Chicago Theatre Impresario Tony De Santis Dies at 93

Legendary theater impresario Tony De Santis, founder of the Drury Lane empire, died today after a long battle with cancer. He was 93.  Born in Gary, Indiana, he died at home surrounded by his family. Survivors include his wife, Lucille, his daughter, Diane, grandchildren Jason and Tom Van Lente and grandchildren Kyle, Abby and Drew De Santis, as well as brother Dante and sister in-law Kay. A funeral mass will be said Monday, June 11 at 10:30am at Holy Name Cathedral, 730 North Wabash, Chicago. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for Catholic Charities, c/o Tony De Santis Fund, Dept. 1623, Box N, Chicago, IL 60690-3990.

It all began in 1949 when Anthony De Santis bought the very first Drury Lane Theater, located in a tent set up next to his famous Martinique restaurant.  De Santis became a celebrated restaurateur and legendary Chicago theater owner, introducing 5 state-of-the-art theatres to the Chicagoland area:  the North, South, East, Water Tower and Oakbrook Terrace Drury Lanes.  He and his family still own the hugely successful Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace (his daughter, Diane "Chi Chi" serves as Producer of the 971 seat theater and grandson Kyle is a Catering Manager at the venue) and the 549 seat Drury Lane Water Tower Place which he opened in 2005. Drury Lane has dominated the Chicago theatre scene for the last half century, and currently has 24,000 subscribers.  His venues are known to be the primary spot for Midwesterners to see Hollywood and Broadway stars and top local talent in person.  De Santis' goal was and has always been to provide affordable and accessible showbiz glamour to all in and around Chicago. Most Chicagoans have attended a theater event or banquet function at his Drury Lanes through the years, and have fond memories of the experience.

When De Santis started in 1937, he was a high school drop out working for the Sherwin Williams Paint Company. Bartending in the evenings, he saved $3000 to open the Drury Lane Theater, Evergreen Park (The Martinique) in 1949, "the" place for theater, weddings, proms, banquets and events. De Santis is part owner of two Hilton Hotels in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois and owner of a sixty-five year lease with Marriott Hotel in Lincolnshire, Illinois.  His weekly brunch at the Drury Lane Oakbrook is one of the most popular in the Chicagoland area.

De Santis was a devout Catholic and a family man that shied from the public arena never having put his name on his theaters and restaurants.  His generous donations to numerous Catholic charities each year underscored this devotion.  In 2006, he made a one million dollar donation to Catholic Charities. Some religious awards that De Santis has received include Knight Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (appointed by the Queen of England), Knight Commander with Placa Order of Saint Gregory, Decorated Knight of the Grand Cross of the order of the Holy Sepulchre, Knight of Malta, Knight of Saint Lazarus and Humanitarian Award 1966 from Little Flower Society Commander.   His generous donations to the poor, handicapped and hungry have earned him numerous awards including Distinguished Service Award of Chicago Police Captain's Association, Man of the Decade from Evergreen Park Chamber of Commerce, and he was honored by the House of Representatives, State of llinois.

For over 50 years, he hosted over 1000 Catholic nuns from the Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan areas before the Christmas holiday for dinner and show. This was over a time period when he could have sold his theater seats  and filled his restaurant many times over with paying customers.  Although he always said that he had no knowledge of the theater, he hired and kept thousands of actors working through the years. He is treasured by his employees and up until a month ago went to work daily, 9am to 5pm.