(Bruce Weber’s article appeared in The New York Times, 7/26.)
James M. Nederlander, who, with mercenary guile and an admittedly plebeian aesthetic, presided for nearly half a century over a theater empire that encompassed as many as 10 houses on Broadway and stretched across the country to California and across the Atlantic to London, died on Monday in Southampton, N.Y. He was 94.
His death was confirmed by Nick Scandalios, executive vice president of the Nederlander Organization.
Mr. Nederlander (pronounced NEE-der-lan-der), chairman of the organization, an entertainment company that presented arena concerts as well as theatrical shows, began with the purchase of a single New York theater, the Palace on Broadway, in 1964, and rose to become a legitimate rival to the powerful Shuberts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/theater/james-nederlander-theater-magnate-dies-at-94.html