Bernard Jacobs; President of Shubert Organization

Bernard B. Jacobs, president of the Shubert Organization, which is the largest landlord on Broadway and owns theaters in Los Angeles and two dozen other cities, has died. He was 80.

Jacobs died Tuesday in New York of complications after heart bypass surgery, Shubert Chairman Gerald Schoenfeld said.

Schoenfeld said Jacobs “was my friend and partner for 40 years and one of the best friends the theater ever had.”

Marquees at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, the 17 Shubert-owned theaters along New York’s Broadway and those across the country dimmed their lights Tuesday night in honor of the impresario.

Frequently seen walking near Times Square to his office on Shubert Alley, Jacobs was considered a fixture on Broadway and in theater in general.

Jacobs, who had been president of the company for 24 years, supervised installation of a computerized system for ticket sales and a program that allows New York City schoolchildren to attend the theater as Shubert guests.

In addition to New York and Los Angeles, the company owns theaters in such cities as Philadelphia and Boston, and manages the National Theater in Washington, D.C.

The almost century-old organization, jointly run by Shubert and Schoenfeld, also produces plays and was responsible for the hit shows “Cats,” “The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby,” “The Heidi Chronicles,” “Amadeus,” “Dreamgirls,” “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Children of a Lesser God” and “Dancin’.”

Shubert was also president of the philanthropic Shubert Foundation, which benefits arts programs, and vice president of the League of American Theaters and Producers. He was a trustee of the Actors’ Fund of America and taught theater at the Columbia School of the Arts.

Of all his many awards over the years, Jacobs was proudest of his gold lifetime membership card in the Stagehands Union Local No. 1, the first ever given to a management executive. He was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1994.

Born in New York City, Jacobs was educated at New York University and Columbia University School of Law. He practiced law in New York for many years and was counsel to the Shubert Organization before becoming president.

Jacobs is survived by his wife, Betty; a son and daughter, Stephen Jacobs and Sally Baker; a sister, Edith Kaufman, and three grandchildren.

The funeral will be private, and a public memorial service will be planned. The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Actors’ Fund of America, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY.