Ex-CBS Head Tisch Dead At 80

Laurence A. Tisch, the Loews Corp. co-founder who also spent nine tumultuous years as head of CBS, died Saturday. He was 80.

Tisch, a self-made billionaire whose financial empire began with a single New Jersey resort, was suffering from cancer, said Candace Leeds, a Loews spokeswoman.

CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston notes that someone once called Tisch "The King of Cash" due to his "uncanny ability to spot and acquire hugely profitable enterprises."

At Loews, Tisch oversaw a financial corporation with assets of over $70 billion, including a hotel chain, a tobacco company, an insurance firm and an offshore drilling company.

The Brooklyn native served as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of CBS Inc. from 1986-95, a period when the "Tiffany Network" saw its nightly newscast fall to third place and lost NFL football to the then-upstart Fox Network.

When Tisch took over, he instituted massive cuts in the network's news division, laying off 230 employees, closing three news bureaus and slashing $30 million from its budget.

Pinkston says at first, Tisch was welcomed by aging network founder William Paley. But Tisch helped engineer a corporate coup to ease Paley out.

Despite those rocky times, Tisch was remembered fondly Saturday by "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt. "My career flourished under Larry Tisch," Hewitt said.

Tisch was just 23 when he made his first investment, purchasing a 300-room winter resort in Lakewood, New Jersey. Two years later, his brother Bob joined him in the business, launching a lifelong partnership between the pair.

Bob was the gregarious front man, dealing with the day-to-day chores, while Larry tended to handle the finances. Once, at an employee function at Loews headquarters, Tisch was introduced this way: "For those of you who have never been to the 17th floor, this is your chairman."

As the first hotel took off, the Tisch brothers bought hotels in Atlantic City and the Catskills. Their hotel empire continued to expand, generating millions of dollars, and the Tisch brothers began investing in Loews Theaters.

In 1961, Tisch - known to friends as Larry - gained control of Loews and became its co-chairman with his brother. The pair soon diversified the business, successfully venturing into a variety of areas.

Tisch was born March 5, 1923. He graduated college when he was just 18, and five years later made his New Jersey hotel purchase.

After he and his brother took over Loews, the company moved in a variety of directions. Loews acquired Lorillard, a tobacco company, and the Bulova Watch Co. Through shrewd acquisitions, Tisch built Loews' revenues from $100 million in 1970 to more than $3 billion by a decade later.

In 2002, the corporation had revenues of more than $17 billion and assets of more than $70 billion.

In 1986, when CBS Inc. was the target of several hostile takeover attempts, Tisch stepped in to seize control by spending $800 million for a 24.9 percent stake of the company.

But the Tisch era was marked by cost-cutting and criticism that he had tarnished the network's reputation and damaged its morale. Westinghouse Electric bought CBS in 1995.

Tisch was also known for his philanthropy, with major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, the NYU Medical Center and the Wildlife Conservation Society. His $4.5 million gift to the latter created the Tisch Children's Zoo in Central Park.

Tisch served as chairman of the board of trustees at NYU from 1978 to 1998. He was also a former president of the United Jewish Appeal of New York.

Tisch was survived by his wife, Wilma; four sons, Andrew, Daniel, James and Thomas; and his brother. There was no word on funeral arrangements.

James is the current president and chief executive officer of Loews, a position he assumed from his father in 1999.