The Moodabe family is a long established Auckland family which has been associated with the development and operation of

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

in New Zealand since the 1920s.

Business beginnings

Michael Joseph Moodabe, OBE (1895–1975) was born in Sydney, Australia, on 24 June 1895, and, after the family shifted to Auckland, his brother Joseph Patrick Moodabe (1899–1985), was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 16 December 1899. Their parents were Ferris Moudabber and his wife Elizabeth Ann (nee Akoorie). Michael Moodabe, "Moodabe, Joseph Patrick 1899–1985; Moodabe, Michael Joseph 1895–1975"
''

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...

'', (updated 22 June 2007).

Amalgamated expansion

When Thomas O'Brien who owned and operated the Civic Theatre went bankrupt in 1932, the Moodabe brothers took over O'Brien's other Auckland theatres, including the Princess (later the Plaza), the Rialto in Newmarket, and the Tivoli in

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

. Amalgamated obtained a 50-year lease on the Civic theatre in 1945 when they managed to outbid

Warner Brothers Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and Robert Kerridge.

MJ's sons

MJ and Alma Moodabe's three sons, Royce Joseph Moodabe (born 1930), Joseph Patrick Moodabe (1937 – 8 December 2019) and Michael Barry Joseph Moodabe (15 December 1932 – 3 September 2009) grew up in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

and were educated at St Peter's College. The three sons used to visit their father's office in the Civic Theatre, Queen Street as they grew up, all were "promised a desk in the corner of that room and their father's supervision". However, each actually began "as office boy out the back, tediously filing admission receipt dockets until they learnt to carve their own niche". They were employed in Amalgamated Theatres from when they left school in the late 1950s. On the retirement of their father and uncle, Royce became managing director and Joseph and Michael had management roles. They continued to be involved in the management of the chain from the 1960s to the 1980s. The owner of the chain, 20th Century Fox sold out in the 1980s to the

Chase Corporation Chase Corporation was a property development company in New Zealand that flourished in the 1980s, became devalued in the 1987 New Zealand stock market collapse, and eventually collapsed in 1989. History Chase Corp had a major effect on the New Ze ...

and then the chain came into the ownership of

Hoyts The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...

which continued to employ the brothers in senior management positions. Royce Moodabe became general manager of Hoyts Australian circuit. He retired in 2006 after 57 years in the business. In 1997 Joe Moodabe joined Village Force Cinemas " ... which, as general manager, he built into the "country's biggest cinema chain". In 2006 the chain became wholly owned by

SkyCity SkyCity (originally known as the Eye of the Needle) was a revolving restaurant and bar situated atop the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, United States. Description and history The restaurant featured a carousel (or ring-shaped) dining fl ...

and was renamed SkyCity Cinemas. Joe Moodabe became executive chairman of an in-house board that oversaw developments in the cinema business. He died on 8 December 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moodabe family New Zealand people of Lebanese descent Film exhibitors New Zealand businesspeople People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland