Broadway giant James ‘Jimmy’ Nederlander dies at 94

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.