Television Tightrope : How I Escaped Hitler, Survived CBS, and Fathered Viacom

by Baruch, Ralph

• ISBN13: 9780967343228
• ISBN10: 0967343224
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-01
• Publisher: Probitas Pr

Summary

The first full insider's account of Viacom's meteoric rise to become the largest entertainment conglomerate in the world, this inspiring account of the life of Ralph Baruch can be read by those seeking to overcome their own personal and professional challenges or simply by those interested by a fullfilling human-interest story. As a teenager, Ralph faced the Pyrenees Mountains separating Nazi-controlled France from Spain as his family fled Hitler's Europe for freedom; in his adult life he faced CBS, government bureaucrats, Hollywood stars and shysters, greedy outsiders coveting Viacom, and the loss of his wife and mother of four young daughters. Intimate and uninhibited, this autobiography also provides a revealing top-to-bottom tour of the television industry with anecdotes of the stars including Bill Cosby, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Raymond Burr, Ted Turner, and Mary Tyler Moore.

Author Biography

Ralph Baruch is the author of How Broadcasting and Cable Happened (In Spite of the FCC) and the winner of numerous awards including an Emmy and the International Radio & Television Society’s Gold Medal. He lives in New York City. Lee Roderick is the author of Leading the Charge: Orrin Hatch and 20 Years of America and Gentleman of the Senate. He is also a journalist whose work has appeared in national periodicals including Parade Magazine, American Heritage, The Wall Street Journal, and the Christian Science Monitor. He lives in Logan, Utah.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xv
Europe in Turmoil	p. 1
Nazis On Our Heels	p. 18
Starting Over in America	p. 31
Early Television	p. 49
DuMont and CBS	p. 63
The Tiffany Network	p. 75
Selling CBS Across the Globe	p. 91
The Trip From Hell	p. 103
Jean	p. 118
Love Blossoms	p. 129
Trapped in Tinseltown	p. 139
A Vast Wasteland?	p. 149
Adventures Abroad	p. 163
Storm Clouds From Washington	p. 173
CBS vs. Viacom	p. 185
Viacom Maps Its Future	p. 197
Cable Climbs Into the Ring	p. 208
Vultures Eye Viacom	p. 224
Viacom 'A Company to Reckon With'	p. 237
Networks Sleep at the Switch	p. 250
Hollywood Triple-Cross	p. 267
My Mistake: Terry Elkes	p. 279
Jackie Gleason and Bill Cosby	p. 291
'Ralph, You Are Dead Meat'	p. 303
Sumner Redstone Foils the Pirates	p. 315
Epilogue	p. 325
Editor's Note	p. 333
Sources	p. 335
Index	p. 343
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