James H. Binger
Encyclopedia
James Henry Binger was a lawyer who became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Honeywell
. He was also a well known philanthropist
, horse enthusiast
and New York
and Minneapolis theatre
owner and entrepreneur
.
Chairman, William L. McKnight
. He earned an economics degree from Yale University
(class of 1938). His lifelong interest in the theatre was sparked while he was at Yale. He next earned a
law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School
and on graduation, he joined Minneapolis law firm Dorsey & Whitney
, where a client was Honeywell
.
In 1943 he joined Honeywell, and became its president in 1961 and its chairman in 1965. On becoming Chairman of Honeywell, Binger revamped the company sales approach, placing emphasis on profits rather than on volume. he also stepped up the company's international expansion - it had six plants producing 12% of the company's revenue. He also officially changed the company's corporate name from Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co to Honeywell
.
Under Binger's stewardship from 1961 to 1978 he expanded the company into such fields as defense, aerospace, computers and cameras. Honeywell was one of the eight major computer companies
(with IBM
- the largest, Burroughs, Scientific Data Systems
, Control Data Corporation
, General Electric
, RCA
and UNIVAC
) through most of the 1960s. In 1970, Honeywell bought General Electric's computer division.
, Butler Square in downtown Minneapolis and several hundred acres of land, including a polo field in western Hennepin County, Minnesota.
on weekends. In 1974, James and Virginia took over operations of her father's Tartan Farm in Ocala, Florida
and then ownership in 1978 on his death. During their stewardship, Tartan Farm bred
1980 Preakness Stakes
winner Codex
and 1990 three-year-old champion and Kentucky Derby
winner Unbridled
. The Bingers also bred and owned 1978 champion sprinter Dr. Patches, a son of McKnight's horse Dr. Fager
. Tartan dispersed the majority of its horses at the 1987 Fasig-Tipton
Kentucky November sale, including Unbridled
who sold as a weanling for $70,000.
James Binger served as chairman of Calder Race Course
in Miami from the late 1970s through the '80s. He received recognition for his contributions to horse racing and was the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Champion Award recipient in 2000. Tartan Farm is now under new ownership, and known as Winding Oaks Farm.
on Broadway and agreed to expand the operation. Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation
, named after their children (JUdith, JAMes, and CYNthia), expanded to five theatres to create the third-largest company on Broadway
behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization
. Their theatres are: (1) the St. James Theatre
(acquired 1970), (2) Al Hirschfeld Theatre
, (3) Eugene O'Neill Theatre
(acquired 1982), (4) the Walter Kerr Theatre
and (5) the Virginia (acquired 1981), now the August Wilson Theatre
:
Jujamcyn only owned five of the 40 Broadway district playhouses, but created a much-envied business model that has accounted for as much as one-third of the gross revenues of Broadway. One box office juggernaut was the musical The Producers
, which won a record 12 Tony Award
s in 2001.
Binger was a life member of the board of the Guthrie Theater
, located in Minneapolis, his home town. He was also a director of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
in New York and a member of the executive committee of the League of American Theaters (now the Broadway League, co-presenters of the Tony Awards). On the announcement of Binger's death in 2004, The League of American Theatres and Producers announced that Broadway's marquees would be dimmed at 8 PM on 4 November in tribute to this extraordinary man.
Rocco Landesman
, producer and President of Jujamcyn, announced that he planned to buy Jujamcyn Theatres, telling the New York Times that he had a long-standing understanding with Binger that he would buy Jujamcyn's five playhouses. The theatres had an estimated net asset value of about $30 million.
, before returning to the Twin Cities, settling in Wayzata, Minnesota
. On her father's death, Virginia McKnight Binger became Minneapolis's richest woman - she died on 22 December 2002. After Virginia's death, he sold the house they had shared and moved downtown to Minneapolis.
Jane K. Mauer was president of the Tartan Investment Company in Minneapolis, which handled Binger's financial affairs. When Binger moved downtown, he became close to Mauer and they eventually became lovers. However, as his colon cancer progressed, his mental state deteriorated. The Binger family took court action to prevent their father making what they considered bad decisions, and specifically endangering the McKnight Trust.
