VERNE GAY: Dr. Frank Stanton
The last time I spoke with Dr. Frank Stanton - and, by the way, it was always DOCTOR Stanton - was about ten years ago. In his late '80s then, he had relocated from New York to Boston, and was ailing from the effects of Lyme Disease, but even then he still exuded the same Stantonesque authority, as if the CBS he had stepped away from (or was pushed away from) a couple decades earlier was still under his absolute rule.
Some people are sometimes appended with the "greatest" label although in many instances such an honor bestowed is stripped after time or more careful scrutiny. That's not likely to happen to Stanton, who died over Christmas at the age of 98: He was the greatest executive in TV history, who presided over what was once the greatest broadcaster in U.S. TV history, and who attended to every single detail that went into the construction of that empire with a loving and ruthless care. CBS would never have been CBS without William Paley (of course) but it would never have become the legendary company it was to become without Stanton. For thirty years, they were the perfect Mr. Outside/Mr. Inside team: Paley with his gregarious charm and vision and salesmanship, and Stanton with his sere and scrupulous attention to the myriad details that made that vision possible.
Books have been written on Stanton (not really a "doctor, but he earned a Ph.D. from some school in Ohio in research) and, in fact, a terrific one was: Sally Bedell Smith's 1990 biography of Paley, "In All His Glory," that was published just before his death and which some believed actually contributed to his demise. It was an amazing defenestration of Paley, revealing so many sordid details that gossip columnists dined on it for months. Many also believed at the time that Stanton was Smith's chief source for the book and that it had served as Stanton's own effort to set the record straight on his role at CBS. He and Paley had a falling out years earlier, setting a pattern in which Paley would jettison executive after executive who either undercut his authority or threatened to outshine his own legend. As such, "In All His Glory" may have been one of the most glorious examples in media history of revenge-served-ice-cold.
The publication of Smith's bio was such a major event in the publishing/TV world that two Newsday writers - myself and Paul Colford, now an esteemed reporter with the Daily News - wrote a Part 2 cover on it.
Herewith I quote the section on Dr. Frank Stanton:
"Frank Stanton ...was the consummate corporate tactician who, like Paley, worked tirelessly to burnish CBS' image and prestige.
Stanton was both Paley's alter-ego and right-hand man: 'a kind of corporate Jeeves, who took care of details, cleaned up messes, and could be counted on always to do the right thing,' [per Bedell Smith.] As such, he became indispensable. The reason is that Paley was frequently nowhere to be found. Bored with the business of CBS, he would travel, or flirt, or socialize. Smith likens Paley to 'Alice's Cheshire Cat . . . [he] was often a shadow presence.' CBS president Stanton ran the show while chairman Paley, for the most part, approvingly watched.
Stanton was named CBS president in January, 1946, and his first order of business was to appoint Paley's girlfriend, Babe Mortimer, to the CBS board of directors. Stanton, who at first resisted becoming president under the mercurial Paley, told Smith that he thought: "Why does this have to happen to me?"
But his job went far beyond handling the whims of Paley. Because the chairman avoided so much of the company's day-to-day business, Stanton was forced into a greater role. He became "Mr. CBS."
For many years, that suited both men. CBS was growing and Paley - an intuitive, instinctive individual with little taste for the crush of corporate details - left everything in Stanton's capable hands.
Instead, it was Stanton who became frustrated. He had mastered the job, and wanted recognition - mostly in the form of a new title, as chief executive officer. Writes Smith, "Paley was in a box . . . he needed Stanton [and] he understood the complexities that eluded [him] . . . But as Paley recognized this dependence, he grew to resent Stanton. He hated to admit being dependent on anyone." By the '60s, Paley had also grown increasingly jealous of his minion.
In an effort to become more involved in the company, Paley began stepping on Stanton's toes. The men squabbled over the new CBS headquarters, and programming, among other matters.
Stanton finally got Paley to agree to give him his new title in 1966. Then at the last minute, Paley relented - a humiliation to Stanton.
Stanton, who loved CBS with as much passion as Paley, would not quit. He remained until 1973, when he retired at the mandatory age of 65, while Paley remained on. Paley went on to "de-Stantonize" CBS - that is, obliterate any lingering traces of his longtime president. Only in later years did the two men have a rapprochement of sorts."