Brian, born in 1959, was the fourth. He helped his wife, an actress, practice her lines and attended every performance no matter how many days the show ran. It is a skill that Brian Roberts knows he has yet to prove and that is rare among the sons of powerful men, who are often overwhelmed by their fathers. '', See the article in its original context from. The potential for conflict is obvious. The family will host a private service for the family, the company announced. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The elder Roberts was also civic-minded. Executive vice president David L. Cohen jumped to Comcast in 2002 from a high-profile job as chairman of the Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll law firm. The 1998 Inquirer Executive Compensation Survey showed that Mr. Roberts was paid $45 million, ranking second on The Inquirer's list of the most highly compensated chief executives in the region. It also sells those services to businesses. In a family business, even the strongest allegiances can crack under the strain of a mismanaged transition at the top, but people familiar with Comcast say the younger Mr. Roberts is proving his mettle. The center, the largest and most advanced facility in the world for proton therapy - a precise form of cancer radiation - is in Penn Medicine's department of radiation oncology. [12] They had five children: Catherine, Lisa, Ralph Jr. (Rob), Brian, and Douglas (who died in 2011);[2] and eight grandchildren. Doug graduated from Hillsborough High School in Tampa and went on to attend Hobart School of Welding. But they talk all the time. Over the last five years, it has brought in a younger team of senior executives to work with Brian, including the executive vice president, Larry Smith, 49; the senior treasurer, John Alchin, 49, and the president of the cable division, Tom Baxter, 50. can stop at any time. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. If he hadn't, his father confesses, ''I probably would have sold the company. Sign up for service and obituary updates. [6], Roberts served on the boards of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Brandywine River Museum, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and the PENN Medicine Board of Trustees. . After leaving the Navy, Roberts held various jobs, first selling golf clubs, then working for the Muzak Company, and later the Pioneer Suspender Company, which he eventually owned. Obituary Roberts, Douglas David It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Douglas Roberts on August 1, 2013 at The Wellington Nursing Home in his 89th year. ''I thought if he was so young, you really have to be helped to be promoted to make it appear that you really are your own person,'' the elder Mr. Roberts recalled. His father's greatest skill, he said, ''is the ability to make the hard decision at the crucial moment.''. We all will.". The elder Mr. Roberts kept the titles of chairman and chief executive. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. But during the Depression, Mr. Roberts recalled, ''my father died, and we lost all our money. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. [4] He was awarded honorary degrees from both Holy Family College and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received their Joseph P. Wharton Award. While building Comcast, he built an economic engine for the city of Philadelphia as well.". But that verve was always tempered by a calm affability and a cautious approach to spending money. He never pressured any of them to join the family company -- and none besides Brian showed any interest in doing so. Contributions may be made to the Germantown Boys and Girls Club, 25 W. Penn St., Philadelphia 19144, or the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia 19103, or at http://unitedforimpact.org/ways-to-give. And I always answer with a straight face, 'Of course I did,' " Mr. Roberts said in An Incredible Dream, his authorized biography, written by William Novak. ", Mr. Roberts met his wife at a dance in 1937 when he was 17, she 16. He was 95. ''I used to talk to Julian all the time,'' recalled Gordon Crawford, a senior vice president at the Capital Group, whose funds hold 8.1 percent of Comcast's class A stock. Find the obituary of Douglas A. Roberts (1955 - 2021) from Mount Carmel, IL. He was always a stickler for table manners," she said. Ralph Joel Roberts (March 13, 1920 June 18, 2015) was an American businessman who was the founder of Comcast, serving as its CEO for 46 years and as it's chairman emeritus until his death in 2011. His father, Robert Max Roberts, was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who prospered with a string of pharmacies in the city. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. He recalled in a 1996 interview digging up his mother's marigolds and selling them to the neighbors. "I will really miss him. . A Visitation will be held on Friday, March 3 from 10 am - 12 pm at Drake and Son Funeral Home, 5303 North Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. For Brodsky that was giving up the four or five packs of unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes he used to smoke. The company is clearly planning for the day that Ralph Roberts will no longer be running the show. Ralph has been the heart and soul of Comcast for 50 years, and his integrity, honesty and respect for everyone around him will never be forgotten. