Theatre & dance / Business & brands
Joseph Z. Nederlander
1927–2021 · theater owner and operator, producer
Detroit-born Nederlander brother who stayed home to run the family's Detroit theaters, rebuilt the Fisher Theatre in 1961 and helped open Pine Knob Music Theatre.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
aged 93- Birth name
- Joseph Zachary Nederlander
- Also known as
- Joey Nederlander
- Detroit years
- 1927–2021
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Joseph Nederlander was born in Detroit in 1927, a son of David T. Nederlander, whose 1912 lease on the old Detroit Opera House started the family business. He went to high school in Pontiac, served in the Navy and, after one semester at Wayne State University, joined the company, working everything from the box office to sweeping floors. His father had bought the Orpheum on Lafayette Boulevard with the Shuberts in 1940 as the Shubert-Lafayette Theatre, and the family also acquired the Riviera on Grand River Avenue. In 1961 Joseph, his father and his brother James turned the 3,500-seat Fisher movie palace into a 2,200-seat live theater, which soon had the largest season-ticket subscription in the country, some 55,000. When his brothers moved to New York and San Francisco, Joey stayed to run the Detroit operations, and in the 1970s he was instrumental in opening Pine Knob Music Theatre, the outdoor amphitheater north of the city.
Highlights
- Ran the Nederlander Organization's Detroit theaters
- Rebuilt the Fisher Theatre as a live venue in 1961
- Fisher Theatre had the largest season-ticket subscription in the U.S. (55,000)
- Helped open Pine Knob Music Theatre in the 1970s
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1961–2000s
Fisher Building
The Fisher Building's theater, which Nederlander helped convert into a live Broadway house in 1961 and then ran for decades.
Worked here · 1940s–1964
Shubert-Lafayette Theatre (former Orpheum)
Demolished · 1964
The Lafayette Boulevard theater the Nederlanders ran with the Shuberts from 1940; demolished in 1964.
Worked here · 1940s–1990s
Riviera Theatre (Grand Riviera)
Demolished · 1996
The West Grand River Avenue theater the family acquired; demolished in 1996.
Founded · 1970s
Pine Knob Music Theatre
The outdoor amphitheater in northern Oakland County whose opening Nederlander was instrumental in.