Noa Staryk, granddaughter of Binger, later confirmed it was from Binger's estate - and that they were pursuing court action to recover $200M given in a late will change to Jane K. Mauer. A tax expert estimated that there would have been a similar size payment to Federal Tax authorities, and estimated the size of the estate at $900M, even before including setting up the Robina Trust fund of $200M.
The latest theory as to why so much tax was due, is similar to the case involving Anna Nicole Smith
- property investment, and transfer of these assets to surviving family members.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
. He was also a well known philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, horse enthusiast
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Minneapolis theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
owner and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
.
Career
The son of a doctor, Binger grew up on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended Saint Paul Academy, where he met his wife Virginia McKnight, daughter of 3M3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
Chairman, William L. McKnight
William L. McKnight
William L. McKnight was an American businessman and philanthropist who served his entire career in the 3M corporation, rising to chairman of the board from 1949 to 1966. He founded The McKnight Foundation in 1953....
. He earned an economics degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(class of 1938). His lifelong interest in the theatre was sparked while he was at Yale. He next earned a
law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...
and on graduation, he joined Minneapolis law firm Dorsey & Whitney
Dorsey & Whitney
Dorsey & Whitney LLP is a large law firm, with close to 600 lawyers and 650 staff located in 19 offices in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Its headquarters is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and has been since its inception. Dorsey is currently led by its managing partner, Marianne D. Short...
, where a client was Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
.
In 1943 he joined Honeywell, and became its president in 1961 and its chairman in 1965. On becoming Chairman of Honeywell, Binger revamped the company sales approach, placing emphasis on profits rather than on volume. he also stepped up the company's international expansion - it had six plants producing 12% of the company's revenue. He also officially changed the company's corporate name from Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co to Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
.
Under Binger's stewardship from 1961 to 1978 he expanded the company into such fields as defense, aerospace, computers and cameras. Honeywell was one of the eight major computer companies
BUNCH
The group of mainframe computer competitors to IBM in the 1970s became known as the BUNCH: Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data Corporation, and Honeywell...
(with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
- the largest, Burroughs, Scientific Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems
Scientific Data Systems, or SDS, was an American computer company founded in September 1961 by Max Palevsky, a veteran of Packard Bell and Bendix, along with eleven other computer scientists. SDS was an early adopter of integrated circuits in computer design and the first to employ silicon...
, Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
and UNIVAC
UNIVAC
UNIVAC is the name of a business unit and division of the Remington Rand company formed by the 1950 purchase of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded four years earlier by ENIAC inventors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and the associated line of computers which continues to this day...
) through most of the 1960s. In 1970, Honeywell bought General Electric's computer division.
Outside Honeywell
Binger was a world traveller who had financial interests in the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, Butler Square in downtown Minneapolis and several hundred acres of land, including a polo field in western Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Tartan Farm
Binger was already a horse man, who played poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
on weekends. In 1974, James and Virginia took over operations of her father's Tartan Farm in Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
and then ownership in 1978 on his death. During their stewardship, Tartan Farm bred
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
1980 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
winner Codex
Codex (horse)
Codex was an American thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1980 Preakness Stakes. He was foaled in Florida out of the Minnesota Mac mare, Roundup Rose, sired by the 1969 American Horse of the Year, Arts And Letters.-Triple Crown races:Trained by D...
and 1990 three-year-old champion and Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
winner Unbridled
Unbridled
Unbridled was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse.The colt was sired by Fappiano , by Mr. Prospector, and his dam Gana Facil, by Le Fabuleux. Unbridled retired with a career record of 8 wins, 6 places and 6 shows in 24 starts, and $4,489,475 in career earnings...
. The Bingers also bred and owned 1978 champion sprinter Dr. Patches, a son of McKnight's horse Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager was an American a thoroughbred racehorse who had what many consider one of the greatest single racing seasons by any horse in the history of the sport. "The Doctor" was the only horse who ever held four titles in one year...
. Tartan dispersed the majority of its horses at the 1987 Fasig-Tipton
Fasig-Tipton
The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an auction house for Thoroughbred horses founded in 1898 by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton. It is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America....
Kentucky November sale, including Unbridled
Unbridled
Unbridled was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse.The colt was sired by Fappiano , by Mr. Prospector, and his dam Gana Facil, by Le Fabuleux. Unbridled retired with a career record of 8 wins, 6 places and 6 shows in 24 starts, and $4,489,475 in career earnings...
who sold as a weanling for $70,000.