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. Ralph was my personal mentor, teaching me how to build and maintain a great organizational culture irrespective of size," Bonovitz said. Comcast, a name Roberts coined from the words communications and broadcasting. Though many aging entrepreneurs resist relinquishing power despite all their promises to do so, Comcast has begun notifying local cable commissions of the pending change of control, which Ralph Roberts said would be no later than early next year. There are no events at this time. And Peter Barton, the former president of Liberty Media, recalled that Brian Roberts played the key role in a complicated deal with Liberty involving the purchase of Time Warner's stake in E Entertainment, a cable-service company, for $321 million. "But I don't think I'll be seeing too many more," he said. An actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime seeking to help others. His main goal at the time was to make a lot of money. That was extremely important to him, that we would sit around the table - all seven of us. Flush with cash, Comcast went on a buying spree in the mid-1980s, acquiring part of the Group W cable system. He is also survived by cousins, nieces and nephews. Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. He wants the other person to always feel good, whatever the exchange is. But the firm wasn't always a giant, nor was its founder a scion. Brian Roberts countered that other companies, including Comcast, were aggressively upgrading. 1-800-896-5587 (Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm MDT) Annual Membership . But if Brian were not up to it, he would not have stood a chance because you can't sacrifice all the people in the place for a poor manager. It also locked up broadcast rights to the Phillies. Receive a notification when services are updated. And if there is any disagreement, they can always talk it out. He felt, 'This doesn't have to be about me.' If you know of an upcoming event for Douglas A. Roberts, please add one. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. It shows the power of Ralph's influence, that he has been able to keep that feeling alive over 50 years," Cohen said. Fleisher. . Ralph J. Roberts, 95, the soft-spoken visionary who in 1963 bought a tiny subscriber-TV system in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast Corp., the nation's leading cable company, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. Luckily, the youngster had business smarts as well as enthusiasm. As Comcast prospered, so did the Roberts family. It is only natural for the world to wonder: How will Brian's siblings react to all this? "Ralph was a tough, hard businessman, but he never forgot his obligation to help others, help his community, and help Philadelphia. For example, it was Brian Roberts who was on the board of Turner Broadcasting before Time Warner bought it in 1996, and it was Brian who was president of the National Cable Television Association's board in 1995. After graduating from Parkrose High School in 1968, Doug attended Willamette University, then he graduated with a BA and Masters in Public . Ed Rendell. (Mr. Bush won the states other Senate seat two years later.). The Roberts Family Remembers Ralph J. Roberts. Figure skating program in Kensington aims to make the sport accessible for local athletes, Philadelphia Zoo's new exhibit includes life-sized dinosaurs and lots of bugs, Ex-football player from Bucks County among new 'Survivor' competitors, Eagles will host Browns for joint practices in preseason, Six Flags to enhance Hurricane Harbor with more water slides, tree house for young kids, Watch every 'Rocky' movie in order and for free on Pluto TV. He was 95. I believe the reason we are still in this business when so many others have long since departed was his will to succeed, and to do it with certain core values and integrity. Later, the two men found themselves in the same restaurant, and Mr. Roberts suggested that Microsoft consider investing in cable. He died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. People who never had a financial problem in their lives can never understand what terror there is in that.''. ''There is something about wanting to pass things on,'' he said. I knew a lot of people at Comcast. ''I would see Ralph about once a year. "These guys go out there and kill each other!". Once Mr. Roberts began building Comcast, Brian, alone of his brood, frequented the company premises. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. He was 95. Mr. Roberts has by all accounts done a skillful job of grooming Brian to fill his shoes so that he is both respected by his peers and supported by his siblings. [8] The Suzanne F. and Ralph J. Roberts Foundation was one of the largest contributors to the restoration of the Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia named in the honor of his father-in-law. He had a way of leading and managing that is razor-smart, focused, intuitive, strong, but all with a velvet glove," said chief communications officer D'Arcy Rudnay. "Ralph was always 'Ralph' to his rank-and-file employees, and a great listener who always checked his ego at the door. Funeral Home website by. But as Brian Roberts worked his way up the ladder, the halcyon 1980's came to an end. They have met at the investment bank Allen & Company's annual Sun Valley Conference for media heavyweights, and they got together last summer when Mr. Gates came to speak at a United Way fund-raising event in Philadelphia. "From selling belts door-to-door to creating the largest entertainment and technology corporation in the United States of America - it's an incredible success story. Already in his 40s, he was approached by a Philadelphia acquaintance named Dan Aaron, who alerted him to a 1,200-subscriber cable television system for sale in Tupelo. "The trick," Mr. Roberts said in the biography, "is to make everyone feel involved.". Wife Suzanna died on April 20, 2020 age 98", Ralph J. Roberts, Comcast Corporation Founder and Chairman Emeritus, dies at age 95, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ralph_J._Roberts&oldid=1141863531, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 06:20. Genealogy for Douglas Roberts (1960 - 2011) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. The deal stirred up widespread opposition from factions who feared that the resulting cable industry giant would stifle competition and hurt consumers. Ralph is survived by Suzanne Roberts, his wife of over 70 years. "During this period, even before 1979 . Without being asked, Mrs. Roberts volunteered her opinion that Ralph and Brian clicked as few business partners do. '', Brian Roberts, on the other hand, seems to relish his public role. