Great Neck, NY – Retired television executive, Louis N. Friedland, former chairman of MCA-TV and vice president of MCA Inc. (former owner of Universal Studios), passed away in New York. Friedland, 92, died at North Shore General Hospital of Great Neck, New York, following a brief illness, according to his family.
Freidland, who is largely regarded as a a key player in the development of syndicated television programming, first joined MCA in 1952 and ultimately rose to chairman in 1978. When the Brooklyn native retired from MCA-TV in 1986, MCA-TV and sister entity Universal Television had become leading creators and distributors of syndicated series under his direction.
A Brooklyn College graduate, Friedland received a master's degree from New York University and served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II. He also served as chairman of the National Hemophilia Foundation. Married to the late Billie Belenko Friedland, Friedland's wife of 56 years who died in 1999, the esteemed television executive is survived by two children and a granddaughter.