Roger King had the sort of brain power that, had he chosen medical science as a career, we’d have a cure for cancer by now... which is not to disparage his many important contributions to the business of entertainment. Bigger than life, a force of nature -- however one might describe him -- Roger was an extraordinary man whose passing may forever change the industry he helped build.
I first met Roger in the late '70s, when he and his brothers Michael and Bob worked for my father syndicating “The Joker’s Wild” and “Tic Tac Dough.” When I was appointed as the West Coast salesman of the team, I became the runt of an astonishing litter. Need I describe the goings on of a sales meeting dominated by the personalities of three hefty, half-Jewish, half-Irish brothers from New Jersey? I trained with Roger in NY, briefly sharing his Upper East Side apartment. I was but a wee lad with a limited capacity for drink and found myself, on more than one occasion, on the floor of the limo being returned home by the driver, unable to keep up with heartier constitutions.
One morning I tried vainly to rouse Roger from sleep. We had a car waiting downstairs to take us to the airport as we were heading to Springfield-Champaign to renew "Tic Tac Dough." With little time to spare, Roger got up, showered and dressed. He wore his necktie like a prayer shawl – he never actually knotted it the entire day. He had only an American Express card with him – no cash. Off we went. I had with me the February Arbitron rating book (I remember because it was red) and some market research that would prove to be completely unnecessary. We flew into Chicago and rented a car. In route, we were stopped by a Trooper for speeding -- I was driving -- but Roger negotiated what the Trooper evidently felt was a fair deal as he accepted our “fine” (my cash) on the spot. We arrived at the station at around Noon and immediately removed ourselves with the General Manager to the bar – err, restaurant – across the street. The GM was a notoriously heavy drinker, so our business was conducted high off the ground on stools. What occurred then is the very thing that distinguished Roger from everyone else – and I mean everyone. Without referring to a rating book or research, but with the hair-of-the-dog in hand, he recited chapter and verse every crucial detail of the market’s February book, the station’s news ratings, "Tic Tac Dough’s" strong performance, the competition, what the GM was selling spots for, who owned what in the market, what was coming and what was going. No notes. Nothing. All of this from the top of his head and in a physical state no longer recommended for syndication salespeople.
Our business has long been populated by strong personalities, but Roger belongs to a rare group. The father of them all, of course, was Fred Ziv. He basically invented the industry we now call Syndication. But it was Sandy Frank who created “syndication as art form,” distinguishing himself with his own brilliance and sometimes crude finesse, and about whom stories are both countless and legend. Of course, I count my father as one of the great entrepreneurs of our business, especially in the domain of first-run television. And then there were Dick Robertson and Gary Gannaway – both extremely creative and powerful personalities who could literally steamroll through the marketplace and make things happen before anyone else knew they were there. But, and my father would certainly agree, all of these standout leaders of the television business would acknowledge that Roger King was truly the Best of the Best. His mastery of the art form is not only legendary; it is one of the legacies he leaves behind.
I can see Roger sitting on his deck in Florida dialing phone numbers... Alan Frank, Andy Fisher, Walt Liss, Joe Ahearn – he was constantly on the phone. Oh, and by the way, no phone book. It was all in his head. Stunning, really. He may not have given us a cure for cancer, but he certainly had the remedy for mediocrity and the mundane. I bow my head.
Ritch Colbert
Principal
Program Partners, Inc.
