As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He wanted to marry her after several years, but she wasn't ready. ''We never emphasized that they should make a lot of money, or have the biggest car,'' Mrs. Roberts recalled. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. He never pressured any of them to join the family company -- and none besides Brian showed any interest in doing so. He was preceded in death by his father, Joe Nathan Scott, and his brother, Jonathan Scott. He did this by encouraging free-flowing discussion, then focusing the issue with probing questions. 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. When the club proved to be poorly made, however the shaft bent like a pretzel, Mr. Roberts said he quickly exited the business. 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 died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. As Comcast prospered, so did the Roberts family. 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. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. New York Times: Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95 By Glenn Rifkin Ralph J. Roberts, who at the dawn of the cable television industry bought a small cable service in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast, today the largest cable television company in the nation, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. And if there is any disagreement, they can always talk it out. Blogs; Online will; Shop. Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Douglas A. Roberts of Mount Carmel, Illinois, born in Tampa, Florida, who passed away on May 2, 2021, at the age of 66, leaving to mourn family and friends. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY. 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. Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the nation's fourth-largest cable television operator with $4 billion in revenue last year. [4] Roberts received awards from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, The National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Urban League of Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement,[7] and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. mother. 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.. 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. To support himself at college, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including selling milk. Brian, born in 1959, was the fourth. When she was 60 years old, Mrs. Roberts got her undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/business/the-heir-is-clearly-apparent-at-comcast.html. Like many other cable companies, Comcast peaked in late 1993, at $28.17 a share. He was 95. There was plenty of room to give the son a shot. ''He gives more speeches than anyone who is asked,'' said one media executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "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. It struck me as a place where culture really mattered. 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.''. "I think maybe Ralph Roberts is the most successful businessman in the last 50 years that most people haven't heard of. 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. "Ralph was a remarkable man who touched the lives of so many people. It is amazing. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. to the family or plant a tree Most of his pay, he said, came from $43 million in profit from expiring stock options he had to exercise. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He also participated in continuing education programs at Harvard Business School. 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. It also locked up broadcast rights to the Phillies. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. There was another side to Mr. Roberts - as a mentor to those other than his son. ''We had 650 analysts on the conference call to discuss the deal,'' recalled Brian Roberts, who handled the call for Comcast. 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. Though Brian Roberts spearheaded the deal, Ralph Roberts played a crucial role in assuring the G.E. Mr. Roberts later took jobs with the Muzak Corporation and the Pioneer Suspender Company, which sold mens belts and cologne. Create an obituary. 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. Fleisher. [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. ''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. 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. In his leisure time, on which Mr. Roberts insisted, he rode horses, foxhunted, and enjoyed his family. Their son, Brian L. Roberts, is the current CEO of Comcast Corporation. He helped his wife, an actress, practice her lines and attended every performance no matter how many days the show ran. ''They drag the business down because it kills the morale of everybody in the company.''. But as Brian Roberts worked his way up the ladder, the halcyon 1980's came to an end. He loved my mother and my entire family so much. 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. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. 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. Ralph J. Roberts. The fundamental fact is that people love television, he said, and if you can provide them with more television, they love it even more.. He was. He graduated with an economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and enlisted in the Navy as World War II was beginning, serving at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for the duration of the war. Write your message of sympathy today. "The amazing genius of my father is that there was not a one-size-fits-all for parenting. 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. He was 95. Ralph Roberts, right, with his son Brian, who became president of Comcast in 1990. But the firm wasn't always a giant, nor was its founder a scion. That was extremely important to him, that we would sit around the table - all seven of us. He wants the other person to always feel good, whatever the exchange is. . Inquirer staff writer Harold Brubaker and former staff writer Thomas J. Brady contributed to this article. . The elder Mr. Roberts has made sure that each of Brian's siblings will retain an economic stake in Comcast equal their brother's. ''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. If you know of an upcoming event for Douglas A. Roberts, please add one. 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. Mr. Gates was warm to the idea. Mr. Roberts, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes. CANDLE HAS BEEN LIT CANDLES HAVE BEEN LIT, We are reviewing your submission. 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. I went to the University of Pennsylvania. ''I was probably the one to pull the curtain,'' he said. And by the end of this year, the elder Mr. Roberts will increase Brian's control over the company's special class of 8.8 million shares that represent nearly 82 percent of Comcast's vote. Mr. Roberts, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes. That never happens.". Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. 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. That's his legacy: not leaving his children wanting. Mr. Roberts has reason to track the way family-run companies pass the baton from one generation to next. The deal put the cable company on a far larger corporate map. 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. "His legacy is that he left a big, vibrant company, that is led by his son, that will live on for many, many years," Comcast executive Steve Burke said. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Even though Brian is the CEO, Ralph set the tone from a business point of view.". . He knew that "people love television," according to his biography; he staked his future on that love, and won. Doug was predeceased by his infant. ''The father is open. "Ralph was always 'Ralph' to his rank-and-file employees, and a great listener who always checked his ego at the door. We have all learned so much from Ralph, but perhaps the greatest lesson was the way he lived his life. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. Philadelphia became Mr. Robertss business base and the arena for his philanthropy. He credits his mother for pulling the family through hard times. Roberts, Craig Mort, Brenda Bachura, Bill McMenemy, and Peter McMenemy. For Brodsky that was giving up the four or five packs of unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes he used to smoke. 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