James M. Nederlander, chairman of Broadway’s Nederlander Organization, has died at the age of 94, his son James L. Nederlander announced on Tuesday. The elder Nederlander inherited his family’s Detroit theaters after his father’s death, and began expanding the company into New York City in the 1960s. Today, the Nederlander Organization owns nine Broadway theaters, three in London’s West End, and 17 more around the U.S. Nederlander was once locked in competition with the Shubert Organization, Broadway’s largest theater owner, though that rivalry has largely subsided; today, the two organizations are partnering on the upcoming revival of Cats. In his long career, Nederlander produced a number of shows, including Annie, La Cage Aux Folles, Noises Off, Sweet Charity, and Woman of the Year, and was also a minority owner of the New York Yankees.
