James T. Aubrey, Jr.

James Thomas Aubrey, Jr. (December 14, 1918–September 3, 1994) was an American television and film executive. President of the CBS Television Network during the early 1960s, he put some of television's most successful series, including Gilligan's Island and The Beverly Hillbillies, on the air and consequently CBS dominated American television: during the 1963-1964 season, CBS had fourteen of the fifteen top-rated prime-time series. The New York Times Magazine in 1964 called him "a master of programming whose divinations led to successes that are breathtaking."

Related Topics:
December 14 - 1918 - September 3 - 1994 - CBS - 1960s - Gilligan's Island - The Beverly Hillbillies - 1963 - 1964 - The New York Times

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However, his abrasive personality and oversized ego–"Picture Machiavelli and Karl Rove at a University of Colorado football recruiting party" wrote Variety in 2004–led to his firing when charges surfaced he was favoring producers who had given him bribes and that he was plotting to take over the network and remove his bosses. "The circumstances rivaled the best of C.B.S. adventure or mystery shows," declared The New York Times in its front-page story on his firing, which came on "the sunniest Sunday in February." After five years as an independent producer, Aubrey presided over Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's near-total shutdown in the 1970s under Kirk Kerkorian before vanishing into almost total obscurity for last two decades of his life.

Related Topics:
Machiavelli - Karl Rove - University of Colorado - 2004 - The New York Times - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - 1970s - Kirk Kerkorian

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Hollywood executive Sherry Lansing, a close friend of Aubrey's for two decades, told the Los Angeles Times in 1986 "Jim is different. He does his own dirty work. Jim is one of those people who are willing to say, `I didn't like your movie.' Directness is disarming to people who are used to sugar-coating. It's tough for people who need approval to see somebody who doesn't. Myths and legends begin to surround that kind of person."

Related Topics:
Sherry Lansing - Los Angeles Times - 1986

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