Steve Ross (businessman)
Steve Ross | |
|---|---|
Warner Communications and Time Warner | |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Rosenthal (divorced) Amanda Burden (divorced) Courtney Sale |
| Children | 4 |
Steven Jay Ross (born Steven Jay Rechnitz; April 5, 1927 – December 20, 1992) was an American businessman and CEO of
Early life and education
Ross was born Steven Jay Rechnitz on April 5, 1927 in
Career
In 1953, he married Carol Rosenthal, the daughter of a Manhattan funeral home owner, Edward Rosenthal, who operated the largest funeral company in the United States, Riverside Memorial Chapel, where he accepted employment[1] as a funeral director. After noticing that the limousines used in funeral processions were not being used at night, he convinced his father-in-law to let him establish a separate company that would lease out the vehicles in the evenings.[1] The company was solidly profitable[1][2] and enabled Ross to obtain bank financing to start a rental company, Abbey Rent a Car.[1]
He later merged Abbey with a parking lot operator, the Kinney Parking Company,[1] which was then owned by underworld crime figures Manny Kimmel and Abner Zwillman, and added an office cleaning business (which was jointly owned by the funeral home and a cousin of his father-in-law). Kinney was taken public in 1962 with a market valuation of $12.5 million.[1] In 1964, Kinney purchased wood flooring manufacturer Circle Floor from Seymour and Paul Milstein for $15 million with Paul remaining as manager of the unit until 1971.[3]
Ross was company president and moved the firm from downtown New York to 10
Warner Communications/Time Warner
In 1971, Warner expanded into the cable television business by purchasing various small cable companies. Ross competed directly with the Big Three television networks that dominated television broadcasting, believing in the potential of narrowcasting whereby separate cable channels were developed to target specific audiences with narrower interests, mirroring the radio station model.[1] This pioneering approach led to the creation of the successful cable TV channels MTV and Nickelodeon which were both later sold at a great profit.[1]
In 1972, Ross was appointed CEO, president and chairman of
In 1976,
In 1979, needing financing to further expand its cable television business, Ross partnered with
In 1989, Warner Communications was merged with
Visionary
Ross moved before many of his competitors to bet heavily on the worldwide potential of cable television, records, videos, and other experiments. Some of his ideas were successful and others failed, but he influenced the development of media and entertainment with his ideas. "If you're not a risk-taker," he once said, "you should get the hell out of business."[1]
Ross's early interest in cable television helped him envision
Other projects that Ross supported were not as successful as MTV and Nickelodeon, but certainly left a mark in television and helped shape the TV we are enjoying today. One important project was
Soccer
Known for promoting and popularizing soccer in the United States, Ross was amongst the group of people who founded the
Ross was introduced to the sport during the late 1960s by one of his business executives Nesuhi Ertegun from Atlantic Records, the record company co-founded by Nesuhi's brother and also soccer enthusiast Ahmet Ertegun. The two brothers worked for Ross in the early 1970s after Atlantic got bought in 1967 by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts that in turn got bought by Ross's Kinney National Company two years later. When Nesuhi Ertegun had a business opportunity that would require leaving the company, Ross offered anything in an attempt to keep him. Ertegun expressed a desire to have a soccer club created and Ross, a fan of sports in general, obliged. Following the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico that the Erteguns used to further establish contacts in the soccer world by throwing lavish parties, one of which was attended by Pelé, the brothers came back to New York and held Ross to his promise. In turn, Ross and longtime associate Jay Emmett reached out to eight other top executives and convinced them to contribute $35,000 each towards establishing a new soccer franchise that would compete in the struggling North American Soccer League.[9]
Founding the New York Cosmos
The franchise called the
Bringing Pelé to America
Following the first few seasons in obscurity, Ross decided that signing a big marquee name was the way forward to achieving greater prominence and ultimately securing the league's long-term dream—a network television deal.