James Binger served as chairman of Calder Race Course
Calder Race Course
Calder Casino & Race Course is a casino and horse racetrack in Miami Gardens, Florida in the United States.-History:In the mid-1960s, real estate developer Stephen A. Calder envisioned summertime racing in Florida; in 1965, on the advice of Mr. Calder, the Florida Legislature approved a bill...
in Miami from the late 1970s through the '80s. He received recognition for his contributions to horse racing and was the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Champion Award recipient in 2000. Tartan Farm is now under new ownership, and known as Winding Oaks Farm.
Theatre
Virginia had a love of theatre, and when her father William L. McKnight wanted to sell his two theatres, Binger stepped in to assist. He found the business fascinating, and after paying the gift tax and selling the Colonial Theatre in Boston, he and Virginia retained the St. James TheatreSt. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
on Broadway and agreed to expand the operation. Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation
Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation
The Jujamcyn Theaters , formerly the Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation, is a theatrical producing and theatre-ownership company in New York City. For many years Jujamcyn was owned by James H. Binger, former Chairman of Honeywell, and his wife Virginia McKnight Binger...
, named after their children (JUdith, JAMes, and CYNthia), expanded to five theatres to create the third-largest company on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
behind the Shubert Organization and the Nederlander Organization
Nederlander Organization
The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander and based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest operators of legitimate theatres and music venuesin the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in...
. Their theatres are: (1) the St. James Theatre
St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
(acquired 1970), (2) Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 302 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect G. Albert Lansburgh for vaudeville promoter Martin Beck, the theatre opened as the Martin Beck Theatre with a production of Madame Pompadour on November 11, 1924. It...
, (3) Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
(acquired 1982), (4) the Walter Kerr Theatre
Walter Kerr Theatre
The Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
and (5) the Virginia (acquired 1981), now the August Wilson Theatre
August Wilson Theatre
The August Wilson Theatre, located at 245 West 52nd Street in New York City, is a Broadway theatre.Designed by architects C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and constructed by the Theatre Guild, it opened as the Guild Theatre in 1925 with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and...
:
- Virginia Theatre - this 1,275 seat theatre was designed by Crane, Franzheim & Bettis as the home of the Theatre Guild in 1925. President Calvin CoolidgeCalvin CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
officially inaugurated the theatre by flipping a switch for electricity in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The theatre was leased in 1943 as a radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station. The American National Theater and AcademyAmerican National Theater and AcademyThe American National Theatre and Academy is a non-profit theatre producer and training organization that was established in 1935 to be the official United States national theatre that would be an alternative to the for-profit Broadway houses of the day....
(ANTA) purchased the theatre in 1950 and renamed it the ANTA Theatre. Previously called the ANTA Theatre, in 1981 the theatre was renamed the Virginia in honour of Virginia Binger. It was renamed by new owner Rocco LandesmanRocco LandesmanRocco Landesman has been a long-time Broadway theatre producer. In August 2009 he became chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts...
in October 2005, in honour of playwright August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
.
Jujamcyn only owned five of the 40 Broadway district playhouses, but created a much-envied business model that has accounted for as much as one-third of the gross revenues of Broadway. One box office juggernaut was the musical The Producers
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
, which won a record 12 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s in 2001.
Binger was a life member of the board of the Guthrie Theater
Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the result of the desire of Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Oliver Rea, and Peter Zeisler to create a resident acting company that would produce and perform the classics in...
, located in Minneapolis, his home town. He was also a director of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
in New York and a member of the executive committee of the League of American Theaters (now the Broadway League, co-presenters of the Tony Awards). On the announcement of Binger's death in 2004, The League of American Theatres and Producers announced that Broadway's marquees would be dimmed at 8 PM on 4 November in tribute to this extraordinary man.
Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman
Rocco Landesman has been a long-time Broadway theatre producer. In August 2009 he became chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts...
, producer and President of Jujamcyn, announced that he planned to buy Jujamcyn Theatres, telling the New York Times that he had a long-standing understanding with Binger that he would buy Jujamcyn's five playhouses. The theatres had an estimated net asset value of about $30 million.
