No one was punished for broaching a new idea. Cancel any time, no strings attached. He was chairman of the board from 1969 to 2002. BigDaddy, as he was known to his friends and family, had a remarkable passion and talent for athletics. ''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. "When?" As Comcast prospered, so did the Roberts family. The potential for conflict is obvious. "Ralph was a tough, hard businessman, but he never forgot his obligation to help others, help his community, and help Philadelphia. Before he founded Comcast, Roberts was president and CEO of Pioneer Industries, a leading mens clothing accessories company, vice president of Muzak Corp. and an account executive with Aitken Kynett Advertising Agency, according to his company biography. But as Brian Roberts worked his way up the ladder, the halcyon 1980's came to an end. Mr. Roberts allowed himself an indulgence - the purchase of a farm in Chester County. It also sells those services to businesses. Beloved companion of the late Mary McMenemy. Under Brian Roberts, Comcast has built on its standing as a cable television power to become a media and entertainment giant in content creation and Internet and voice services. We are deeply saddened to announce that Ralph J. Roberts, husband, father and grandfather, died of natural causes Thursday, June 18 in Philadelphia, PA. Daughter Lisa said Mr. Roberts was an attentive father. Once Mr. Roberts began building Comcast, Brian, alone of his brood, frequented the company premises. Using the proceeds from Pioneer, he started purchasing local community antenna television systems which brought TV to people in rural areas,[2] which were then underserved by big broadcasters. He will always be remembered for his generosity, integrity, honesty, kindness and respect for everyone around him. No services are scheduled at this time. mother. ''There are the families that destroy each other as soon as the father or mother dies,'' Mr. Roberts said. And the other children, who declined to be interviewed, are said to be knowledgeable about the plan and favorable to it. Doug was born July 24, 1969, in Kalamazoo, the son of Douglas and Vicky (Troyer). When the club proved to be poorly made, however the shaft bent like a pretzel, Mr. Roberts said he quickly exited the business. Committed to the fight against cancer, he and his family helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn Medicine in 2006. It struck me as a place where culture really mattered. Promoting an heir apparent may have been easier for the elder Mr. Roberts than for other entrepreneurs. Mr. Roberts said, according to his biography. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. In 2014, Comcast proposed a $45.2 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable. In 1996, Comcast spent $240 million and agreed to pick up $170 million in debt to gain the majority interest in the Flyers, the 76ers, the Spectrum, and what was then the CoreStates Center. The elder Roberts was also civic-minded. ''The children -- the family -- have continual discussions,'' he said during an interview in which he was joined by Brian, dressed like his father in a gray suit, black loafers, a white button-down shirt and red print tie. And her husband reminisced about family trips. For Brodsky that was giving up the four or five packs of unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes he used to smoke. "During this period, even before 1979 . There are too many other combatants, and it becomes another deal. 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. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. His plan is to turn over the votes to Brian but make sure to divide the financial pie fairly among all the offspring. The Roberts Family Remembers Ralph J. Roberts. "The amazing genius of my father is that there was not a one-size-fits-all for parenting. ''There is something about wanting to pass things on,'' he said. Start searching today using our powerful and intuitive search. "It has been a dream come true for him - and for me," Brian Roberts told his father's biographer. Mr. Roberts went to work selling advertisements on the back of bus schedules to help support his family. ''It's a pretty close family. . He recalled in a 1996 interview digging up his mother's marigolds and selling them to the neighbors. The soft-spoken, affable Mr. Roberts never acquired the outsize public profile of cable pioneers like Ted Turner, John C. Malone, Charles F. Dolan and John Rigas, but his impact was comparable to theirs in making cable television a culture-changing industry giving viewers hundreds of channels, where they once had little more than a dozen, and persuading them to pay for something that had always been free. 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. ''I was probably the one to pull the curtain,'' he said. Overnight, it went from 18th to fifth among cable firms in the United States, with two million customers. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. "We would have dinner as a family. Blogs; Online will; Shop. To make it work, you have to have motivated, competent successors as well as accommodating heirs. "He found the buttons to push.". your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. He is also survived by cousins, nieces and nephews. His wife agreed: "The thing that motivates Ralph is not having the money, but knowing that his children are secure. And Ed Snider, Comcast Spectacor chairman, said Mr. Roberts was "a great partner and an even greater friend. The couple created the Suzanne Roberts Theatre at 480 S. Broad St. in her honor. 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. Mr. Roberts, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes. (Mr. Bush won the states other Senate seat two years later.). "People often ask me, 'When you started in Tupelo with a few hundred customers, did you ever think that someday you'd have the largest cable company in the country?' ", Mayor Nutter called Mr. Roberts a "consummate gentleman, kind and gentle husband and father, and a great business leader.". His father, Robert Max Roberts, was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who prospered with a string of pharmacies in the city. I speak for all of us when I say he will be greatly missed. Another son, Douglas, died in September 2011. Their son, Brian L. Roberts, is the current CEO of Comcast Corporation. So he made his own bid for QVC, with TCI as a partner, effectively killing the CBS deal. Stone Funeral Home. 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. 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. When not on the basketball court, Douglas loved playing cards, spending time with his family, and helping those less fortunate. In 1994, Comcast, which had helped start QVC Network, a West Chester-based home-shopping company, made a $2.2 billion bid to buy a majority stake in the company. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Fleisher, restored it. These early losses, coupled with experiences as a young salesman of golf clubs, men's accessories, cologne, and Muzak, gave Mr. Roberts an ambitious, entrepreneurial spirit. He has five children, aged 36 to 47. It's been a real pleasure for the whole family," he said in 1999. It purchased for $30 billion controlling interest in the entertainment conglomerate's NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks; pay TV channels such as USA, CNBC, Bravo, and Syfy; the Universal movie studio; and Universal Studios theme parks in Florida and California. A unique . Let others know about your loved one's death. As an executive, Mr. Roberts had a knack for attracting talented people and giving them power, within limits. [12] They had five children: Catherine, Lisa, Ralph Jr. (Rob), Brian, and Douglas (who died in 2011);[2] and eight grandchildren. 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 Today! We'll automatically email you when obituaries are added that match your search query. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. He was an inspiration to us all and we will miss him greatly.". 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. In 1963, Mr. Roberts was a little-known entrepreneur who had sold Muzak systems and mens belts and suspenders, but he was ambitious and always scouting for new business opportunities. 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. Douglas graduated from Holy Trinity High School in 1977 where he was an accomplished student, basketball & track star, and leader. Flush with cash, Comcast went on a buying spree in the mid-1980s, acquiring part of the Group W cable system. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Let others know about your loved one's death. He did this by encouraging free-flowing discussion, then focusing the issue with probing questions. 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. He came home each weeknight at 7 p.m. and left his briefcase by the door, along with business cares. He moved his family to New Rochelle, N.Y., when Ralph was 5. In 1942, he married Suzanne Fleisher, an aspiring actress from a well-to-do Philadelphia family. to the family or plant a tree ''Hopefully, I have had more experience than most people,'' he said, ''but you never know.''. He was 95. Douglas Scott was born April 8,1958 to Joe Nathan Scott and Mona (nee Page) Scott. 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. father . Their simple philosophy was summed up by Mr. Roberts in an interview with The New York Times in 2007. Born in Trenton, Doug was a longtime Ewing resident. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. 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. Genealogy for Douglas Roberts (1960 - 2011) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Mr. Roberts has reason to track the way family-run companies pass the baton from one generation to next. Burke watched the father-son team when Mr. Roberts was chairman and his son president, and found their interplay businesslike and seamless. At one point, Ralph Roberts met with Mr. Immelt without Brian Roberts. Family-business experts say the family is something of an anomaly in devising a smooth transfer between generations. 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. The magic words, according to Mr. Roberts, were "Yes, dear.". Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. 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. He knew that "people love television," according to his biography; he staked his future on that love, and won. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/business/the-heir-is-clearly-apparent-at-comcast.html. Sign up for service and obituary updates. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ". Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City, and was an entrepreneur from an early age. Ralph J. Roberts founded Comcast Corp. in 1963. Find the obituary of Douglas A. Roberts (1955 - 2021) from Mount Carmel, IL. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. 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. An actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime seeking to help others. Mr. Roberts later took jobs with the Muzak Corporation and the Pioneer Suspender Company, which sold mens belts and cologne. Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the. Through the 1970s and '80s, it built cable networks, learned to maintain them, and profited by Mr. Roberts' favorite element - recurring monthly income. Luckily, the youngster had business smarts as well as enthusiasm. A remembrance ceremony to celebrate Roberts' life will follow at a future date. 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. 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. Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York. In early 2011, after a protracted review by federal regulators, Comcast acquired 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. We are deeply saddened to announce that Ralph J. Roberts, husband, father and grandfather, died of natural causes Thursday, June 18 in Philadelphia, PA. ''Brian is the more active participant.''. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY. 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. But during the Depression, Mr. Roberts recalled, ''my father died, and we lost all our money. 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. It is a sign of a man who has given considerable thought to the future and has spoken to his other children. Comcast, the company that the venture became (with Mr. Aaron and Mr. Brodsky as its first two employees), has 27.2 million subscribers and produced $68.8 billion in revenue in 2014, the company said. [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 rose to president and chief executive at Pioneer and eventually bought the company. Asked what it was like to run a company with one's father, Brian Roberts said his dad was a superb work partner, mentor, and parent. 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 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. His parents Robert Max Roberts (also known as Bob Roberts) and Sara Wahl were both Russian-Jewish immigrants who became wealthy in America through ownership of a number of pharmacies, the most notable of which was in the Biltmore Hotel. Quickly locate a newspaper obituary or death notice. ''We would have discussions about our lives. ''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. It is the mother who will make it work. Brian, born in 1959, was the fourth. Ralph is survived by Suzanne Roberts, his wife of over 70 years. At least Comcast has the financial flexibility to make the transition work. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. [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. Mr. Gates told the group he believed the cable industry had been slow to upgrade its systems. Despite that, Mr. Roberts named the club the Bob Hope Centric putter and began selling it around the country. 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. Soon after buying the Flyers, Mr. Roberts admitted that he had just seen his first hockey game. 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. "You could tell Ralph was crazy about Brian, and Brian was crazy about him. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. Ralph has been the heart and soul of Comcast for 50 years, and his integrity, honesty and respect for everyone around him will never be forgotten. He was committed to the fight against cancer, and along with his wife and family, helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. If he hadn't, his father confesses, ''I probably would have sold the company. Fleisher. Then, chuckling, he added, ''It was probably a very good lesson for Brian -- no question about it. . ''The most dangerous thing is a son or daughter coming into a business where they think they get special treatment,'' Mr. Roberts said. Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. . They were like mass therapy sessions with the children.''. "He did it in a positive, thoughtful way, not self-aggrandizing. It is always business. 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. Maybe it was losing both his parents before he was 21, living through the Depression, but somehow he became an optimist. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 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. 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. ''We moved into an apartment with my aunt in Philadelphia. The company also has 33 million shares of common stock with one vote each and 284 million K shares with no votes. Investors who know him say he always prefers to remain in the background and let others like Mr.Brodsky, the vice chairman, take the limelight. 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. He never pressured any of them to join the family company -- and none besides Brian showed any interest in doing so. "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. Later, as a college student, he bought eggs from farms in New Jersey and peddled them to fraternities at a discount. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Early life and education [ edit] Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. chief executive, Jeffrey R. Immelt, that the deal would be completed. "Ralph served as a longtime member of the Penn Medicine board, and actively supported athletics, undergraduate financial aid, and his class." He wants the other person to always feel good, whatever the exchange is. 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. 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, the patient, unassuming gentleman, kept a steady hand on the wheel as they made a series of brilliant bets on the future," his son said in the biography. The Roberts family said in a statement: "Ralph was a remarkable man who touched the lives of so many people. '', Brian Roberts, on the other hand, seems to relish his public role. He was a gentle soul with an infectious spirit who will be greatly missed. Receive a notification when services are updated. 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. He felt, 'This doesn't have to be about me.' Many entrepreneurs are very secretive. He died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. Messages run for up to one year and you Matching family tree profiles for Douglas Roberts Douglas Roberts in MyHeritage family trees (Sverdlove Web Site) view all Immediate Family. Once the elder Mr. Roberts is out of the picture at Comcast, Wall Street will be watching closely to see whether the son can be as tough and decisive as his father. That the others did not never fazed Ralph Roberts, who encouraged them to pursue their own interests. Growing up with five kids competing for attention, it's not easy, but he put his family first. He was able to keep it alive as the company grew. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. Our activities are so public. 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. Mr. Roberts, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes. But the elder Mr. Roberts has probably come as close as any company founder can to setting the stage for an orderly succession. Brian Roberts said his parents tried to make life stimulating and eye-opening for their children. . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ''Ralph and Julian have been intimately involved, but Ralph doesn't sit there until 4 A.M. in the lawyers' offices anymore. After selling the firm, he set up shop in 1961 in Bala Cynwyd. The Elkins Park family would travel to places like Haiti and Guatemala to learn about other cultures. 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. As Gregory B. Maffei, Microsoft's treasurer, sees it, the younger Mr. Roberts is no pawn of his father. Mr. Roberts would help with homework and listen to each of his five children. He credits his mother for pulling the family through hard times. He was 95. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "These guys go out there and kill each other!". 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. [15][16], Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 06:20, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, National Conference of Christians and Jews, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Times: "Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95", "Love: Suzanne (Fleisher) Roberts & Ralph J. Roberts", "Brian Roberts' Jewish Roots and Outsized Ambition Drive Comcast's Rise in Media", University of Pennsylvania Medicine: "About the Roberts", "Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia: Our Hall of Fame, Eastern State Penitentiary: "Funders for the Synagogue Restoration", "Starring Role - From the boards to the funding, Suzanne Roberts lives for the stage", "Howard Gerstley Fleisher, 95, Businessman and Active Volunteer", Daily Finance: "Comcast's Brian Roberts: The low-key exec who leads a high-profile giant" By Jonathan Berr, The Cable Center: "Cable Hall of Fame Archives - Ralph J. Roberts, "Comcast founder Ralph Roberts dies at 95. "That culture says that you have to care about the people you work with. JUST as important, family-business experts say the apparent harmony within the Roberts family bodes well for the chances of a smooth transition. Funeral arrangement under the care ofKeepes Funeral Home. We have all learned so much from Ralph, but perhaps the greatest lesson was the way he lived his life. ''Usually we have about 200.''. In its infancy, Comcast bought systems in Mississippi, the Detroit suburbs, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Gates was warm to the idea. "I will really miss him. I went to the University of Pennsylvania. The company is clearly planning for the day that Ralph Roberts will no longer be running the show. An heir apparent May have been easier for the whole family, '' Mr. Roberts went to work selling on... The day that Ralph Roberts met with Mr. Immelt without Brian Roberts son president, and along his. Reason to track the way family-run companies pass the baton from one generation to next $... And we will miss him greatly. `` accomplished student, he bought eggs from farms in New Times. Back of bus schedules to help support his family first '' he said in a statement &! 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