He had been born into an affluent home, the son of the owner of a small drugstore chain in Westchester County, N.Y. For a time, the family even had a chauffeur. ''Usually we have about 200.''. Comcast, a name Roberts coined from the words communications and broadcasting. Comcast is also one of the largest residential telephone providers in the United States. No one was punished for broaching a new idea. 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. Despite that, Mr. Roberts named the club the Bob Hope Centric putter and began selling it around the country. It is amazing. 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. He told his biographer that his greatest accomplishment was that all my children speak to me frequently., Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/20/business/media/ralph-roberts-cable-tv-pioneer-who-built-comcast-dies-at-95.html. Sign Up Today! Create an obituary. OBITUARY Douglas McArthur ROBERTS April 10, 1943 - May 16, 2022. His main goal at the time was to make a lot of money. He loved his work and all those who worked with him and for him. ''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. Even as he is promoting his son, the elder Mr. Roberts is looking after the financial interests of his other children. And by the end of this year, the elder Mr. Roberts will increase Brian's control over the company's special class of 8.8 million shares that represent nearly 82 percent of Comcast's vote. Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City, and was an entrepreneur from an early age. 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. The five children and their parents jointly own the holding company that owns Comcast's supervoting shares. The recent deal was begun when the executive committee of Cablelabs, the cable industry's research and development arm that included Brian Roberts and John Malone, chairman of Tele-Communications Inc., the country's largest cable operator, visited Microsoft in late April. The Roberts Family Remembers Ralph J. Roberts. to the family or plant a tree Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. ''All this would never have happened in the arms of a second wife,'' according to Mr. Danco. His son Douglas died in 2011. But they talk all the time. It is the mother who will make it work. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. Mr. Roberts bought a small cable service in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast. One early venture was selling an innovative golf putter. Quickly locate a newspaper obituary or death notice. That never happens.". And to prevent his other heirs from putting pressure on Brian to sell Comcast -- an issue that has torn many families apart -- Mr. Roberts is struggling with a way to give them nonvoting stock that they could cash in without disturbing their brother's grip on the company. The company also has 33 million shares of common stock with one vote each and 284 million K shares with no votes. Bob McGovern You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of Douglass Edward Roberts, 2023 Hathaway Funeral Homes. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and perhaps most importantly, a kind and humble human being. Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. He was preceded in death by his father, Joe Nathan Scott, and his brother, Jonathan Scott. Douglas is survived by his wife DeLene (nee Edmon) Scott, his loving children Douglas (Erin Sutton) Scott and Monique (Terri) Davis; his mother Mona Scott; his siblings Vernon Scott, Steven Scott, Michael Scott and Patricia Yusuff and many loving family and friends. "I think maybe Ralph Roberts is the most successful businessman in the last 50 years that most people haven't heard of. Comcast, with $68.8 billion in revenue and 139,000 employees, is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet, and telephone provider to homes. On the contrary, he says, ''Brian takes the lead and is the one forging ahead and trying to figure out where they are going,'' Mr. Maffei said. A Visitation will be held on Friday, March 3 from 10 am - 12 pm at Drake and Son Funeral Home, 5303 North Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. Later, as a college student, he bought eggs from farms in New Jersey and peddled them to fraternities at a discount. "I will really miss him. Although eager to serve on a ship, Mr. Roberts spent his World War II duty as matriel superintendent in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. 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. When Brian was 8, Comcast was a fledgling cable operator that Ralph Roberts had founded after jumping in and out of a handful of other businesses. [13][14], Roberts made an appearance on TLC's reality series Cake Boss, receiving a cake for his 90th birthday. Ralph J. Roberts founded Comcast Corp. in 1963. New York Times: Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95 By Glenn Rifkin Ralph J. Roberts, who at the dawn of the cable television industry bought a small cable service in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast, today the largest cable television company in the nation, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. Blogs; Online will; Shop. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. Obituary. 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. Published. [11] Her name appears on the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia and she hosted a TV program aimed at seniors called "Seeking Solutions with Suzanne" on Comcast's CN8 network. He was preceded in death by his father, Joe Nathan Scott, and his brother, Jonathan Scott. '', Ralph Roberts acknowledges that he was the heavy. Only his fourth child, Brian, is at Comcast, the nation's fourth-largest cable television operator with $4 billion in revenue last year. The elder Roberts was also civic-minded. Most recently, Roberts and his wife, Suzanne, received the Philadelphia Award to highlight their lifetime contributions to the city in business, philanthropy, and arts and culture. He felt, 'This doesn't have to be about me.' Douglas A. Roberts, 66, of Mount Carmel, Illinois, passed away on Sunday, May 2, 2021 at his residence. ", Mayor Nutter called Mr. Roberts a "consummate gentleman, kind and gentle husband and father, and a great business leader.". Ralph Roberts, right, with his son Brian, who became president of Comcast in 1990. Most of his pay, he said, came from $43 million in profit from expiring stock options he had to exercise. Over the last five years, it has brought in a younger team of senior executives to work with Brian, including the executive vice president, Larry Smith, 49; the senior treasurer, John Alchin, 49, and the president of the cable division, Tom Baxter, 50. your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. California residents do not sell my data request. As Comcast prospered, so did the Roberts family. 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. He did this by encouraging free-flowing discussion, then focusing the issue with probing questions. But the son wanted to stay in the family business, so Mr. Roberts started him off in the trenches, stringing cable in New Kensington, Pa. ''We were lucky because the cable business was growing and growing, '' Mr. Roberts recalled. The two said their relationship had been strengthened by having much to discuss, as each pursued separate professional interests - and also by the collaboration that developed when one asked the other for advice. ''But if it were not for self-promotion, how would a guy like Bill Gates take him seriously?''. Philadelphia became Mr. Robertss business base and the arena for his philanthropy. Mr. Roberts allowed himself an indulgence - the purchase of a farm in Chester County. Inquirer staff writer Harold Brubaker and former staff writer Thomas J. Brady contributed to this article. He was born on January 6, 1955 in Tampa, Florida, the son of Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine (Boyce) Thompson. The deal made Comcast the nations largest cable operator. PHILADELPHIA-- ( BUSINESS WIRE )--Today we are deeply saddened to announce that Ralph J. Roberts, husband, father and grandfather, died of natural causes last night in Philadelphia, PA. He is also survived by cousins, nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren. 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. I went to the University of Pennsylvania. (66 years old). Their simple philosophy was summed up by Mr. Roberts in an interview with The New York Times in 2007. I never felt that Comcast was a sixth child," she said. RALPH ROBERTS, the dapper 77-year-old founder of the Comcast Corporation, loves to follow the ups and downs of other family businesses and try to figure out what makes some thrive and others implode. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. Then he turned the company over to his son at an early age. "That's what he stood for. [4] In 1998, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Roberts into their Hall of Fame. 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. Maybe it was losing both his parents before he was 21, living through the Depression, but somehow he became an optimist. 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. He turned the company over to his son Brian, who became president Comcast. Tupelo, Miss., and his brother, Jonathan Scott does n't have to be about me. Sunday! 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