Roone Arledge

Roone Arledge was a television producer who first popularized televising the Olympic Games to an American audience. After majoring in journalism at Columbia University, Arledge worked most of his career for ABC Television, initially leading the sports division, but later also being named head of the news division. In 1961, he created and developed a sports anthology show entitled ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which became hugely popular. He later produced telecasts of the Olympic Games of 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1984, and the Olympic Winter Games of 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1988. His innovative style focused on bringing profiles of the athletes to the public, rather than simply showing the competitions. The profiles were entitled “Up Close and Personal,” coining the phrase to US television audiences. Arledge also started the American television phenomenon of Monday Night Football in 1970. Arledge won numerous awards for his work, including 37 Emmy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize in 1965-66, and three George Foster Peabody Awards for promoting international understanding. In 1994, Sports Illustrated selected Arledge as the third most influential person in American sports in the past four decades.