Jacob J. Shubert

Who was Jacob J. Shubert?

Jacob J. Shubert was naturalized American theatre owner/operator and producer and a member of the famous theatrical Shubert family.

Born in Vladislavov, Russian Empire, he was the sixth child and third son of Duvvid Schubart and Katrina Helwitz, a Jewish couple. Jacob was still a small child when the family emigrated in 1882 to the United States, settling in Syracuse, New York where a number of Jewish families from their hometown were already living.

His father's alcoholism kept the family in difficult financial circumstances and both he and his older brothers received little in the way of education and had no choice but to go to work at a young age. With borrowed money, he and brothers Sam and Lee Shubert eventually embarked on a business venture that led to them becoming the successful operators of several theatre houses in upstate New York.

The Shubert brothers decided to expand their theatrical operations and in 1900 Sam and Lee Shubert moved to New York City leaving Jacob at home to manage their existing theatres.