The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

Broadway giant James ‘Jimmy’ Nederlande­r dies at 94

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NEWYORK>> James M. Nederlande­r, who took over the fledgling Nederlande­r Organizati­on from his father and built it into one of the largest producers of live entertainm­ent and a dominant national theater chain that includes nine Broadway houses, has died. He was 94.

“The world has lost one of its great impresario­s,” said his son, James L. Nederlande­r, who confirmed his father died on Monday. A cause was not disclosed.

Known as Jimmy, the elder Nederlande­r produced or co-produced more than 100 shows including “Annie,” “Copenhagen,” “The Will Rogers Follies,” “Les Liaisons Dangereuse­s,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Nine,” “Noises Off” and “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.”

Nederlande­r famously rejected anyone who claimed to have a rational way to predict which shows would be hits as opposed to flops. “Nobody can,” he would say. “I trust my gut.”

He won a dozen Tony Awards as a producer or coproducer — including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievemen­t in 2004 — and has presented operas, ballets, concerts and artists ranging from Rudolf Nureyev to Frank Sinatra to U2.

Condolence­s were quick to arrive. Theater icon Andrew Lloyd Webber tweeted: “Farewell Jimmy, truly the end of a great theatrical era.” Kate Shindle, the president of the Actors Equity Associatio­n union wrote: “RIP to a true titan.”

The Nederlande­r Organizati­on is one of three big theater chains on Broadway. The Shubert Organizati­on owns 16 theaters outright, and Jujamcyn Theaters owns five.

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