Arledge, Roone (Pinckney, Jr.) 1931-2002

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ARLEDGE, Roone (Pinckney, Jr.) 1931-2002

PERSONAL:

Born July 8, 1931, in Forest Hills, NY; died of cancer, December 5, 2002; son of Roone (a lawyer) and Gertrude (Stritmater; a homemaker) Arledge; married Joan Heise, December 27, 1953 (divorced, 1971); married; wife's name, Anne (divorced, 1983); married Gigi Shaw; children (first marriage): Elizabeth Ann, Susan Lee, Patrcia Lu, Roone Pinckney. Education: Columbia University, B.A., 1952.

CAREER:

Television producer. Dumont Television Network, 1952-53; The Shari Lewis Show, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), 1955-60; American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (ABC), producer, network sports, 1960-61; Wide World of Sports, producer and creator, 1961; vice president in charge of sports, 1963-68; executive producer of all sports programs, 1964, 1968, 1974; president, ABC News, 1968-85; creator, Monday Night Football, 1969; creator, Nightline, 1980; president, ABC Sports Inc., 1977-85; group president, ABC News and Sports, 1985-1990; ABC News president, 1990-1998; chairman ABC news, 1998-2002. Military service: U.S. Army, 1953-54.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Recipient of thirty-seven Emmy Awards, given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; two Christopher Awards; four George Foster Peabody Awards; Kennedy Family Award, 1972; National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Award, 1972; Broadcast Pioneers Award; Gold Medal, International Radio and Television Society, 1983; Distinguished Service to Journalism Honor Medal, University of Missouri; John Jay Distinguished Professional Service Award, Columbia University; Distinguished Achievement Award, University of Southern California Journalism Association; Founders Award; Olympic Order, Medal of the International Olympic Committee; Grand Prize, Cannes Film Festival; Man of the Year, National Association of Television Program Executives; Man of the Year, Football News; Man of the Year, Ohio State University; Man of the Year, Gallagher Report; inducted into Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, and U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, both 1990; du Pont-Columbia Award, 1995; Lifetime Achievement Emmy, 2002 (first ever awarded).

WRITINGS:

Roone: A Memoir, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Roone Arledge has been a significant pioneer and innovator in the world of television sports and news. Life magazine placed Arledge on their list of "One Hundred Most Important Americans of the Twentieth Century" and Sports Illustrated placed him third on their list (just behind Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan) of forty individuals who have most impacted the world of sports in the last four decades. Arledge's career as a television executive for ABC spanned four decades. He is credited with creating Monday Night Football, including hiring Howard Cosell as an announcer. Arledge also created ABC's Wide World of Sports, Nightline, 20/20, and Prime Time Live. In the world of sports broadcasting, his ideas (and implementations) include instant replays, isolated cameras, slow motion, and stop action. He also introduced the first female and black news anchors to network television.

Arledge's memoir, Roone, was published posthumously. In the book he wrote about being called a legend, "I've been called that, much to my chagrin. Legends are the dead … and I'm very much alive despite the cane, still chairman of ABC News and working on these memoirs in my spare time." The cane Arledge referenced was the cancer that wreaked havoc in his body. In a review for the Post-Gazette.com Allan Walton stated, "Arledge has a lot to tell, and most of it is worthy of your attention … it's dotted with names, a bit of gossip and enough insight to give you a feel not just for the man, but for the industry." The book explores his friendships with people he hired, such as Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings, and Howard Cosell. It delves deep into the industry of television broadcasting and into Arledge's life itself.

When Arledge first began at ABC, the network was trailing in third place among the three television networks. Arledge had much success in helping to change the company's situation. He altered the style of sports and news coverage to create a more up-close and personal feel to the broadcasts. During his lifetime he won thirty-seven Emmys for his work in the television industry. He was also the first non-athlete to be appointed to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, for his work in revamping the coverage of the Olympics on television. "Showing just how he did it, these well-crafted memoirs provide a beind-the-scenes look at prominent personalities, milestone events, and landmark programs," wrote John Maxymuk in a review for Library Journal.

Arledge completely changed the face of television news and sports coverage forever. "Anyone who has watched television for the last thirty or so years will find it a remarkable memoir … not only is the book full of fascinating information, it's written in an immensely readable style," stated Ilene Cooper in Booklist. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly also commented, "In his long career as an executive at ABCTV, Roone Arledge revolutionized sports and news broadcasting by emphasizing entertainment—and his posthumous memoir entertains as well."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Arledge, Roone, Roone: A Memoir, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Contmeporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Volume 4, Gale Group (Detroit, MI), 1987.

Gunther, Marc, The House That Roone Built: The Inside Story of ABC News, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1994.

Newsmakers, Gale Group (Detroit, MI), 1992.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of Roone: A Memoir, p. 1506.

Electronic Media, September 9, 2002, "NATAS makes the right call," p. 9.

Esquire, October, 1974, Sol Yurick, "That Wonderful Person Who Brought You Howard Cosell," pp. 152-154.

Library Journal, June 1, 2003, John Maxymuk, review of Roone, p. 134.

Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2003, Carmela Ciuraru, review of Roone, p. E22.

New York Times, February, 1980, Desmond Smith, "The wide world of Roone Arledge," pp. 153-158; December 29, 2002, Julian Rubinstein, "The emperor of the air," p. 36.

Playboy, October, 1976, "Playboy Interview: Roone Arledge," pp. 63-68.

Publishers Weekly, April 28, 2003, review of Roone, p. 61.