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Theater owner and former Honeywell CEO James Binger dies at 88
November 4, 2004

James Binger, businessman and theater owner, died Wednesday at 88. He was the chairman of Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns and operates five Broadway playhouses. Binger was also active in the McKnight Foundation in Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of the McKnight Foundation)

Minneapolis, Minn. — (AP) - James H. Binger, chairman of Jujamcyn Theatres and former CEO of Honeywell Inc., has died, his family foundation said. He was 88.

Binger, of Minneapolis, died Wednesday night, said Rip Rapson, president of the McKnight Foundation.

Binger held top executive positions at aerospace and high-tech manufacturer Honeywell Inc. from 1961 to 1978, including chairman and chief executive officer.

His wife, Virginia McKnight Binger, was the daughter of William L. McKnight, a founder of another industrial giant, 3M Co. She died in 2002.

The Bingers owned five Broadway playhouses - the St. James, Al Hirschfeld, Virginia, Eugene O'Neill and the Walter Kerr - and he was on the board of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

They founded Jujamcyn Theatres in the 1970s, coining the name from the first letters of the names of their children, Judith, James and Cynthia. The Virginia Theatre is named for Virginia McKnight Binger.

Producer Rocco Landesman has announced that he plans to buy Jujamcyn Theaters, telling the New York Times that he had a long-standing understanding with Binger that after Binger's death he would buy Jujamcyn's five playhouses. Landesman, 57, is president of Jujamcyn. The theaters have an estimated net asset value of about $30 million.

He was instrumental in shaping the Foundation's early international work, with a particular interest in international dispute resolution. He was an ardent champion of the arts. - Statement from McKnight Foundation

Landesman said his longtime deputies, Paul Libin and Jack Viertel, would probably have small ownership stakes, and that he would look to borrow the rest of the money.

If the deal goes through, Landesman would become one of the few men in American theater to be both a Broadway owner and an active producer.

Landesman has produced some 50 shows at Jujamcyn, including the long-running "The Producers."

Jane Mauer, president of Tartan Investment Company in Minneapolis, which handled Binger's financial affairs, confirmed that Landesman would buy the Jujamcyn Theaters and would continue to run them under the Jujamcyn name, the Times said.

Binger essentially got Jujamcyn as a gift from his father-in-law. The group consisted of two New York playhouses and the Colonial Theater in Boston. McKnight was having trouble selling it so Binger volunteered to take it and paid the gift tax.

He sold the Boston theater but kept the two New York venues and bought three more to create the third-largest company on Broadway behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization.

"My initial purpose really was to take a headache off his shoulders, and see if I could get the theaters to a point where they could be sold for a reasonable sum," Binger said in a 1987 interview with The Associated Press, "but in the meantime I found it was a fascinating business and money could be made at it."

He said one of the big differences between running Honeywell and Jujamcyn was that theatrical decisions, such as closing a play, could be made much more quickly than major corporate moves.

The League of American Theatres and Producers said marquees were dimmed at 8 p.m. EST Thursday in tribute to Binger.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend, gentleman, and man of the theatre," league president Jed Bernstein said.

Binger also served from 1974 to 1996 on the board of the McKnight Foundation, which his in-laws established in 1953 and which his wife led from 1974 to 1987. It's the largest philanthropic foundation based in Minnesota.

The foundation issued a statement paying tribute to Binger's "many and varied" contributions.

"He was instrumental in shaping the Foundation's early international work, with a particular interest in international dispute resolution. He was an ardent champion of the arts," the foundation said.

Binger is survived by son James Binger, daughter Cynthia Binger Boynton, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Judith Binger Billings, died in 1989.

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at St. Martin's-by-the-Lake Episcopal Church in Minnetonka Beach, with a reception at 3:30 p.m. at the Minneapolis Club, Rapson said.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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