Pat Weaver facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sylvester Weaver
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Weaver with his daughter Sigourney in 1989
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| Born |
Sylvester Laflin Weaver Jr.
December 21, 1908 Los Angeles, California, US
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| Died | March 15, 2002 (aged 93) |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation | Broadcasting executive |
| Years active | 1930s–1970s |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2, including Sigourney |
Sylvester Laflin "Pat" Weaver Jr. (born December 21, 1908 – died March 15, 2002) was an important American leader in TV and radio. He was the president of NBC from 1953 to 1955. Pat Weaver helped change how TV and radio shows were made and watched. He is famous for making TV the main way people got entertainment at home. His daughter is the well-known actress Sigourney Weaver.
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Early Life and School
Pat Weaver Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California. His parents were Eleanor Isabel and Sylvester Laflin Weaver. His brother, Doodles Weaver, became a comedian.
Weaver had family roots from Scotland and Ireland. He was also related to Matthew Laflin. Matthew Laflin was a businessman and helped build Chicago.
Pat Weaver went to Dartmouth College and finished in 1930. He was a very good student there. He also served in the United States Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1945.
Pat Weaver's Career in Broadcasting
Weaver started his career at an advertising agency called Young & Rubicam. This was during the "golden age of radio." In the mid-1930s, he produced a radio show called Fred Allen's Town Hall Tonight. Later, he oversaw all the radio programs for the agency.
Joining NBC and New Ideas
NBC hired Pat Weaver in 1949. They wanted him to help NBC compete with CBS. At NBC, Weaver created many new ways of doing things for television. He started the idea that TV networks should make their own shows. Then, they would sell advertising time during these shows. Before this, advertising companies usually made each show for one client. Weaver's new method meant that many companies could advertise on one show. If one advertiser left, the show would not be in danger.
Creating Famous TV Shows
Pat Weaver created some very famous TV shows. He started Today in 1952. This was followed by Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1954. He also created Home (1954) and Wide Wide World (1955).
Some people disagree about whether Weaver created The Tonight Show. But hosts like Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett said he did. Weaver believed that TV should teach people as well as entertain them. He wanted NBC shows to include some cultural parts. For example, a Verdi opera was adapted for a comedy show.
Innovations in Radio and Advertising
Weaver also helped NBC Radio. In 1955, he helped start NBC Monitor. This was a long weekend radio show. It had news, music, comedy, and sports. It was like a magazine, with different advertisers.
He also developed a new way of advertising. Instead of one company paying for a whole show, many companies could buy short ad spots. This was called "magazine style" advertising. It gave the networks more control over what ads were shown. No single advertiser could own a show.
Challenges and Later Career
Weaver thought live TV shows were best. He created "television spectaculars." These were live, 90-minute special programs. They were very expensive to make. Some, like Peter Pan, were very popular. But CBS had more success with regular, pre-filmed shows like I Love Lucy. These shows were cheaper and could be shown again.
NBC fired Pat Weaver in August 1956. He never worked for another TV network after that. Years later, he felt that TV networks had made bad choices. He said that TV had become less varied. He believed management at NBC, CBS, and ABC were to blame.
Weaver tried to start a fourth television network two times, but it never happened. He also worked as a consultant for Freedomland U.S.A., a theme park. In 1985, Pat Weaver was added to the Television Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Pat Weaver married Elizabeth Inglis in 1942. She was born in England in 1913. She was an actress and appeared in some early Alfred Hitchcock movies. She also co-starred with Bette Davis in the movie The Letter. She stopped acting when she married Pat in 1942.
Pat and Elizabeth had two children. Their daughter is the famous actress Sigourney Weaver. Pat Weaver passed away in 2002 at his home in Santa Barbara. He was 93 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Sylvester Weaver (ejecutivo) para niños
