Joseph Nederlander

Joseph Zachary Nederlander (June 1, 1927 – May 1, 2021) was an American theater owner and operator who served as the executive vice president of the Nederlander Organization, one of the largest live theater owners and producers in the United States.

Early life and education Nederlander was born to a Jewish family in Detroit, 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 at Campus Martius in Detroit and founded the family company, the Nederlander Organization. He has four brothers: James, Harry, Robert, and Fred; and one sister, Frances.

Nederlander attended Pontiac High School in Pontiac, Michigan. He served in the Navy before returning home in 1947 and enrolled at Wayne State University for one semester. After he dropped out of college, he joined the family's theatre business. 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 (demolished in 1996) on West Grand River. with his father, D.T. and brother, James. The 3,500-seat movie house built by the Fisher brothers would be pared down to a state-of-the-art 2,200-seat legitimate live 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.

Personal life Nederlander was married three times.

Nederlander died on May 1, 2021. He was 93, and suffered from Parkinson's disease in the years leading up to his death. Original

1970 Paris Is Out! Original 1974 Anthony Newley / Henry Mancini Original 1977 The King and I Revival Theatre Owner/Operator Minskoff Theatre 1986 Into the Light Original Producer Neil Simon Theatre 1997 Side Show

Drama League Award Distinguished Production of a Musical