Frank Biondi ran Viacom and built Nickelodeon. His daughter, Jane Biondi Munna, has finished his book, which recounts experiences from the late executive's long Hollywood career.
In an industry teeming with publicity-hungry executives, the late Frank Biondi stood apart. An architect of modern-day Hollywood, he quietly shaped media companies into creative powerhouses.
His response hinted at the complexities, and perhaps a lingering sting, from a roller-coaster Hollywood career. Biondi was famously fired by the combative Sumner Redstone, Viacom’s longtime chairman, in 1996 — just as the company was hitting its stride. “The next time I was with him, I whipped out my iPad” and began recording, Biondi Munna said. “I didn’t want to waste another minute.”
“After he died, we were left with the individual pieces — parts of a book — but it was not a book,” she said. “So it was like fitting the puzzle pieces together.”“We had done so much work. And he had related all of these stories — in the toughest year of his life,” she said. “I felt that I had to finish it.”
In the mid-'80s, Biondi joined Coca-Cola, after he leaped into Hollywood with the purchase of Columbia Pictures, to run its entertainment division. While there, he assembled an enviable portfolio by acquiring Merv Griffin Enterprises and Embassy Entertainment . Biondi also agreed to invest in Castle Rock Entertainment, which then made Rob Reiner movies and “Seinfeld.
Biondi said he challenged Redstone, saying the business was starting to hum. Redstone replied: “Quite honestly, I’m tired of sharing the credit.” — nine months after Biondi’s death.
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