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. Maybe it was losing both his parents before he was 21, living through the Depression, but somehow he became an optimist. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly.". There was plenty of room to give the son a shot. "I think maybe Ralph Roberts is the most successful businessman in the last 50 years that most people haven't heard of. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. He also participated in continuing education programs at Harvard Business School. Ralph J. Roberts, 95, the soft-spoken visionary who in 1963 bought a tiny subscriber-TV system in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast Corp., the nation's leading cable company, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. Brian Roberts said his parents tried to make life stimulating and eye-opening for their children. "He was the greatest influence in my life and a joy for me to work side by side with for over three decades. ''We had 650 analysts on the conference call to discuss the deal,'' recalled Brian Roberts, who handled the call for Comcast. When not on the basketball court, Douglas loved playing cards, spending time with his family, and helping those less fortunate. A Funeral Service will begin at Noon at the Funeral Home. It's been a real pleasure for the whole family," he said in 1999. ", Mayor Nutter called Mr. Roberts a "consummate gentleman, kind and gentle husband and father, and a great business leader.". In the meantime, he and his wife had five children. Funeral arrangement under the care ofKeepes Funeral Home. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. ''Ralph is tough,'' he says ruefully. Quickly locate a newspaper obituary or death notice. I didn't want it to appear that he was just his father's son.''. He was born Sept. 8, 1950 to Robert and Blanche Roberts in Portland. In 1963, he and his partners, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky, paid $500,000 for a 1,200-subscriber cable TV operator in Tupelo, Mississippi, called American Cable Systems. But as I began to look at what was happening, I realized the cable business was the best of all the ones I had invested in, and decided to go forward full boat.. Promoting an heir apparent may have been easier for the elder Mr. Roberts than for other entrepreneurs. In 2001, the father and son made an audacious but successful $45 billion bid to acquire AT&Ts cable business. Using the proceeds from Pioneer, he started purchasing local community antenna television systems which brought TV to people in rural areas,[2] which were then underserved by big broadcasters. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. No one was punished for broaching a new idea. Write your message of sympathy today. Mr. Roberts later worked in advertising at the Aitkin-Kynett agency, writing slogans for the Democrat William Benton, a successful United States Senate candidate from Connecticut who defeated Prescott S. Bush, the father and grandfather of two presidents, in 1950. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. He is steel. He always treated me with respect from a very young age.". It is always business. Sign up for service and obituary updates. The 1990's have been far tougher, as regulation and skepticism about the industry's future in the face of rival technologies hurt cable stocks. Brian L. Roberts (born June 28, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Comcast, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services which was founded by his father, Ralph J. Roberts. In addition, Ralph Roberts personally owns another 5.2 million nonvoting shares, as well as 319,00 class A shares. ommitted to the fight against cancer, he and his family helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn Medicine in 2006. Sheldon M. Bonovitz joined the Comcast board in 1979 and was Mr. Roberts' personal legal adviser. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. He was a killer dancer - the only thing he bragged about. He was 95. His son Douglas died in 2011. "That's what he stood for. He was able to keep it alive as the company grew. "Our city has lost a wonderful champion with his passing.". The soft-spoken, affable Mr. Roberts never acquired the outsize public profile of cable pioneers like Ted Turner, John C. Malone, Charles F. Dolan and John Rigas, but his impact was comparable to theirs in making cable television a culture-changing industry giving viewers hundreds of channels, where they once had little more than a dozen, and persuading them to pay for something that had always been free. [5] They incorporated in 1969 as Comcast Corporation, a name Roberts invented by combining the words communications and broadcasting. And to prevent his other heirs from putting pressure on Brian to sell Comcast -- an issue that has torn many families apart -- Mr. Roberts is struggling with a way to give them nonvoting stock that they could cash in without disturbing their brother's grip on the company. Douglas P. Roberts LEESBURG, FL Douglas P. Roberts, 54, of Leesburg, FL, passed away Aug, 18, 2014. Published. Overnight, it went from 18th to fifth among cable firms in the United States, with two million customers. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four of his children and their spouses: Catherine R. Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton, Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer, Ralph Roberts Jr. and Kim Roberts, Brian L. Roberts and Aileen K. Roberts and Diane Roberts, widow of Ralph and Suzannes son Douglas Roberts, who passed away in September 2011. ''We moved into an apartment with my aunt in Philadelphia. In 1942, he married Suzanne Fleisher, an aspiring actress from a well-to-do Philadelphia family. