Television
November 6, 2006
Dick Robertson To Be Roasted At NATPE
(November 6, 2006 - Los Angeles, CA) — Dick Robertson, one of the architects of the syndicated barter television business, and whose 40-year career in television established him as one of the most powerful and innovative executives in the industry, will be roasted by friends and colleagues at a special dinner taking place during the 2007 NATPE Conference & Exhibition at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
The dinner event is being co-produced by the Warner Bros. Television Group and NATPE on January 17.
“Dick is an industry luminary and his transition from door-to-door TV salesman to cushy producer is a monumental moment worthy of a toast and a roast,” said Bruce Rosenblum, President, Warner Bros. Television Group. “I truly can’t wait to hear his friends, colleagues, clients and well-wishers share stories, sling insults and otherwise lambaste this legend in what promises to be a memorable evening.”
“I’ve put enough people on the proverbial ‘hot-seat’ in my day that it only seems fair that it’s now my turn,” said Robertson. “In all honesty, I’m honored that Warner Bros. and NATPE would go to the trouble to put this together. I’m only hoping I don’t rue the day I said ‘O.K.’”
NATPE President and CEO Rick Feldman commented, “I’ve known Dick for over 20 years as has everybody else in the business. I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have a Dick Robertson story and many of those people have been waiting a long time for the opportunity to get some things off their chest. NATPE is very happy to provide the venue for the roast....for a lot of reasons."
Proceeds will benefit the NATPE Educational Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communication where Mr. Robertson serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Information on ticket and table sales will be available soon at www.natpe.org.
Robertson, who for the past 17 years was at the helm of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution as its President, currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Warner Bros. Television Group.
During his career, Robertson has been involved in the sales and launches of hundreds and hundreds of television series and specials. At WBDTD (and its predecessors) alone, he has had a hands-on role in more than 100 series and movie packages, including the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” the phenomenon “Friends,” the genre-founding original “The People’s Court” and its current successor, the first television dating show “The Love Connection,” the long-running pop culture strip “Extra” and the Emmy Award-winning variety strip credited with reinventing the non-exploitative talk genre, “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.”
NATPE is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation, development and distribution of televised programming in all forms across all mature and emerging media platforms.
NATPE develops and nurtures opportunities, both commercial and educational, for the buying, selling and sharing of content and ideas.
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