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Schoenfeld, 84, died of a heart attack in his Manhattan home.

As chairman of the Shubert Organization since 1972, Schoenfeld was considered one of the most powerful people on Broadway. Yet nearly sixty years ago, he began as a lowly attorney who worked for a firm that represented the organization.

"I was basically working at a desk, a table I should say in a corridor leading to the offices in the suite of offices, without a telephone, without even a waste paper basket," recalled Schoenfeld in a 2002 interview.

Shoenfeld assumed full leadership duties of the 17 Broadway theaters owned and operated by Shubert, following the death of business partner Bernard Jacobs in 1996.

"Jerry's passing is an enormous loss to The Shubert Organization and to the theater community," said the organization in a statement. "His love and passion for the theatre represented a major contribution in the revival of the Broadway theater."

The Shubert Organization also owns or operates theaters in Philadelphia, Washington, Los Angeles, and Boston.

Schoenfeld was remembered as a visionary who revitalized the Theater District.

"He was a giant in our industry. Obviously the Broadway we know today is largely his creation," said producer, theater owner and close friend Rocco Landesman. "He saved Broadway at a time when it was in dire conditions and built the successful system we have today."

Landesman remembered Schoenfeld as a powerful, yet personable person.

"He was generous, with a great sense of humor, he was a very public person. He was really the mayor of Broadway," said Landesman. "He loved to stand in front of his theater and greet people as they came in - a very public and gregarious personality."

"A Chorus Line," "Cats" and most recently "Billy Elliot" were a few of the many hit shows brought to life by the Shuberts during Schoenfeld's reign.

"Certainly as a landlord he had a lot in interests to protect, but he did that not only for the Shubert Organization and his own theaters, but for all theater," said Nina Lannan, who worked with Schoenfeld as a general manager on several shows. "He was instrumental in revitalizing the whole Times Square area and rebuilding that and the whole 42nd Street Redevelopment. He is truly missed."

In 2005, Schoenfeld had the rare distinction of having a Broadway theatre named after him while he was still alive. The Royale Theatre was renamed the Bernard B. Jacobs theatre and the Plymouth Theatre was renamed in Schoenfeld's honor.

"It’s truly impossible to describe. Something that nobody could ever anticipate, and I tell you, I’m awed by the whole thing," said Schoenfeld at the dedication.

In honor of Schoenfeld's passing, all Broadway theaters dimmed their lights for one minute at 7 p.m. Tuesday.