Brian Roberts countered that other companies, including Comcast, were aggressively upgrading. "It's just a miracle," Brodsky said. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly.". 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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Fleisher, restored it. The deal would have relegated Comcast, the biggest QVC shareholder, to be a minor, and passive, investor in CBS, and the elder Mr. Roberts wanted no part of that. ''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. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. She was not amused. "I never had a bad idea in working for him for 30-plus years," Roberts said. "Ralph has been the heart and soul of Comcast for 50 years," said his son, Comcast president and CEO Brian L. Roberts, in a note to employees Friday morning. He had resided in Leesburg for the past two years. Brian Roberts came to know Mr. Gates when a contingent of Comcast executives visited Microsoft on a fact-finding tour several years ago. He owned various companies, including Pioneer Suspenders, which marketed wallets and belts for men. 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. 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 a gentle soul with an infectious spirit who will be greatly missed. Douglas was born April 10, 1943 in Los Angeles, CA. Ralph is survived by Suzanne Roberts, his wife of over 70 years. They both deserve credit for that graceful interplay, but the lion's share goes to Ralph," said Burke, CEO of Comcast's NBCUniversal. 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. The Roberts clan's equity stake in Comcast, based in Philadelphia, is worth at least $470 million without a premium, and once the patriarch and his wife pass from the scene, there is no guarantee the heirs won't hurl themselves into a fierce battle for the spoils. The Roberts family said in a statement: "Ralph was a remarkable man who touched the lives of so many people. to the family or plant a tree He graduated from Ewing High School and studied automotive technology at the Lincoln Technical Institute on a scholarship. Questions? Douglas is survived by his wife DeLene (nee Edmon) Scott, his loving children Douglas (Erin Sutton) Scott and Monique (Terri) Davis; his mother Mona Scott; his siblings Vernon Scott, Steven Scott, Michael Scott and Patricia Yusuff and many loving family and friends. Flush with cash, Comcast went on a buying spree in the mid-1980s, acquiring part of the Group W cable system. ''The most dangerous thing is a son or daughter coming into a business where they think they get special treatment,'' Mr. Roberts said. [11] Her name appears on the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia and she hosted a TV program aimed at seniors called "Seeking Solutions with Suzanne" on Comcast's CN8 network. 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. A few weeks ago, the five Roberts children -- leaving behind both mates and children -- spent a day with their parents for freewheeling talks on everything from personal concerns to financial matters. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. January 6, 1955 - Your email will not be used for any other purpose. "We would have dinner as a family. But they talk all the time. Sign Up Today! Even as he is promoting his son, the elder Mr. Roberts is looking after the financial interests of his other children. '', That would have been a wrenching decision, as it almost invariably is for the founder of a company. ''Ralph and Julian have been intimately involved, but Ralph doesn't sit there until 4 A.M. in the lawyers' offices anymore. 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. Douglass Edward Roberts, 69, a lifelong resident of Swansea and the son of the late Edward Francis Roberts and Barbara (Douglass) Roberts, passed away on December 25, 2019. "Ralph was a remarkable man who touched the lives of so many people. Burke watched the father-son team when Mr. Roberts was chairman and his son president, and found their interplay businesslike and seamless. He also participated in continuing education programs at Harvard Business School. The couple celebrated 70 years of marriage in 2012. In 1963, the year he founded the company, he created Comcast class B shares, of which there are 8.8 million, each with 15 votes. A Funeral Service will begin at Noon at . A Funeral Service will begin at Noon at the Funeral Home. On ski trips, he would patiently lace up five pairs of ski boots. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Hillside, IL. The elder Mr. Roberts kept the titles of chairman and chief executive. Quickly locate a newspaper obituary or death notice. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and perhaps most importantly, a kind and humble human being. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. In the first days of Comcast, when colleagues Dan Aaron and Julian Brodsky clashed over how to expand the business, Mr. Roberts acted as the cheerful referee. [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. "His vision was always to create a little IBM," Rudnay said. RALPH ROBERTS, the dapper 77-year-old founder of the Comcast Corporation, loves to follow the ups and downs of other family businesses and try to figure out what makes some thrive and others implode. He felt, 'This doesn't have to be about me.' . He was chairman of the board from 1969 to 2002. But the elder Mr. Roberts has probably come as close as any company founder can to setting the stage for an orderly succession. That was hardly a coincidence. ''They drag the business down because it kills the morale of everybody in the company.''