The idea of bringing Pelé to America had actually been around for a while as NASL commissioner
Pelé's arrival created a media sensation and overnight transformed the fortunes of soccer in the USA. From the moment he signed his contract at the
More big names arrive in New York
Since the Cosmos failed to make the playoffs in Pelé's debut season, for the
The
Heading US bid to host the 1986 FIFA World Cup
In November 1982, when Colombia, the originally selected
Personal life
Ross was married three times:
- In 1953 he married Carol Rosenthal, daughter of Edward Rosenthal. They divorced in 1978. They had two children:
- Toni Ross Salaway. She was married to Jeffrey H. Salaway, who died in 2001. They owned and operated Nick & Toni's restaurant in East Hampton, New York.[12] They had two children, Sara and Noah.[13]
- Mark Ross, the co-founder with Mark Ross had two children with his wife Cinthia: Caroline Ross (born 2002) and Brian Ross (born 2001).
- In 1980 he married Amanda (née Mortimer) Burden, the daughter of Barbara (née Cushing) Mortimer (who later married CBS chairman, William S. Paley). They divorced 16 months later.[2]
- In 1982 he married Courtney Sale, daughter of a prosperous Bryan, Texas, family. She dated Ross before his marriage to Amanda Burden and upon their divorce, they rekindled the relationship, eventually marrying.[16] They remained married until his death in 1992. They had a daughter, Nicole.[17]
Death
Ross died on December 20, 1992, due to complications of prostate cancer, from which he suffered in his final years.[1] Three months later, when Clint Eastwood accepted the Best Picture Oscar for Unforgiven, he dedicated it to Ross's memory.[18]
Legacy
Warner Bros. Studios has named its theater on the backlot of its historic Burbank studio property in honor of their longtime boss,[19] and the UJA-Federation's Entertainment, Media & Communication Division has recognized Ross' commitment to philanthropy by naming the humanitarian award at its annual Leadership Award Dinner in his honor.[20]
Awards and honors
In 1988, Ross was the recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "The Creator of Time Warner, Steven J. Ross, Is Dead at 65". Cohen, Roger. The New York Times. December 21, 1992. December 21, 1992. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c New York Times: "A $78 Million Year: Steve Ross Defends His Paycheck" BY ROGER COHEN March 22, 1992
- ^ New York Times: "Milstein Opens Throttle as Builder" October 18, 1981
- ^ "The Manic Gamesmanship of Steve Ross". Bruck, Connie. American Journalism Review. May 1994.
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard (December 12, 1993). "Steven Spielberg Faces the Holocaust". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
Steven J. Ross, the chairman of Time Warner who died last Dec. 20, was another father figure for Mr. Spielberg, who dedicated the movie to him. The director even showed Liam Neeson home movies of Mr. Ross, so the actor could study his gestures.
- ^ "How Would Steve Ross resolve AOL?". Freidman, Jon. Market Watch. December 27, 2002.
- ^ "Time Warner". Gomery, Douglas. The Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ David Hirshey. "When Soccer Ruled The USA". ESPN. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-55584-869-9. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Alex Yannis (April 25, 1991). "SOCCER; Pele, in Town, Is Still Making Right Moves". The New York Times.
- ^ "Once in a life Time: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos". Douglas, Edward. Comingsoon.net. July 3, 2006.
- ^ New York Times: "Hamptons Restaurateur Killed When Car Hits Tree" By AL BAKER September 1, 2001
- ^ New York Times: "Paid Notice: Deaths SALAWAY, JEFFREY H." September 1, 2001
- ^ New York Observer: "Wright-Sizing Flatiron" By Max Abelson December 18, 2006
- ^ GrandMaster Music website: "Founders" retrieved September 21, 2017
- ^ New York Magazine: "The Continuing Education of Mrs. Ross" By Phoebe Eaton March 25, 2007
- ^ VANITY FAIR: "LIFE AFTER STEVE" November 1996
- ^ Marx, Andy (March 29, 1993). "Four given for 'Unforgiven'". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
- ^ "Warner Bros Steven J Ross Theater and Lobby". Warner Bros Special Events. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- ^ "Bonnie Hammer receives Steven J Ross Humanitarian Award". UJA Federation New York. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
- American Academy of Achievement.
Further reading
- Master of the Game: Steve Ross and the Creation of Time Warner by Connie Bruck (Simon & Schuster, 1994)
- Once in a Life Time: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (Paul Crowder and John Dower, 2006)