Imagine an executive working for the same U.S. distribution company for 32 years, and in the process going through seven different parent companies, nine management changes, and two attempted takeovers.
Then imagine the same executive being involved with the most popular U.S. TV series in the ’80s and ’90s, and having one of them (Dallas) actually prompt an inquiry in the U.K.’s parliament, then being invited to broadcast some of those shows in Russia following the dissolution of the USSR.
The executive in question is Bert Cohen, who started at ABC-Paramount in 1968, worked his way up to become COO of Worldvision Enterprises, and ended his career at Paramount in 2000.
The details of his career and the historical developments (like the imposition of the Fin Syn rule in 1971 and its elimination in 1993) under which Cohen operated will be recounted in the MIPTV (April 2022) Issue of VideoAge as he is the 34th personality to be inducted into the International TV Distribution Hall of Fame.
It will be the ultimate story of a company that should never have disappeared (by way of integration), and the historical period in which it operated.
Throughout his TV career, Cohen worked under business leaders such as Craig Lindner (son of Carl Lindner, Jr.), Aaron Spelling, and Wayne Huizenga. He also worked with producers like Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, and directors like David Lynch.
In terms of TV series, Worldvision licensed shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, The Love Boat, Dallas, and Little House on The Prairie to the international marketplace. “I had to work harder because we were up against the major studios that packaged TV series with big movies. We didn’t have movies, so we had to be good at selling TV series product,” recalled Cohen.
At Worldvision’s peak, Cohen ran 10 offices around the world, on every continent, which was at par with the major U.S. studios. In addition to the interview with Cohen, for the feature, VideoAge contacted nine other people, including seven Worldvision alums, (Rita Scarfone, Tom Devlin, Maryann Pasante, Bob Sigman, John Ryan, Jules Haimovitz), and relied on the recollections of ex-Worldvision executive Bill Peck, former Paramount exec Gary Marenzi, and former ABC Video exec Archie Purvis.
Dom, What took so long?! Bert was a ‘mench’, especially to this young exec who was finding his way through the minefields of Major Studio relations in the mid-80s while being part of launching the first US PPV Network, partly Studio directed, RequestTV. Merci! Between Bert and Norman Horowitz always asking,”How can we help you kid?”, they accepted the ‘horizon’ was upon them and help to lead the way.