace' (1987) and 'Guilty by Suspicion' (1991)
    Directed 'The Executioner' (1970) and 'Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger' (1977)
    Appeared on Broadway in 'Counterattack' (1943), 'Joan of Lorraine' (1947), 'Arms and the Man' (1950) and 'A Far Country' (1961)
    Directed the Broadway plays 'A Case of Libel' (1963) and 'A Murderer Among Us' (1964)
    Founded the Shakespeare Globe Trust (1970)
    Raised $10 million to build a reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
    Named an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1993)
    Father of actress Zoe Wanamaker

Why he might be annoying:

    He joined the Communist Party (1943).
    Although he and Charlotte Holland remained married until his death, in the 1970s he began a long-term relationship with actress Jan Sterling.
    His obsession with building the Globe limited his acting career.
    He admitted, 'I take jobs which will pay me as much as I can get in the shortest amount of time.'
    He did not see his dream come to fruition, dying four years before the Globe opened.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He served in the Army during World War II.
    He abandoned Communism over the stifling effects of party-line ideology (1947).
    He was blacklisted after welcoming two of the Hollywood Ten upon their release from jail (1952).
    He overcame decades of bureaucratic opposition to get the Globe built.
    He said, 'Because I was an American, they assumed I was going to create a Disneyland or that I was interested in property development and personal profit.'
    The Jacobean indoor theater at the Globe was named the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in his honor.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 133 Votes: 65.41% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 172 Votes: 65.12% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying