Samuel Roger Horchow facts for kids

Samuel Roger Horchow (July 3, 1928 – May 2, 2020) was an American businessman and a producer for Broadway shows. He was known for starting a special kind of shopping catalog and for winning awards for his plays.

Who Was Samuel Horchow?

Samuel Horchow was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Reuben Horchow, was a lawyer. Samuel became famous for his unique business ideas. He also brought exciting shows to the stage.

Starting a New Business Idea

In 1971, Samuel Horchow started something new. It was called The Horchow Collection. This was the first luxury mail-order catalog. A mail-order catalog lets you shop from home. You look at pictures in a book and order what you want. What made his catalog special? Most catalogs came from stores that already existed. But The Horchow Collection started as just a catalog. It did not have a physical store first. He sold his successful company to Neiman Marcus in 1988.

Broadway Success and Awards

Samuel Horchow also loved the theater. He became a producer for Broadway shows. Broadway is a famous theater district in New York City.

Award-Winning Musicals

In 1992, he produced his first Broadway show. It was a musical called Crazy for You. This musical featured music by George Gershwin. Samuel Horchow won a big award for it. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical. The London version of Crazy for You also won an award. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical. Even though it was inspired by an older show, Crazy for You was seen as a "new musical." It was directed by Mike Ockrent and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

In 2000, Horchow produced another show. He worked with Roger Berlind. They brought back a classic musical. It was Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter. For this show, he won his second Tony Award. This time, it was for Best Musical Revival.

Other Broadway Shows

Samuel Horchow continued to produce plays. In 2007, he helped produce Curtains. This was a funny murder mystery musical. It was nominated for many awards. In 2008, he was a producer for a revival of Gypsy. This show starred the famous actress Patti LuPone.

Education and Recognition

Samuel Horchow went to The Hill School. He graduated in 1945. In 2002, he received a high honor from the school. It was called The Sixth Form Leadership Award. He also went to Yale University. In 1999, Yale gave him an honorary doctorate degree. This is a special award for his achievements.

He was also mentioned in a famous book. The book is called The Tipping Point. It was written by New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell.

Author and Community Work

Samuel Horchow was also a writer. He wrote three books:

• The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections (2006)
• Elephants in Your Mailbox: How I Learned the Secrets of Mail-Order Marketing Despite Having Made 25 Horrendous Mistakes (1980)
• Living in Style: In A Time When Taste Means More Than Money (1981)

He was involved in many important groups. He was on the Board of Selectors for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service. He also served on the boards of several art museums. These included the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He was also Vice-Chairman of KERA Public Radio in Dallas. He supported the Dallas Theater Center.

Samuel Horchow lived in Dallas. He had three daughters and five granddaughters. His wife, Carolyn Pfeifer, passed away in 2009.