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. Then, chuckling, he added, ''It was probably a very good lesson for Brian -- no question about it. Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the. Douglas was born April 10, 1943 in Los Angeles, CA. Brian Roberts came to know Mr. Gates when a contingent of Comcast executives visited Microsoft on a fact-finding tour several years ago. '', That would have been a wrenching decision, as it almost invariably is for the founder of a company. "It has been a dream come true for him - and for me," Brian Roberts told his father's biographer. The family holding company owns all the supervoting shares, as well as 1.8 million of the class A shares and 5.3 million of the nonvoting shares. . The memory of the fiasco still rankles Mr. Diller. To make it work, you have to have motivated, competent successors as well as accommodating heirs. A remembrance ceremony to celebrate Roberts' life will follow at a future date. He loved my mother and my entire family so much. What is more common is that this kind of agreement does not happen. father . Comcast's decision in late April to abandon its $45 billion deal to buy Time Warner Cable Inc. was a rare misstep for the company and a trimming of its ambitions for the moment. He was an icon, a mentor and friend to so many. He had been born into an affluent home, the son of the owner of a small drugstore chain in Westchester County, N.Y. For a time, the family even had a chauffeur. It struck me as a place where culture really mattered. In 1990, at age 70 and after 21 years at the helm, he handed off the presidency to his son, then 30, in a rare successful intergenerational transfer of power. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. . "He wanted to keep the integrity, the family feel, and the dedication of employees. Penn honored him in 2005 with the Doctor of Laws honoris causa. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. Even though Brian is the CEO, Ralph set the tone from a business point of view.". After Brian received an undergraduate business degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, Ralph Roberts tried to steer him to another company, where he would have to fight his own battles. ''We would have discussions about our lives. ". ''I think we have known that Brian would take over the company since he was about 8 years old,'' said Julian Brodsky, Comcast's vice chairman and Mr. Roberts's alter ego for the last 34 years. Blogs; Online will; Shop. (66 years old). He was. The deal put the cable company on a far larger corporate map. The magic words, according to Mr. Roberts, were "Yes, dear.". Anyone can read what you share. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. ''They drag the business down because it kills the morale of everybody in the company.''. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. ALL along, however, Mr. Roberts has drawn his son closer to the center of action inside Comcast and pushed him into the spotlight outside the company. "We would have dinner as a family. [15][16], Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 06:20, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, National Conference of Christians and Jews, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Times: "Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95", "Love: Suzanne (Fleisher) Roberts & Ralph J. Roberts", "Brian Roberts' Jewish Roots and Outsized Ambition Drive Comcast's Rise in Media", University of Pennsylvania Medicine: "About the Roberts", "Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia: Our Hall of Fame, Eastern State Penitentiary: "Funders for the Synagogue Restoration", "Starring Role - From the boards to the funding, Suzanne Roberts lives for the stage", "Howard Gerstley Fleisher, 95, Businessman and Active Volunteer", Daily Finance: "Comcast's Brian Roberts: The low-key exec who leads a high-profile giant" By Jonathan Berr, The Cable Center: "Cable Hall of Fame Archives - Ralph J. Roberts, "Comcast founder Ralph Roberts dies at 95. He was the most optimistic man I ever knew. Once the elder Mr. Roberts is out of the picture at Comcast, Wall Street will be watching closely to see whether the son can be as tough and decisive as his father. Comcast - the name borrowed from communications and broadcasting - was incorporated in 1969 and began its legendary climb. Mr. Roberts taught by example. A Visitation will be held on Friday, March 3 from 10 am 12 pm at Drake and Son Funeral Home, 5303 North Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. Another son, Douglas, died in September 2011. Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. The son, meanwhile, remains an understudy of the father -- and the father is impressing upon the son the need to play hardball when the occasion demands it. "His vision was always to create a little IBM," Rudnay said. His plan is to turn over the votes to Brian but make sure to divide the financial pie fairly among all the offspring. Roberts, Craig Mort, Brenda Bachura, Bill McMenemy, and Peter McMenemy. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Mr. Roberts witnessed the loss of his family's drugstore chain in the Depression and the death of his father to a heart attack in 1933, when he was 12. In February 2013, Comcast paid $16.7 billion to purchase the remaining stake in NBCUniversal. Mr. Roberts built Comcast through a series of acquisitions of cable systems around the country. Bob McGovern ''Barry is very charismatic and hypnotic, but we were not going to lose our business and become a nonvoting stockholder of CBS to provide Barry with an entree to CBS.'' DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. ", "He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very inspirational to me personally," Snider said in a statement. `` I think maybe Ralph Roberts is the CEO, Ralph set the tone from a well-to-do Philadelphia family,... 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