Sumner M. Redstone

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Sumner Murray Redstone, born Sumner Murray Rothstein May 27, 1923, is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, a giant multinational media conglomerate. "Viacom's properties include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Viacom Outdoor, Infinity Broadcasting, UPN, Spike TV, TV Land, CMT: Country Music Television, Comedy Central, Showtime, Blockbuster and Simon & Schuster. National Amusements, Inc., a closely held corporation which operates approximately 1,400 motion picture screens in the United States, the United Kingdom and South America, is the parent company of Viacom." [1][2]

Biography

"Mr. Redstone served in the Military Intelligence Division during World War II. While a student at Harvard, he was selected by Japanese history professor Edwin Reischauer (later Ambassador to Japan) to join a special intelligence group whose mission was to break Japan's high-level military and diplomatic codes. In connection with these activities, Mr. Redstone received, among other honors, two commendations from the Military Intelligence Division in recognition of his service, contribution and devotion to duty. He is also a recipient of the Army Commendation Award." [3]

"During the Carter administration, he was appointed a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and in 1984, was appointed a Director of the Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation. He also has served as a judge on the Foundation's select committee to award the annual John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, each year since the Award's inception in 1990." [4]

"Mr. Redstone's education began at Boston Latin School, where he graduated first in his class. In 1944, after studying for two and one-half years at Harvard College, he was awarded a degree by Harvard University's Special Board of Overseers. In 1947, Mr. Redstone received his LL.B. from the Harvard University School of Law." [5]

Affiliations

Entertainment

  • Executive vice-president, Northeast Drive-In Theatre Corporation 1954-68. *President, Northeast Theatre Corporation 1960-63.
  • Assistant president, Theatre Owners of America, 1960-63; president, 1964-65.
  • Chairman of the Board, National Association of Theatre Owners 1965-66.
  • Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, National Amusements, Inc., Dedham, MA, from 1967; Chairman of the Board from 1986.
  • Chairman of the Board, Viacom International, Inc. and Viacom, Inc., New York City since June 1987.
  • Advisory Council Member, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation.
  • Member, Board of Trustees, The Museum of Television and Radio.

Charitable Work

  • Founding Trustee of the Foundation of the American Cancer Society.
  • Member, Board of Overseers, Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
  • Member and Vice President, Board of Overseers, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
  • Member, Corporation of the Massachusetts General Hospital.
  • Member, Executive Board, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston; former Chairman of the Metropolitan Division.
  • Member, Executive Committee, Will Rogers Memorial Fund.
  • Former Chairman of the Board, National Association of Theatre Owners.
  • Former Chairman, Jimmy Fund (Children's Cancer Research Foundation).
  • Former Member, Corporation of the New England Medical Center.

Law

  • Massachusetts Bar, 1947.
  • Instructor of law and labor management, University of San Francisco 1947.
  • Law secretary, U.S. Court of Appeals for 9th Circuit, San Francisco, 1947-48.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals (1st circuit) 1948.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals (1st and 9th circuits) 1948.
  • Special assistant to U.S. Attorney General, Washington, D.C., 1948-51.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals (8th circuit) 1950.
  • Washington, D.C. Bar 1951.
  • Partner, Ford, Bergson, Adams, Borkland & Redstone, Washington, D.C., 1951-54.
  • U.S. Supreme Court [Bar] 1952.
  • Lecturer, Harvard Law School and Brandeis University.
  • Faculty Member, Boston University School of Law 1982.
  • Honorary Doctor of Laws, Boston University May 1994.

Forbes' World's Richest People

Net Worth 2004: $8.9 Billion. Sumner Redstone, 80: "Irrepressible media magnate turned out to be a wishy-washy bidder for Vivendi Universal, perhaps because he harbors bigger fancy for Disney. Son of drive-in-theater owner, took over Dad's business in 1954, built National Amusements into 1,400-screen chain. Reaped big gains in 1980s flipping stock in takeover targets Twentieth Century Fox (bought by News Corporation) and Columbia Pictures (bought by Sony). Big growth ever since: Viacom now owns CBS, Infinity Broadcasting, Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, Blockbuster. Maintaining delicate symbiosis with second-in-command Mel Karmazin. Daughter, Shari, who is on the board but not active in the company, waits in the wings." SOURCE: VIACOM [6]

"Owning more than two thirds of Viacom's voting stock in 1995 meant that Sumner Redstone controlled a vast media empire second only to that of Rupert Murdoch. Through the mid-1990s Forbes ranked Redstone among the richest persons in the United States, with a net worth in excess of $4 billion." [7] His autobiography A Passion to Win was published in 2001 by, of course, Simon & Schuster. Book Review.

The following is brought forward from the Project Mockingbird article:

From "Myth of Liberal Media", posted at Democratic Underground (includes citation links), Democracy Unbound (scroll down), and at http://web.archive.org/web/20011217025849/www.geocities.com/alanjpakula/triplecrown.html (access via the Wayback Machine):

"... Another big contributor to Cato Institute is Viacom, which recently acquired CBS. Consequently, CBS/Viacom is now headed by Sumner M. Redstone, who is yet another powerful right-wing figure with a WWII intelligence background [11] and apparent ties to OSS/CIA figures [12]."

SourceWatch Resources

External links

Biography

Articles & Commentary

Presidential Election 2004

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