If a family has to go to law court to determine what is fair, the issue is what's the law, not what is fair.''. The deal made Comcast the nations largest cable operator. Bob McGovern The Elkins Park family would travel to places like Haiti and Guatemala to learn about other cultures. 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. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Mr. Roberts later took jobs with the Muzak Corporation and the Pioneer Suspender Company, which sold mens belts and cologne. ''Brian is the more active participant.''. Mr. Roberts taught by example. Ralph Roberts took the time to sort out with each child the ambitions and passions of life, and to stay engaged, as these changed, his son said. After Robert Roberts died in 1932, Ralphs mother, Sara, moved the family to the Germantown section of Philadelphia, to be near her ailing sister. Douglas P. Roberts LEESBURG, FL Douglas P. Roberts, 54, of Leesburg, FL, passed away Aug, 18, 2014. Fleisher. ", Mr. Roberts met his wife at a dance in 1937 when he was 17, she 16. Then in 1941, after seeing him twirling with another dance partner, she "grabbed Ralph, took him out on the golf course, and said, 'I want to marry you.' Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City, and was an entrepreneur from an early age. Brian Roberts countered that other companies, including Comcast, were aggressively upgrading. Besides his son Brian, Mr. Roberts is survived by his wife, the host of the Comcast Network program Seeking Solutions With Suzanne, aimed at viewers 50 and older; two daughters, Catherine Clifton and Lisa Roberts; another son, Ralph Jr.; and eight grandchildren. This has a pretty good chance of working. He managed to get a photograph of Bob Hope holding the club and asked him to endorse it, to help out a veteran, Mr. Roberts recalled, but there was never any formal agreement. ''There is something about wanting to pass things on,'' he said. 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. That was evident earlier this month when Brian Roberts and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, struck a deal in which Microsoft agreed to pay $1 billion for an 11.5 percent stake in Comcast. ''She had a lot of friends, and she decided to go into the insurance business, and everybody she knew bought a policy from her the first year to keep us going,'' he said. 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. And her husband reminisced about family trips. Many entrepreneurs are very secretive. 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.. Cancel any time, no strings attached. In early 2011, after a protracted review by federal regulators, Comcast acquired 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. It struck me as a place where culture really mattered. Douglas was born April 10, 1943 in Los Angeles, CA. The two said their relationship had been strengthened by having much to discuss, as each pursued separate professional interests - and also by the collaboration that developed when one asked the other for advice. "Ralph was always 'Ralph' to his rank-and-file employees, and a great listener who always checked his ego at the door. 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. 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. Throughout his career, he remained at the core a salesman and merchant, but one who took chances and could "see around corners" to anticipate the next new thing. At one point, Ralph Roberts met with Mr. Immelt without Brian Roberts. . He loved my mother and my entire family so much. "It has been a dream come true for him - and for me," Brian Roberts told his father's biographer. BigDaddy, as he was known to his friends and family, had a remarkable passion and talent for athletics. Comcast is also one of the largest residential telephone providers in the United States. ''Deals like Microsoft and QVC would not have happened without Brian,'' said Steven Rattner, deputy chief executive of Lazard Freres & Company, who has worked with the family for about a decade. Our activities are so public. 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 Philadelphia. All rights reserved. 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. To send flowers With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. An actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime seeking to help others. 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. 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. Ralph J. Roberts founded Comcast Corp. in 1963. He owned various companies, including Pioneer Suspenders, which marketed wallets and belts for men. Make a life-giving gesture. ", Mayor Nutter called Mr. Roberts a "consummate gentleman, kind and gentle husband and father, and a great business leader.". Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. He was always a stickler for table manners," she said. 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. ", "He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very inspirational to me personally," Snider said in a statement. The appeal was the Roberts team, the challenge, and the firm's culture. 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. ''When some guy decides that he is so important that he dismisses Mama for some 35-year-old trophy, then I don't know what is fair. . A Funeral Service will begin at Noon at . Their son, Brian L. Roberts, is the current CEO of Comcast Corporation. In 2011, fulfilling the Robertses long-held interest in NBC, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal from General Electric for $6.5 billion; in doing so, it became one of the industrys leading content producers. He also participated in continuing education programs at Harvard Business School. 