Samuel H. Scripps

Samuel H. Scripps (October 30, 1927 – February 16, 2007) was a patron of the arts, and played a significant role in gaining support and recognition for theatre and dance companies throughout America in the second half of the twentieth century.

Born and raised on what became known as the Scripps Ranch in San Diego, California, in 1927, Scripps was the grandson of Edward Willis Scripps, American newspaper publisher and founder of The E. W. Scripps Company, and United Press International. Early in his life, Scripps developed a love for Shakespeare, as well as for dance. With his wife, Luise Elcanness Scripps, who was a specialist on the dance of India, Scripps was instrumental in promoting and supporting dance and theatre throughout America.

Scripps worked as Assistant Technical Director for the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, as well as Lighting Designer for the Riverside Shakespeare Company, for which he was also a major donor to the first center for performance and training of the works of Shakespeare in New York City, The Shakespeare Center. From 1988 to 1994, he was partner with W. Stuart McDowell in McDowell/Scripps Productions, developing new plays for the American stage, including The Brothers Booth!, which was workshopped in New York with David Strathairn, David Dukes, Maryann Plunkett, Angela Goethals, and Stephen Lang. In later years, Scripps also became a major donor and supporter of Theatre for a Young Audience in New York. In recognition of Scripps' financial support for the rebuilding of the Globe Theatre in London, Sam Wanamaker, head of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, said, "Sam Scripps is playing a key role in spearheading the plans to make the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe in London a reality." Eventually, even after Mr. Wanamaker's death in 1993, Scripps went on to become a key American donor to the rebuilding of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London in 1997.

...
Wikipedia