He married to Claudia Rosencrantz, controller of entertainment for
Britain's ITV, and co-creator of British TV hits like Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire?, I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here, and Pop
Idol.
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 has one daughter, Lola (b. 1998) from his current marriage and three children , Jennifer, Kate and Joe from his first marriage.
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.