(''no relation of the film director

Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...

'') John Frederick Zimmerman Jr. (27 August 1871 – 12 December 1948) was an American theater manager and stage producer.

Life

John Frederick Zimmerman was born on 27 August 1871, son of J. Fred Zimmerman Sr. (1843–1925) and Emma A Wetherell. His father was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-based theater magnate, known for his role in the

Theatrical Syndicate Starting in 1896, the Theatrical Syndicate was an organisation that in the United States that controlled the majority of bookings in the country's leading theatrical attractions. The six-man group was in charge of theatres and bookings. Beginnin ...

. J. Fred Jr. became manager of the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, and later managed vaudeville theaters and cinemas. Zimmerman married the actress Ethel Jackson in 1902 at St. James Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. On August 3, 1908 Jackson obtained an interlocutory decree for a divorce without a co-respondent being named. According to the stipulation of the final divorce decree, issued in October 1908, Jackson was permitted to remarry but Zimmerman could not legally remarry while his former wife was still living. In October 1910 it was disclosed that Zimmerman was married again and had been for some time. His wife was Grace Rankin, a member of the ''Miss Innocence'' company of

Anna Held Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-French stage performer on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law wife. From 1896 through ...

. In 1919

John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...

arranged a meeting with his fellow producers Fred Zimmerman, Archibald Selwyn, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Winchell Smith and L. Lawrence Weber with the goal of cooperating on common issues such as censorship and ticket speculation. He wanted to set up a forum so the producers could share ideas, and wanted stop the rival organizations poaching each other's stars. This led to formation of the

Producing Managers' Association The Producing Managers' Association (PMA) was a coalition of theatrical managers established on April 23, 1919. Formed in an effort to reduce conflicts between producers and theater managers and share common interests, it became the main vehicle ...

, which may have inadvertently shown actors the value of organizing into the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

J. Fred Zimmerman Jr. died in 1948 and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

in Philadelphia.

Works

J. Fred Zimmerman Jr. produced: * ''The Measure of a Man'' (1906) * ''Inside the Lines'' (1915) * ''Pals First'' (1917) * ''This Way Out'' (1917)

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, J. Fred Jr. 1871 births 1948 deaths 20th-century theatre managers American theatre managers and producers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia