TV pioneer Charles F. Dolan, who founded multiple media companies, including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died. He was 98.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision,” his family said in a statement to Newsday.
A family spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal he “passed away peacefully from natural causes, surrounded by his loved ones.”
“Remembered as both a trailblazer in the television industry and a devoted family man, his legacy will live on,” the spokesperson added.
Dolan’s legacy in cable TV includes founding Home Box Office, which later became known as HBO, in 1972 and founding Cablevision the following year. He also launched the American Movie Classics television station in 1984.
He was also founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation in Uniondale, New York, which conducts pancreatic cancer research.