Philanthropist
Binger was a leading member of his father-in-law's McKnight foundation, and set up his own Robina Foundation on his death. He also made various other direct philanthropic donations, including:- Yale University - probably the law school's biggest individual benefactor, he was recognised as a $1 million giver by 1987 and had continued contributions until his death.
- Minneapolis Theatre - Binger was a quiet champion of theater, often bailing out struggling organisations and building up the flagship institutions like the Guthrie Theater. In the early 1980s, Binger and Leland Lynch provided the money to bring shows to the decrepit Orpheum Theatre.
- McKnight Foundation - Binger promoted grants for the arts, international-dispute resolution and research into neuroscience. Virginia Binger's parents established the McKnight Foundation in 1953 as a private philanthropic organization. Virginia served as president of the Foundation from 1974-1987. During her presidency the organization gave away some $235 million, and its assets grew from less than $8 million to almost $800 million.
- Robina Foundation- made a gift of $2.85 million to the Yale School of Drama / Yale Repertory Theatre to support the development and production of new plays.
Personal life
Having dated since high school, Binger and Virginia McKnight married on June 24, 1939, slightly less than three months before her 23rd birthday. They were married for over 60 years and had three children: James (Mac), Cynthia and Judith (died 1989). The couple lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Ardmore, PennsylvaniaArdmore, Pennsylvania
Ardmore is a census-designated place in Delaware and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 12,455 at the 2010 census...
, before returning to the Twin Cities, settling in Wayzata, Minnesota
Wayzata, Minnesota
Wayzata is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Wayzata came into existence in the center of Chief Shakopee's Indian village.-Early settlement:...
. On her father's death, Virginia McKnight Binger became Minneapolis's richest woman - she died on 22 December 2002. After Virginia's death, he sold the house they had shared and moved downtown to Minneapolis.
Jane K. Mauer was president of the Tartan Investment Company in Minneapolis, which handled Binger's financial affairs. When Binger moved downtown, he became close to Mauer and they eventually became lovers. However, as his colon cancer progressed, his mental state deteriorated. The Binger family took court action to prevent their father making what they considered bad decisions, and specifically endangering the McKnight Trust.
Death
Binger died of colon cancer on 8 November 2004. In December 2005, Minnesota state announced a surplus, including a death duties tax payment of $112M. Although not stating where this had come from, it was revealed as the largest estate tax payment state officials could ever recall. Greg Hoyt, the Minnesota Revenue Department's estate tax supervisor, summed his own reaction as: WOW!Noa Staryk, granddaughter of Binger, later confirmed it was from Binger's estate - and that they were pursuing court action to recover $200M given in a late will change to Jane K. Mauer. A tax expert estimated that there would have been a similar size payment to Federal Tax authorities, and estimated the size of the estate at $900M, even before including setting up the Robina Trust fund of $200M.
The latest theory as to why so much tax was due, is similar to the case involving Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith
In 1992 Smith was chosen by Hugh Hefner to appear on the cover of the March issue of Playboy, where she was listed as Vickie Smith, wearing a low-cut evening gown. The centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda. Smith said she planned to be "the next Marilyn Monroe". Becoming one of Playboys...
- property investment, and transfer of these assets to surviving family members.
Trivia
- Was part of a consortium which in 1991 took control of the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. In 1998, the NFL approved Red McCombsRed McCombsBilly Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
bid to become sole owner of the team. - Was a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
party supporter.
Quotations
- I wanted to develop my own set of problems to solve - Binger, on why he went into a manufacturing and joined Honeywell
- Jim Binger brought the modern numbers-oriented analytical world to Honeywell, which basically had been a family-run company - Edson Spencer, who later became chief executive of Honeywell
- "My initial purpose really was to take a headache off his shoulders, and see if I could get the theatres to a point where they could be sold for a reasonable sum. But in the meantime I found it was a fascinating business and money could be made at it. 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" - Binger in a 1987 interview with The Associated Press
- Binger created the market for Broadway here in Minneapolis. These theatres and this theater district would not be around but for Jim Binger - Fred Krohn, who presented Binger-backed productions in Minneapolis
- Jim was a risk-taker. There’s nothing more risky than owning racehorses and owning Broadway theatres, so he was always challenged. …He took both victory and defeat with grace - friend, thoroughbred owner, co-investor in the Vikings and fellow Minnesotan Wheelock Whitney to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune about Binger on the announcement of his death