The longtime chairman of the Shubert Organization, Schoenfeld was once one of the most powerful men on Broadway. Schoenfeld died on November 25, 2008.

A native New Yorker, Schonfeld graduated from the University of Illinois and was quickly drafted for World War II. When he returned he got a law degree from NYU and began his career with the firm Klein and & Weir. Fortuitously, the Shubert Organization was a client, and Schonfeld was hired as the company's primary lawyer in 1957. By 1972, nearly a decade after J.J. Shubert passed away, Schoenfeld and his partner, Bernard Jacobs, took control over the company, with Schoenfeld managing operations and Jacobs handling artistic direction. With over a dozen theaters, Schoenfeld is credited with reviving Broadway out of its decline in the mid 70s with shows like Les Mis, Cats, and the Phantom of the Opera. Chairman for over three decades, Schoenfeld passed away in 2008 from a heart attack. [Image via Getty]