Sheldon Gross, Valley Forge Music Fair partner, dies
Sheldon Gross, 88, a partner in the firm that ran the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon from 1955 until the 1990s, died of complications of bladder cancer on Friday at Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Medical Center.
Sheldon Gross, 88, a partner in the firm that ran the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon from 1955 until the 1990s, died of complications of bladder cancer on Friday at Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Medical Center.
Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Gross, known as Shelly, began his entertainment career as an announcer on WFPG, an Atlantic City radio station in 1947, then switched to television in 1949, at WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, winning the TV Guide Announcer of the Year award in 1954.
In 1955, he teamed with Frank Ford and Lee Guber to open Valley Forge Music Fair under a circus tent, presenting summer musicals. That was followed in 1956 by the opening of the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island, and then others.
Mr. Gross later produced Broadway shows and national theatrical tours.
A memorial service is planned in Palm Beach Gardens on July 11.