Robert A. Daly
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Robert Anthony Daly (born December 8, 1936) is an American
business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations g ...
who has led organizations such as
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
Entertainment,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
,
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
, and the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
. Daly currently serves as a non-executive advisor to
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, where he provides counsel on a number of strategic areas. Daly also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
, an organization he has been involved with for many years. Additionally, he is a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
, the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
School of Theater, Film and Television’s Dean’s Advisory Board and the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Executive Board for the Medical Sciences. In 2006, he joined the board of the
USC Annenberg School for Communication The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism comprises a School of Communication and a School of Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC). Starting July 2017, the school’s Dean is Willow Bay, succeeding Ernest J. ...
. Daly completed his term as chairman of the board of trustees for the children's charity
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
in February 2010. In addition, Daly serves as president of Rulemaker, Inc., an investment consulting company. He is also chairman of
DonorsChoose.org DonorsChoose is a United States-based nonprofit organization that allows individuals to donate directly to Public school (government funded)#United States, public school classroom projects. The organization has been given Charity Navigator's highe ...
, an organization which provides material assistance to teachers in the public school system and whose slogan is, “Teachers ask. You choose. Students learn.” Daly is also a Founding Director of the
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located i ...
.


Biography


Early life

Daly was born and grew up
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, the youngest of six children. Daly attended his first
Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
game when he was six years old and has stated that the '55 Dodgers are his favorite team and
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
is his hero. After graduating high school, Daly applied for a job as an office boy at
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
to help support his mother and soon after got promoted but left CBS when he was drafted into the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in which he described as "When I was in the Army, they had theaters on the base and, for some reason or other, I went to the movies any time I could go, and I took notes. I don’t know why. It wasn’t my job at CBS; I just took notes." After leaving the army, Daly returned to CBS.


Education and career at CBS

Robert A. Daly attended
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
and
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
as well as a Doctorate of Humane Letters from
Trinity College (Connecticut) Trinity College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coed ...
. . Daly began as a gofer for the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1955, before beginning a career path to "president of entertainment". In addition to his duties as chief of television operations at CBS, Daly was also responsible for
CBS Theatrical Films CBS Theatrical Films, also as CBS Theatrical Films Group, was the film production branch of the U.S. television network, CBS, which was active from 1979 to 1985. CBS was also a partner in TriStar Pictures, which started as a joint venture with Col ...
, which was formed in October 1979. During his 25-year association with CBS, Daly served in various posts, including executive vice president of
CBS Television Network CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
and vice president of business affairs.


Warner Bros.

Having left CBS, he joined Warner Bros. on December 1, 1980. His titles were chairman of the board and co-chief executive officer. One year later, he was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer and appointed
Terry Semel Terence Steven Semel (born February 24, 1943) is an American corporate executive who was the chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Incorporated from 2001 to 2007. He resigned as CEO due in part to pressure from shareholders' dissatisfaction over his compen ...
president and chief operating officer. Daly resumed his previous title on March 30, 1994, when he announced he would share his office with Semel. On November 16, 1995, Daly and Semel added the Warner Music Group to their responsibilities and also became chairmen and co-chief executive officers of Warner Music Group. On July 15, 1999, Daly and Semel announced they would not seek to renew their contracts with
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
(the parent company of Warner Bros. and the parent company at the time of the Warner Music Group), which expired at the end of 1999. During the Daly/Semel era at Warner Bros., they were credited for 16 consecutive years of record earnings; for more than 400 major motion pictures (that garnered 13 Best Picture Oscar nominations, three of which were winners: ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...
'', ''
Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ...
'' and ''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
''); for thousands of hours of top-rated, top-quality and record-breaking television series (including ''
China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australia ...
'', ''
Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...
'', ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' and ''ER''); for creating the current model of co-financing motion pictures while retaining worldwide distribution; and for extending and revitalizing such world renowned brands as
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
,
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
and
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
characters into franchises, licensed products and into worldwide retail stores. Other accomplishments by Daly and Semel include developing the leading distribution operations in the world for feature films, television and home video as well as the emerging technologies; pioneering the creation and use of DVD; creating The WB Network; being at the forefront of marketing films, series and animation on the Internet; and for generally diversifying the studio into a global leader in every aspect of the entertainment industry. Daly and Semel and their partnership were immortalized on September 30, 1999 as the pair put their hands and footprints in the same cement square in the forecourt of
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chines ...
, only the second studio executives in history to do so. However, some people felt the two had been stretched too far in trying to oversee such a massive conglomerate. In a 1997 interview that Mr. Daly gave for the ''New York Times'' it is said "Mr. Daly brushed aside the notion that he and Mr. Semel are stretched too thin. 'If we were, we wouldn't have taken the job...'


Los Angeles Dodgers

Daly went to the Los Angeles Dodgers
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
organization after 19 years at Warner Bros. He served as managing partner, chairman and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, overseeing all operations of the organization during the time they were owned by
News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the News Corporation (1980–2013), original News Corporation, it was formed ...
. During the four year period Daly ran the organization, he took great pride in rebuilding the farm system. Daly and his partners sold the team in 2004, and he remains a fan.


Save The Children

Daly completed his term as chairman of the board of trustees for Save the Children on February 28, 2010. In his five years as Board Chair, he oversaw annual program growth averaging 13.5 percent, serving 48 million children in 2008. He also spearheaded the creation of Save the Children's first domestic response unit in the United States, which has proven successful in responding to disasters such as
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
, Gustave and
Ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...
. In his final months as chairman, Daly was actively involved in the Haitian earthquake relief effort.


Personal life

Daly married lyricist
Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...
in 1996. The couple live in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Daly was previously married to Nancy MacNeil (1941-2009), with whom he has three children, and one step son with Bayer Sager. Daly also owns a ranch where he raises chickens, sheep, goats, miniature horses and plants tomatoes. Daly has three grown children from a previous marriage, a stepson and eight grandchildren.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Robert A. 1936 births Living people American chief executives of professional sports organizations American chief operating officers American film studio executives Brooklyn College alumni CBS executives Hunter College alumni Los Angeles Dodgers executives Presidents of CBS Entertainment University of California, Los Angeles people University of Southern California people Warner Bros. people