Sam was born May 11, 1929, in Altoona, Pa., where his family had been in the business of marketing refined oil products under the name of the Independent Oil Company of Pennsylvania, which was bought out by Standard Oil.
He came to us from Culver Military. At Princeton, Sam majored in English and was a member of Cloister, the Hillel Foundation, and the Hunt Club. After two years of Army service, he earned a law degree at Yale.
Sam’s professional career centered in New York, where from the 1970s well into the 1990s he became — in the opinion of many of his peers — one of the most effective motion picture and theatrical talent agents in the entertainment industry. His skills in contract negotiation and film, television, and play production packaging were greatly sought after. His legendary client roster included Woody Allen, E.L. Doctorow, Bob Fosse, Peter Maas, Liza Minnelli, and Mike Nichols. When much of the talent-agency business shifted to the West Coast, Sam, who preferred to remain in New York, played a less prominent part.
He died May 6, 2009, and is survived by his wife, Jane Gelfman; his son, Peter; and his daughter, Marya.