Frank Biondi Jr., Former Viacom CEO And Studio Head, Dead At 74

LOS ANGELES, CA — Frank Biondi Jr., the former CEO of HBO, Viacom and Universal Studios, died Monday at his Los Angeles home at the age of 74, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Biondi died of bladder cancer, his daughter Jane Biondi Munna told the newspaper.

He was born in New Jersey and graduated from Princeton University in 1966. After a short career on Wall Street, Biondi went into television production. He became president and chief executive of HBO in 1983.

Four years later he joined Viacom, and during his time there the company grew massively, eventually acquiring Paramount Communications and Blockbuster Video. In 1996, Biondi was fired by Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone over differences about the company's direction.

Following his years at Viacom, Biondi served as CEO of Universal Studios until leaving that post in 1998.

Since then, he served on the boards of several companies, including Madison Square Garden, AMC Networks and STX Entertainment.

City News Service