Joseph Zachary Nederlander (June 1, 1927May 1, 2021) was an American theater owner and operator who served as the executive vice president of the

Nederlander Organization The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, and currently based in New York City, is one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on ...

, one of the largest live theater owners and producers in the United States.

Early life and education

Nederlander was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan, on June 1, 1927. He was one of six children of Sarah (née Applebaum) and David T. "D.T." Nederlander. His father's first venture into live theatre came in 1912, when he signed a 99-year lease on the old

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

at Campus Martius in Detroit and founded the family company, the

. He has four brothers:

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, Harry,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, and Fred; and one sister, Frances. Nederlander attended Pontiac High School in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

. He served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

before returning home in 1947 and enrolled at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

for one semester. After he dropped out of college, he joined the family's theatre business.

Career

Nederlander's father bought the Orpheum Theatre on Lafayette in 1940 with the Shubert Organization. They renamed the theatre the Shubert-Lafayette Theatre (demolished in 1964). Nederlander, now working in all aspects of the business from the box office to sweeping the floors, with his father and brother James, also purchased the

Riviera Theatre The Riviera Theatre is a concert venue located on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. About Built in 1917, it was designed by Rapp and Rapp for the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaba ...

(demolished in 1996) on West Grand River. Nederlander was instrumental in the complete reconfiguration of the Fisher Theatre in 1961 with his father, D.T. and brother, James. The 3,500-seat movie house built by the

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

brothers would be pared down to a state-of-the-art 2,200-seat legitimate live theatre. It quickly became a premier venue not only in Detroit, but across the country. Not long after opening, it had the largest season-ticket subscription in the country, at 55,000. As the family business expanded and James moved to New York to continue to buy theatres and produce Broadway shows, Nederlander stayed behind to run operations in Detroit. The Nederlander Organization controlled the Fisher Theatre, Shubert Theatre, and Grand Riviera Theater. Nederlander was instrumental in the opening of the Pine Knob Music Theatre (now known as DTE Energy Music Theatre) in the 1970s. The Nederlander Organization controls nine Broadway theaters and is the second-largest of the three companies that dominate Broadway, after the Shubert Organization (which owns 16 theaters) and ahead of Jujamcyn (which owns five). On a global scale, the Nederlander Organization is larger, with an additional 15 theaters nationwide. They are the only one of the three that is still run by its owners. Nederlander produced the revival of '' Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' (1978), '' Into the Light'' (1986), and ''

Side Show In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers ...

'' (1997).

Personal life

Nederlander was married three times. His nephew,

James L. Nederlander James L. Nederlander (born January 23, 1960) is a Broadway theatre owner, operator, producer and presenter. He is the president of the Nederlander Organization, which was founded by his grandfather. He is also a 13-time Tony Award winner and ha ...

, is the current president of the Nederlander Organization in New York.''New York'': "Jimmy Nederlander's Endless Run", Eric Konigsberg
retrieved August 3, 2013 Nederlander died on May 1, 2021. He was 93, and suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in the years leading up to his death.

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Nederlander Producing Company of America
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nederlander, Joseph Z. 1927 births 2021 deaths Nederlander Organization American Jews American theatre managers and producers Military personnel from Detroit Nederlander family United States Navy sailors