Jerry Perenchio

Andrew Perenchio
Born	(1930-12-20) 20 December 1930 Fresno, California, U.S.
Died	23 May 2017(2017-05-23) (aged 86) Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Known for	Former chairman and CEO of Univision

Andrew Jerrold Perenchio (December 20, 1930 – May 23, 2017) was a prominent American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, widely recognized for his role as the former chairman and CEO of Univision.

Early life

Perenchio descended from Italian immigrants who established the Fresno Grape Exchange and Crestview Winery. He spent his childhood in Fresno until the age of fifteen before attending Black Foxe Military Institute in Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 1949.

He pursued higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1954. To support his studies financially, he founded Party Management, a company responsible for booking musical acts and catering events at both UCLA and USC. During his last two years at university, he participated in Air Force ROTC, which led to a three-year tenure as a jet fighter pilot until his honorable discharge in 1958.

Music Corporation of America (MCA)

Perenchio began his professional journey in 1958 by joining MCA Inc. within the Band and Act Department. He rapidly rose through the ranks to become the youngest vice president and head of the Concert Department overseeing operations in the Western United States and Far East. He credited his time at MCA with instilling essential business lessons—such as prioritizing asset leasing over sales and concentrating on markets he understood—that influenced his later ventures.

His employment at MCA continued until July 1962, when the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division mandated that MCA discontinue its talent representation activities.

Perenchio Artists/Chartwell Artists

Following MCA's divestiture, Perenchio partnered with Fred Dale in 1963 to establish Perenchio Artists, an agency representing leading performers including Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, Henry Mancini, José Feliciano, Glen Campbell, Sergio Mendes, the Kingston Trio, and the Righteous Brothers, many of whom transitioned from MCA. The agency later merged with Hugh French's firm to create Chartwell Artists, broadening its scope to include actors, directors, writers, musicians, and vocalists, with an emphasis on live entertainment.

In 1969, while accompanying Henry Mancini in London, Perenchio encountered then-rising star Elton John. By August 1970, he had brought John to Los Angeles and secured a two-week engagement at the Troubadour nightclub, effectively launching John's career in the United States following immediate acclaim.

Chartwell Artists grew to become the fifth-largest talent agency globally, representing distinguished figures such as Campbell, John, Feliciano, Mancini, Mathis, Mendes, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Donovan, Rod Taylor, and Michael Landon. In 1971, Perenchio sold Chartwell to Marvin Josephson's International Famous Agency and withdrew from the talent agency sector.

Sports promotion

In March 1971, Perenchio served as promoter for the landmark Fight of the Century held at Madison Square Garden, featuring undefeated heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Both fighters received $2.5 million each. This event blended athletic competition with entertainment spectacle, drawing numerous celebrities and political figures. Perenchio collaborated with concert promoters to distribute 1.5 million closed-circuit tickets nationwide and secured broadcast agreements across more than 100 countries.

In September 1973, he orchestrated the groundbreaking Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome. The event attracted a record-breaking live crowd of 30,472 attendees and achieved the highest prime-time television ratings on ABC that year.

Tandem Productions/Embassy Communications

In pursuit of growth within television and film, Perenchio teamed up in 1973 with Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin as a partner at Tandem Productions, where he assumed the roles of president and CEO. He introduced Alan F. Horn, a Harvard Business School alumnus recruited from Procter & Gamble, whom he mentored for executive responsibilities. Horn eventually rose to president of Tandem, and together they steered the company until its acquisition by Columbia Pictures in 1985. Horn subsequently co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, held the positions of president and COO at Warner Brothers, and chaired Walt Disney Studios.

Perenchio’s strategic acumen, combined with the creative talents of Lear and Yorkin, established Tandem as a premier television production and distribution firm, responsible for acclaimed series such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, and Diff'rent Strokes. Together, Perenchio and Lear created T.A.T. Communications Company, which launched successful sitcoms including The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time. In 1982, they acquired Embassy Pictures, appointing Horn as CEO. Separately, Perenchio collaborated with Yorkin to produce the 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott.

In 1985, Perenchio and Lear sold Embassy Communications to The Coca-Cola Company for $485 million in stock. After this transaction, Perenchio produced the critically acclaimed film Driving Miss Daisy (1989) with the Zanuck Company; the movie earned four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 2002, he produced Frida, starring Salma Hayek, alongside his wife Margaret Perenchio.

Other business ventures

Perenchio orchestrated several significant entertainment transactions: the 1969 sale of Caesars Palace to Lums Restaurants; the 1989 divestiture of A&M Records to PolyGram; and the 1993 sale of Motown Records also to PolyGram.

As a pioneer in pay television, he co-established National Subscription Television (ON-TV) in 1977, which provided popular movies, sports events, and concerts, ultimately becoming the world’s largest "over-the-air" pay TV network. Between 1985 and 1987, Perenchio owned Loews Theaters across several states. Following the relaxation of the Paramount Decrees, he sold this theater chain to Tri-Star Pictures at nearly four times its acquisition cost—marking the first theater chain-to-studio sale since the 1948 antitrust decision.

Univision

Perenchio’s most notable enterprise involved joining forces with Mexican media magnate Emilio Azcárraga Milmo to purchase the Univision network in 1992 for $550 million. Renamed Univision Communications, Inc., it expanded into a Fortune 500 company under Perenchio’s stewardship as chairman, CEO, and majority shareholder.

Over a fifteen-year span, Univision grew through acquiring 35 television stations, Spanish-language radio outlets, and Mexican music companies, evolving into a dominant multimedia organization. It became the leading Spanish-language network in the United States, occasionally outpacing English-language networks in viewership. The company went public in 1996 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker UVN. In March 2007, Perenchio sold Univision Communications for $13.5 billion to the Saban Capital Group, led by investor Haim Saban.

Personal life

Perenchio experienced three marriages and was living separately from his third spouse, Margaret. From his first marriage, he had one biological son and two daughters whom he adopted, along with a family that included six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In 1986, he acquired the 42-room estate formerly owned by Arnold Kirkeby in Bel Air, widely recognized as Chartwell, the iconic residence featured as the Clampett family home in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies. He undertook extensive renovations to transform the property into a genuine 18th-century French château style and expanded the estate to nearly 13 acres by purchasing adjacent land.

Perenchio passed away at age 86 on May 23, 2017, at his residence due to lung cancer.

Philanthropy

Toward the end of 2014, Perenchio revealed plans to bequeath a significant portion of his art collection—comprising at least 47 pieces valued at over $500 million—to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His collection featured masterpieces by artists such as Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, and Pablo Picasso. At the same announcement, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky remarked, "No individual in this community has demonstrated greater generosity while requesting so little..."

Politics

A committed member of the Republican Party throughout his life, Perenchio actively supported various GOP initiatives and advocacy groups. He held the role of co-finance director for Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential bid and was an early and significant supporter of Carly Fiorina's 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Awards and honors

Beginning in 2000, Perenchio was a trustee on the board for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by California State University, Fresno during its Centennial Commencement ceremony in 2011.

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People