. He is survived by : his parents, Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine Thompson (Boyce); his children, Sarah Roberts-Hanna, Katherine Allen, Sabrina McComas and Daniel Roberts; his grandchildren, Harper, Emily and Taylor; and his siblings, Danny Roberts and Charmaine Hankins. Early life and education [ edit] Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York. The Gettys or that family in Texas,'' he continued, referring to Harold Simmons, the Texas investor who is at war with his daughters. As the years passed, Mr. Roberts, with his shock of white hair and signature bow tie, made sure that Comcast's homey values remained in place. Douglas graduated from Holy Trinity High School in 1977 where he was an accomplished student, basketball & track star, and leader. Comcast, a name Roberts coined from the words communications and broadcasting. "He found the buttons to push.". Mr. Gates told the group he believed the cable industry had been slow to upgrade its systems. One early venture was selling an innovative golf putter. That was extremely important to him, that we would sit around the table - all seven of us. The acquisition, which faced scrutiny from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, was scuttled in April of this year. Dedicated to public service, Douglas elected to continue to serve his country after transitioning from the military by working as a Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service for 35 years, eventually retiring from Wicker Park Station. ''It is the same thing as giving birth -- or having another generation. He told his biographer that his greatest accomplishment was that all my children speak to me frequently., Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/business/media/ralph-roberts-cable-tv-pioneer-who-built-comcast-dies-at-95.html. It also sells those services to businesses. 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. ''Ralph is tough,'' he says ruefully. In his leisure time, on which Mr. Roberts insisted, he rode horses, foxhunted, and enjoyed his family. ''They come in and tear each other apart. Messages run for up to one year and you Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. The industry as we know it today that is generating enormous revenues and is the way that most American consumers get their television was invented by Ralph Roberts and these other cable barons, said Josh Bernoff, a media analyst. Ralph J. Roberts, the man who founded Comcast Corp. with the purchase of a 1,200-subscriber cable television system in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963, died Thursday night of natural causes in. Roberts, Craig Mort, Brenda Bachura, Bill McMenemy, and Peter McMenemy. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. No services are scheduled at this time. His plan is to turn over the votes to Brian but make sure to divide the financial pie fairly among all the offspring. After Robert Roberts died in 1932, Ralphs mother, Sara, moved the family to the Germantown section of Philadelphia, to be near her ailing sister. All Rights Reserved. It bottomed out at $16.375 last March and has recovered slightly, closing at $21.375 on Friday on Nasdaq. ''Every chance I get I step back and say, 'Here is Brian.' With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. So he made his own bid for QVC, with TCI as a partner, effectively killing the CBS deal. He always treated me with respect from a very young age.". But the son wanted to stay in the family business, so Mr. Roberts started him off in the trenches, stringing cable in New Kensington, Pa. ''We were lucky because the cable business was growing and growing, '' Mr. Roberts recalled. 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. While building Comcast, he built an economic engine for the city of Philadelphia as well.". 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. Sign up for service and obituary updates. ''Under that bow tie and courtly manner beats the heart of one tough man. '', Brian Roberts, on the other hand, seems to relish his public role. ", Mr. Roberts met his wife at a dance in 1937 when he was 17, she 16. '', Both parents said that in bringing up their brood, they worked hard to see that the children connected with one another. He came home each weeknight at 7 p.m. and left his briefcase by the door, along with business cares. "During this period, even before 1979 . He was born on January 6, 1955 in Tampa, Florida, the son of Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine (Boyce) Thompson. All rights reserved. Actually, he added, "I've had a lot of bad ideas, but he would never say that. Today, Ralph Jr. is a professor of psychology at the University of Denver, and the other three all live near their parents in Philadelphia, where Lisa has a design business, Cathy is involved in philanthropy and Douglas is an assistant District Attorney. He has five children, aged 36 to 47. He died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. "That's what he stood for. 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. Comcast - the name borrowed from communications and broadcasting - was incorporated in 1969 and began its legendary climb. Despite that, Mr. Roberts named the club the Bob Hope Centric putter and began selling it around the country. "I will really miss him. JUST as important, family-business experts say the apparent harmony within the Roberts family bodes well for the chances of a smooth transition. Anyone can read what you share. Roberts, who also served as chairman emeritus of the companys board of directors, created asmall, regional cable outfit that is now the largest cable and home Internet provider in the United States and the largest broadcasting and cable company in the world. To be sure, he adds, ''At an important fork in the road, Brian will go off to his father'' to get the older man's stamp of approval. PhillyVoice Contributor. Anyone can read what you share. BEST DEAL! Inquirer staff writer Harold Brubaker and former staff writer Thomas J. Brady contributed to this article. Roberts is survived by Suzanne Roberts, his wife of over 70 years and an actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne. But the firm wasn't always a giant, nor was its founder a scion. 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