# Sam Lucchese

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{{Short description|Businessman and impresario (1868–1929)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Sam Lucchese
| image              = Sam Lucchese.jpg
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = February 24, 1868
| birth_place        = [Palermo, Sicily](/source/Palermo), [Kingdom of Italy](/source/Kingdom_of_Italy)
| death_date         = January 15, 1929
| death_place        = [San Antonio, Texas](/source/San_Antonio%2C_Texas), US
| resting_place      = Saint Mary's Cemetery
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| known_for          = 
| education          = 
| alma mater         = 
| employer           = 
| occupation         = {{hlist|Businessman|[impresario](/source/impresario)}}
| title              = 
| term               = 
| predecessor        = 
| successor          = 
| party              = 
| boards             = 
| spouse             = Frances Battaglia
| children           = 5, including [Josephine](/source/Josephine_Lucchese)
| relatives          = 
}}
'''Sam Lucchese''' (February 24, 1868 – January 15, 1929) was an Italian-born American businessman and [impresario](/source/impresario). He was the founder of the [Lucchese Boot Company](/source/Lucchese_Boot_Company) and the owner of Spanish-language theaters in [San Antonio](/source/San_Antonio) and [Laredo, Texas](/source/Laredo%2C_Texas).

==Early life==
Sam Lucchese was born on February 24, 1868, in [Palermo](/source/Palermo), Sicily, Italy.<ref name="elizabeth">Elizabeth C. Ramírez, "LUCCHESE, SAM," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fluan), accessed July 16, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the [Texas State Historical Association](/source/Texas_State_Historical_Association).</ref> He immigrated to the United States in 1883 with his parents and siblings, settling in San Antonio, Texas.<ref name="elizabeth"/><ref name="briscoe">[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01552/cah-01552.html A Guide to the Lucchese Boot Company Records, 1910-1968], [Dolph Briscoe Center for American History](/source/Dolph_Briscoe_Center_for_American_History)</ref>

==Career==
Lucchese was a businessman. In 1883, he co-founded the Lucchese Boot Company with his brother in San Antonio.<ref name="elizabeth"/><ref name="briscoe"/>

With the revenue from his boot company, Lucchese opened Spanish-language theaters in San Antonio and Laredo.<ref name="haneyarticle">{{cite journal |last=Haney |first=Peter C. |title=Bilingual Humor, Verbal Hygiene, and the Gendered Contradictions of Cultural Citizenship in Early Mexican American Comedy|journal=Journal of Linguistic Anthropology |volume=13 |issue=2 |page=168 |jstor=43102607 | date = December 2003 |doi=10.1525/jlin.2003.13.2.163 |hdl=1808/9943 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In 1912, he acquired the Teatro Zaragoza on the corner of Commerce Street and Santa Rosa Street in San Antonio.<ref name="elizabeth"/><ref name="haneyarticle"/> Five years later, in 1917, he acquired the Teatro Nacional, located at the same intersection in San Antonio.<ref name="elizabeth"/><ref name="haneyarticle"/> An impresario, he hired actors from Mexico to perform in his theaters.<ref name="elizabeth"/>

==Personal life==
He married Frances Battaglia.<ref name="elizabeth"/> They had three sons and two daughters. Their son Gaetano "Tano" Lucchese ran the family's Spanish-language theaters<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1949 |title=Lucchese's Rise Meteoric |work=San Antonio Light |pages=28-31}}</ref>, expanding the collection in San Antonio to include the Alameda Theater and Casa de Mexico International Building.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 21, 1947 |title=FOREIGN TRADE: The Best of Everything |url=https://time.com/archive/6775682/foreign-trade-the-best-of-everything/ |access-date=December 18, 2025 |work=Time Magazine}}</ref> Daughter [Josephine Lucchese](/source/Josephine_Lucchese) became a renowned opera vocalist<ref name="elizabeth" /> and performed at the opening night of the Alameda Theater.<ref name=":0" />

==Death and legacy==
He died of a stroke on January 15, 1929, in San Antonio, Texas.<ref name="elizabeth"/> He was buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery. After his death, his son Cosimo took over the Lucchese Boot Company.<ref name="elizabeth"/><ref name="briscoe"/> His grandson, Samuel James Lucchese, succeeded him, and designed boots for many actors.<ref name="briscoe"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|50043931}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucchese, Sam}}
Category:1868 births
Category:1929 deaths
Category:Businesspeople from Palermo
Category:Italian emigrants to the United States
Category:Businesspeople from San Antonio
Category:Entertainers from San Antonio
Category:Businesspeople from Texas
Category:American company founders
Category:American businesspeople in fashion
Category:Theatre owners
Category:Italian impresarios
Category:American impresarios

{{US-business-bio-1860s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sam Lucchese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Lucchese) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Lucchese?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.