By: History.com Editors

2002

TV producer Roone Arledge dies

History.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: January 30, 2025

On December 5, 2002, the legendary television producer and executive Roone Arledge dies in New York City, at the age of 71. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, Arledge won his first producing job from New York’s Channel 4, where he worked behind the scenes on a puppet show starring Shari Lewis. After unsuccessfully pitching a pilot called For Men Only to NBC, he was noticed by ABC executive Ed Sherick, and began working at ABC’s fledgling sports division in 1960.

From the start of his tenure at ABC, Arledge aimed to “add show business to sports,” as he put it. He pioneered a number of new techniques in college football programming, including hand-held cameras, aerial footage and improved sound. With Sherick, he introduced ABC’s Wide World of Sports, a weekly roundup of sporting events—featuring many less mainstream sports from around the world—hosted by Jim McKay. The groundbreaking show became a hit, and by 1964 Arledge was a network vice president; he became president of ABC Sports four years later.

More than anyone else, Arledge brought sports programming out of its limited weekend niche and into prime time, beginning with the broadcast of the Olympic Games in 1968. In 1970, Arledge solidified his impact with the premiere of Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith, which opened the floodgates for all major sports to move into prime time. Arledge’s enormously influential style—including “up close and personal” stories about athletes’ lives and technological innovations such as instant and slow-motion replays, split-screen views and isolated cameras—aimed to thrill audiences and get them emotionally involved in the broadcast. His philosophy continues to define sports programming today.

Notoriously detail-oriented, Arledge truly showed his mettle during the 1972 Olympics in Munich, when Arab terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. As the U.S. broadcaster of the Games, ABC had exclusive access, and under Arledge’s guidance, the network covered the unfolding crisis continuously for the next 17 hours, up to and including the announcement that the hostages had been killed. ABC, Jim McKay- and Arledge won a historic total of 29 Emmys for the Munich coverage.

Munich Massacre

1972 Olympic Games

By: History.com Editors

Arledge took over ABC’s struggling news division in 1977, retaining control of ABC Sports as well. Renaming the nightly newscast World News Tonight, he nurtured the careers of top newscasters such as Peter Jennings and oversaw the coverage of such momentous topics as apartheid in South Africa and the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-80, Arledge produced a nightly special on the crisis, a first in network news. The show later became Nightline, hosted by Ted Koppel. Arledge put another network star, Barbara Walters, at the head of the first news magazine show, 20/20. By 1990, ABC News was turning a yearly profit of some $70 million, another first for a network news division.

In the mid-1990s, Arledge began to relinquish day-to-day control at ABC; the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of the network in 1996 accelerated this process. Three months before his death on December 5, 2002, Arledge was awarded the first-ever lifetime achievement Emmy—his 37th Emmy Award overall.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 5th

1776

Phi Beta Kappa fraternity is founded

In Williamsburg, Virginia, a group of five students at the College of William and Mary gather at Raleigh’s Tavern to found a new fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa. Intended to follow strictly American principles as opposed to those of England or Germany, the new society engaged in the fervent political debate typical of student life at the college in Virginia’s capital. The fluent scholars of Greek and Latin who gathered to found the society, which was destined to count presidents and poets of the newly declared republic among its ranks, could not have differed more greatly from their Patriot fellows suffering as prisoners of the crown in British-occupied New York.

1872

The Mary Celeste, a ship whose crew mysteriously disappeared, is spotted at sea

The Dei Gratia, a small British brig under Captain David Morehouse, spots the Mary Celeste, an American vessel, sailing erratically but at full sail near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was seaworthy, its stores and supplies were untouched, but not a soul was onboard.

1873

The Boston Belfry Murderer kills his first victim

Bridget Landregan is found beaten and strangled to death in the Boston suburb of Dorchester. According to witnesses, a man in black clothes and a flowing cape attempted to sexually assault the dead girl before running away. In 1874, a man fitting the same description clubbed another young girl, Mary Sullivan, to death. His third victim, Mary Tynan, was bludgeoned in her bed in 1875. Although she survived for a year after the severe attack, she was never able to identify her attacker.

1876

Hundreds die in Brooklyn theater fire

A fire at the Brooklyn Theater in New York kills nearly 300 people and injures hundreds more on December 5, 1876. Some victims perished from a combination of burns and smoke inhalation; others were trampled to death in the general panic that ensued.

1933

21st Amendment is ratified; Prohibition ends

The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states’ approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day.

1945

Aircraft squadron disappears in the Bermuda Triangle

At 2:10 p.m. on December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. After having completed their objective, Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for an additional 67 miles, then turn north for 73 miles, and back to the air station after that, totaling a distance of 120 miles. They never returned.

Map of Bermuda Triangle

1952

Smog kills thousands in England

Heavy smog begins to hover over London, England, on December 5, 1952. It persists for five days, leading to the deaths of at least 4,000 people.

1964

Army Captain awarded first Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam

The first Medal of Honor awarded to a U.S. serviceman for action in Vietnam is presented to Capt. Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York, for his heroic action earlier in the year.

1978

U.S.S.R. and Afghanistan sign “friendship treaty”

In an effort to prop up an unpopular pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signs a “friendship treaty” with the Afghan government agreeing to provide economic and military assistance. The treaty moved the Russians another step closer to their disastrous involvement in the Afghan civil war between the Soviet-supported communist government and the Muslim rebels, the Mujahideen, which officially began in 1979.

1984

Eddie Murphy stars in “Beverly Hills Cop”

Eddie Murphy stars as the wisecracking Detective Axel Foley in the action-comedy Beverly Hills Cop, released in theaters on December 5, 1984_._ The movie marked the first major starring role for Murphy, who went on to become one of the top-grossing actors in Hollywood.

2013

South African president Nelson Mandela dies at 95

On December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela, the former activist who overcame a nearly three-decade prison stint to become president of South Africa, passes away after years of struggling with health issues. He was 95.

Related Articles

See All Articles
Basketball.
Sports

Who Invented Basketball?

A Canadian is to thank for one of America’s favorite pastimes.

Sports

Hot Springs, Grapefruits and the Babe: A History of Spring Training

From the resort town that started it all to the astounding feat of strength by a legend of the sport, here are four stories you might not know about the origin of spring training.

Basketball, football and baseball are the three most popular sports in the United States.
Sports

The Origins of 7 Popular Sports

Their backstories may surprise you.

A circa-1910 image of Jim Thorpe in his football uniform / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Sports

How Jim Thorpe Became America’s First Multi-Sport Star

The Native American was an Olympic medalist, NFL standout and a MLB player — he even won a ballroom dancing championship.

See All Articles

About the author

History.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen and Christian Zapata.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

Citation Information

Article title
TV producer Roone Arledge dies
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 21, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 30, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

History Every Day

Sign Up for "This Day in History"

Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us