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. ''The most dangerous thing is a son or daughter coming into a business where they think they get special treatment,'' Mr. Roberts said. '', See the article in its original context from. ''It's a pretty close family. ''We moved into an apartment with my aunt in Philadelphia. Obituary. His plan is to turn over the votes to Brian but make sure to divide the financial pie fairly among all the offspring. Doug was born July 24, 1969, in Kalamazoo, the son of Douglas and Vicky (Troyer). In a statement to Comcast employees, his son, Brian L. Roberts, the chairman and chief executive officer, said Friday: Ralph will long be remembered as a kind, generous, and humble man and he was an inspiration to us all. 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. When she was 60 years old, Mrs. Roberts got her undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children. It bottomed out at $16.375 last March and has recovered slightly, closing at $21.375 on Friday on Nasdaq. The acquisition, which faced scrutiny from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, was scuttled in April of this year. In his leisure time, on which Mr. Roberts insisted, he rode horses, foxhunted, and enjoyed his family. A result was Microsoft's $1 billion investment in Comcast. I speak for all of us when I say he will be greatly missed. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. Family-business experts say the family is something of an anomaly in devising a smooth transfer between generations. I lived at home.'' She was not amused. Overnight, it went from 18th to fifth among cable firms in the United States, with two million customers. Douglas Alan Roberts Sept. 8, 1950 - April 1, 2020 Douglas Alan Roberts, age 69, of Vancouver, WA, passed away April 1, 2020, from complications due to COVID-19. 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. Anyone can read what you share. The elder Mr. Roberts has made sure that each of Brian's siblings will retain an economic stake in Comcast equal their brother's. ''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. OBITUARY Douglas McArthur ROBERTS April 10, 1943 - May 16, 2022. Sheldon M. Bonovitz joined the Comcast board in 1979 and was Mr. Roberts' personal legal adviser. ''We had 650 analysts on the conference call to discuss the deal,'' recalled Brian Roberts, who handled the call for Comcast. When I think of Ralph, it is always with the utmost affection.". A remembrance ceremony to celebrate Roberts' life will follow at a future date. Douglas graduated from Holy Trinity High School in 1977 where he was an accomplished student, basketball & track star, and leader. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. Born in Trenton, Doug was a longtime Ewing resident. 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. In one generation, he started a company that is one of the 50 biggest companies in the U.S.," said Burke, one of a second wave of executives to join Comcast 15 years ago. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "You could tell Ralph was crazy about Brian, and Brian was crazy about him. father . "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. ''All this would never have happened in the arms of a second wife,'' according to Mr. Danco. "Our city has lost a wonderful champion with his passing.". 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. Mr. Roberts has reason to track the way family-run companies pass the baton from one generation to next. It also locked up broadcast rights to the Phillies. ''The father is open. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. When not on the basketball court, Douglas loved playing cards, spending time with his family, and helping those less fortunate. His son Douglas died in 2011. Intrigued by the nascent cable industrys potential and aided by Mr. Aaron and Julian Brodsky, a Philadelphia accountant, Mr. Roberts decided to invest, overcoming his own initial misgivings and the even stronger doubts of his wife, Suzanne, who, he said, thought he was absolutely crazy., The cable business, you put up a tower, you run a line down through the telephone poles, you charge everybody $5 a month, and you dont do anything, so it didnt seem very appealing to me, Mr. Roberts recalled in receiving a television industry award in 2003. ''Ralph and Julian have been intimately involved, but Ralph doesn't sit there until 4 A.M. in the lawyers' offices anymore. Through the 1970s and '80s, it built cable networks, learned to maintain them, and profited by Mr. Roberts' favorite element - recurring monthly income. In addition to his wife, Ralph 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. It shows the power of Ralph's influence, that he has been able to keep that feeling alive over 50 years," Cohen said. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. ''Ralph is tough,'' he says ruefully. [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. We have all learned so much from Ralph, but perhaps the greatest lesson was the way he lived his life. It is always business. ''There are the families that destroy each other as soon as the father or mother dies,'' Mr. Roberts said. 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. That's his legacy: not leaving his children wanting. That was hardly a coincidence. A unique . Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the nation's fourth-largest cable television operator with $4 billion in revenue last year. After selling the firm, he set up shop in 1961 in Bala Cynwyd. In addition, Ralph Roberts personally owns another 5.2 million nonvoting shares, as well as 319,00 class A shares. 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. 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