The Life and Times of America's Greatest Entertainment Mogul "He's smart and he's cool and the other guys want to hang out with him." - Vanity Fair "The one true visionary in Hollywood and the smartest. A Hollywood child with the best grasp of the town of any executive in Hollywood history...he spawned a whole generation of moguls." - Paul Rosenfeld in The Club Rules Barry Diller is the ultimate Hollywood insider. His career has been a tale of mythical Hollywood ascent-from the William Morris mail room to ABC television executive to studio head of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. After a few fumbled bids for CBS and Viacom, Diller today sits atop Silver King, a broad-based national chain of television stations. And once again, Diller threatens to do the impossible: create yet another new television network. The Barry Diller Story chronicles the brilliant successes and bitter failures of this legendary Hollywood mogul. To some he is seen as a brilliant visionary with the street savvy to make things happen. To others he is nothing more than an abrasive executive. This book goes behind the scenes of some of Tinsel Town's biggest business deals, including the rescue of Paramount studios, the fight over control of 20th Century Fox, the unprecedented launch of a fourth network, the battle with Viacom to acquire Paramount Communications, and the failed merger of QVC and CBS. Populated by all the colorful characters and huge egos of contemporary Hollywood, The Barry Diller Story is an engrossing read that is sure to attract the attention of both the Hollywood community and those following today's turbulent media industry. * The wide sweep of Diller's story takes in the biggest names in the business, including Michael Eisner, Rupert Murdoch, David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sumner Redstone, Marvin Davis, and others * Explores Diller's pioneering days at ABC-the launch of the ABC Movie of the Week and the birth of the tv mini-series with the historic Roots saga GEORGE MAIR (Studio City, California) was Editorial Director for CBS and is the author of 12 books, including Oprah: The Real Story and Best Bette: The Life of Bette Midler.