Actor, songwriter, playwright
He is the son of the prolific British television character actor John Abineri. His mother was the actress Hilary Bamford. He is the brother of Sebastian Abineri.
He discovered actor Russell Crowe when he gave him his first professional acting role in a New Zealand tour of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Abineri later awarded Crowe the lead in his very first musical, Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom.
He developed a love of 30s and 40s music at the age of 3 when his father brought home an old wind-up gramophone and a chest full of 78 rpm recordings.
He has one daughter, Lola from his current marriage and three children , Jennifer, Kate and Joe from his first marriage.
He married to Claudia Rosencrantz, controller of entertainment for Britains ITV, and co-creator of British TV hits like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Im A Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here, and Pop Idol.
