James Nevin Tait (27 June 1876 – 7 March 1961) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

concert promoter and film producer who often collaborated with his brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and had a lengthy association with J.C. Williamson Theatre. He travelled to London and engaged numerous stars to tour Australia including

Harry Lauder Sir Henry Lauder (; 4 August 1870 – 26 February 1950)Russell, Dave"Lauder, Sir Henry (1870–1950)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011, accessed 27 April 2014 was a S ...

, John McCormack, Emma Albani,

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

, Kennerley Rumford

Biography

Nevin Tait was born in

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a town in west central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 123 kilometres (76 miles) northwest by road ...

, the son of John Turnbull Tait (1830–1902), a tailor from

Scalloway Scalloway (, name of the bay) is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, u ...

, Shetland Islands, Scotland, and his English wife Sarah, née Leeming. Tait Snr. had migrated to Victoria in 1862 and settled at Castlemaine, where he married Sarah. The Tait's had nine children; five of which were involved in show business including Charles (1868–1933), John (1871–1955), James Nevin (1876–1961),

Edward Joseph Tait Edward Joseph Tait (21 August 1878 – 12 July 1947), generally known as "E.J.", was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur closely associated with the firm of J. C. Williamson Ltd, and was involved with concerts and theatrical productions ...

(1878–1947) and Frank Samuel (1883–1965) (later Sir Frank). The Taits moved in about 1879 to Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Nevin started his career as a stockbroker before moving into concert promotion and film production including the films ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' and ''Robbery Under Arms''. In March 1911, brothers John and Nevin, and Millard Johnson and

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

merged their film interests in

Amalgamated Pictures Amalgamated Pictures Ltd was a film exchange company in Australia. For a time it was also a short-lived Australian film production company. Although none of its output has survived, it has been written that "judging by subjects chosen, the aver ...

. In 1916 he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to represent his brothers, where he died in 1961.

References

Australian producers 1876 births 1961 deaths Music promoters People from Castlemaine, Victoria People from Richmond, Victoria Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of English descent Australian film production company founders {{film-producer-stub