Weston theater fixture Sam Lloyd, 91, was a community leader, philanthropist

The Chester Telegraph | Mar 24, 2017 | Comments 18

Sam Lloyd in the 1950s. Click on a photo to launch the gallery. All photos provided

Sam Lloyd, an actor, businessman, philanthropist and community leader, died peacefully at his home in Weston on Friday, March 24. He was 91.

Mr. Lloyd’s death was announced by the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company with which he had a long association. The cause of death was heart failure.

Mr. Lloyd was born in New York City on Sept. 8, 1925, son of Sam Lloyd and Ruth Lapham Lloyd. He was raised in Stamford and New Canaan, Conn. After graduating from Lawrenceville Academy in 1942, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving with distinction in the Pacific during World War II in the 3rd Division, 21st Marines. He participated in the 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima.

After the war, Mr. Lloyd trained at the Feagin School of Drama and Radio in New York City and played summer stock in Ridgefield, Conn., and Chautauqua, N.Y. He then joined the acting company at the famed Cleveland Playhouse in Ohio, where – interrupted by a return to duty with the Marines during the Korean War – he spent many productive seasons.

Sam Lloyd, left, performing with his brother Christopher Lloyd in the 1990 WPTC production of ‘Sherlock.’

Mr. Lloyd first came to Weston in the summer of 1951 to perform at the Weston Playhouse, and subsequently appeared in more than 1,000 Playhouse performances, including Sherlock Holmes (1990) with his wife Barbara, brother Christopher and son Sam.

During the late 1950s, he moved to New York City where he studied with Uta Hagen, understudied Walter Matthau in the Broadway production of A Shot in the Dark and appeared in A Cook for Mr. General with a young Dustin Hoffman. He has also appeared in three Vermont films, The Spitfire Grill (1996), Where the Rivers Flow North (1993), and Bereft (2004).

In 1960, Mr. Lloyd and his family moved to Weston, where he acted and was active in business and community service. He owned and operated the Weston Bowl Mill for more than three decades, served eight years in the Vermont General Assembly, moderated the Weston Town Meeting for nearly four decades and served as a member of the State Environmental Board, the Weston Select Board and Planning Commission and the Flood Brook School Board. Mr. Lloyd was known as an environmentalist and was among the authors of Vermont’s billboard and Act 250 laws.

Mr. Lloyd was also president of the Weston Community Club, a board member of Vermont Institute of Natural Science and, from 1996 to 2006, a member of the board of directors of the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company.

From left, Steve Stettler, Barbara Lloyd and Sam Lloyd at the dedication of the Lloyd Rehearsal Hall.

As a philanthropist, Mr. Lloyd was honored, along with his wife Barbara, by the Vermont State Legislature in 2003 for seeing the importance of technology in education and donating computers and endowing a computer program at Flood Brook School.

He also made significant contributions to the the Vermont Land Trust, Vermont Community Foundation and the Weston Playhouse Theater Company. On the Opening Night of his performance in An Ideal Husband in 2001, the Theatre Company commemorated his 50 years on the Playhouse stage by naming its rehearsal hall in his honor.

“Sam Lloyd was synonymous with the Weston Playhouse for 65 years, and his service to Weston, the surrounding communities, and the state of Vermont are legendary,” WPTC Producing Artistic Director Steve Stettler said on Friday evening. “While we mourn his loss, we treasure our memories of this special man, and we hold his full and generous life as an example for all of us”

Mr. Lloyd is survived by Barbara Lloyd, his wife of 35 years, who has also acted on the Weston stage. The Lloyds were known throughout Vermont for their oft repeated performance of A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters, first seen at Weston in 1992, which Stettler called “a wry and moving portrait of a romance that beautifully reflected their life together both on and off the stage.”

Sam Lloyd in ‘On Golden Pond’ in 1991.

Mr. Lloyd is also survived by his four children, Sam Lloyd Jr., Laurel Lloyd, Robin Lloyd and Sandra Yaple. A fifth child, Jackson Lloyd, predeceased him. He is also survived by three siblings, Christopher Lloyd, Ruth Lloyd and Adele Lloyd. He is also survived by four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, three stepchildren, three step-grandchildren, one step-great grandchild and numerous nieces and nephews.

At the dedication of the rehearsal hall in 2001, the Playhouse acknowledged that “Sam Lloyd could have played on any stage. The Weston Playhouse and state of Vermont are fortunate indeed that he chose to play on ours.”

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company.