Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Nederlander Family Adds Alvin to Its Holings

Nederlander Family Adds Alvin to Its Holings
Credit...The New York Times Archives
See the article in its original context from
November 26, 1975, Page 13Buy Reprints
TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.
About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

The Nederlander organization, the first theatrical empire to emerge since the Shuberts attained their dominance in the 1920's, has added the Alvin Theater to its holdings here and says it is interested in acquiring two more theaters in New York and one in Boston.

“I've been a theater man all my life,” said James Nederlander in explaining his desire for expansion at a time when 10 houses here are up for sale. “I understand the business so why should I stop buying them now? You can't give up in the face of adversity.

“New York is always going to be the theater capital. Where else in the United States can a show run for four or five years? There are no bad theaters, just bad shows.”

Holdings Are Growing

The Nederlanders now own four theaters here—the Uris, the Palace and the Brooks Atkinson in addition to the Alvin. They also own the Fisher and the Pine Knob, an amphitheater, in Detroit; the Studebaker and the McVickers in Chicago; the Palace West in Phoenix; the National in Washington, and the Meriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, and book the Garden State Center in Holmdel, N.J.

“Locally we are interested in acquiring the St. James and Martin Beck Theaters and the Colonial in Boston,” Mr. Nederlander said.

The Nederlander family of Detroit consists of five brothers whose ages range from 39 to 55, a sister and their widowed mother. While all own part of the theater business most of the daily decisions are made by James, whose offices are at the Palace Theater here, and Joseph, who works in Detroit. James and Joseph have been partners in the theater operation for 30 years.

Two other brothers, Fred and Harry, are supervisors of an automobile parts business, who also keep an eye open for investment projects. Robert is a senior partner of the law firm of Fenton, Nederlander, Dodge & Gribbs and is the family's legal adviser.

Their sister, Frances, is the co‐owner of an advertising and publicity agency in Cleveland. Mrs. David T. Nederlander is the 80‐yearold matriarch of the family.

The Nederlanders’ interest in show business was fostered by the family's patriarch, David, who died in 1967 at the age of 81. The owner of a jewelry store, Mr. Nederlander became associated with the Shuberts in 1912, when he bought the Detroit Opera House and took them in as partners,

Subsequently, the Nederlanders expanded their theatrical holdings and became producers as well. They are currently represented on Broadway as the co‐sponsors of “Treemonisha,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “Habeas Corpus.” Their producing credits also include “Applause,” “My Fat Friend” and “London Assurance.”

“We must financially help out the producers whenever possible if we are to get shows into theaters these days,” James Nederlander said. “This explains why we have become so very active as producers.”

The Nederlanders acquired the Alvin from the Bowery Savings Bank for $100,000 in cash subject to a 20‐year mortgage of $1.1 million at 4 percent interest. The Bowery recently took title to the theater by foreclosure.

The Alvin previously was owned by the KZQ Corporation, of which Konrad H. Matthaei was the principal stockholder. The bank held a $1.11 million mortgage on the property, and the KZQ Corporation was more than a year in arrears in its mortgage payments. A total of $159,000 in interest and more than $95,000 in real estate taxes had gone unpaid.

Mr. Matthaei said yesterday that it had become “increasingly difficult for an independent theater owner to exist.” “The Nederlanders and the Shuberts both have profitable theaters outside of New York,” he said, adding that the Nederlanders and the Shuberts could afford to invest $100,000 or $200,000 to attract a good show, while he could not.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT