January 2023 6 a “tribute” and that no one else thought of writing a book about him before. In the book, Jane Biondi reported that her father was fired fromevery top position he ever held in the entertainment industry, including HBO (19781984), Columbia Pictures (1985-1987), Viacom (19871996), and Universal Studios (1996-1998). Biondi had the privilege of shaping the development of the entertainment industry from a C-suite position, first with pay-TV, then satellite, then home video, and sawHollywood get shaken up when Coca Cola, a soft-drink company, entered into the business (with Columbia Pictures), followed by a hardware group (Matsushita) taking over Universal Pictures, Viacombuying both CBS and Paramount, and AOL (an online company) buying Warner Bros. When Biondi was asked to run Universal, the studio had just been taken over by liquor company (Seagram). The only developments that he missed from his vantage point in the C-suite are the ups and downs of streaming platforms. And he onlymissed those due tohis premature death. The book is a good look into Biondi’s career, but lacks the historical perspective that should have embellished each vignette. A segment about his ethnic background would have also been appreciated. One assumes that Biondi was of Italian ancestry, but readers learn nothing about him growing up as an Italian-American. Since the 1990s Biondi lived in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. In 2017 Biondi’s Brentwood home was put on the market for $23.9 million. At the time his net worth was believed to have been $1.6 billion. The book also received rave reviews from celebrities like KenAuletta, NormanLear, and Michael Eisner, was reviewed in The Los Angeles Times, and was featured in a segment on MSNBC TV. Ultimately, the book is akin to an autobiography written by a non-professional author, similar to, for example, the book that Viacom’s founder, Ralph Baruch, wrote about himself (Television Tightrope). A book about Frank Biondi was sent to VideoAge with a personal note from its co-author, Jane Biondi Munna, Frank’s youngest daughter (pictured at right). Separately, VideoAge received notes of praise for the book from two of Biondi’s disciples: Brian McGrath (who worked under Biondi at Columbia Pictures and elsewhere) and Blair Westlake (who worked for him at Universal Pictures). The book, titled Let’s Be Frank, was published in 2022, three years after Biondi died at the age of 74. His daughter took notes fromher dad’s planned autobiography and added some of her own observations and recollections, and mixed themwith contributions from executives, including Jon Dolgen, Sherry Lansing, and Peter Chernin, with author Jeff Wilser providing some editorial guidance. The subtitle of the book, “A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Father. The Media Mogul You’ve Never Heard of,” summarizes the 199-page tome (published by River Grove Books in Austin, Texas), specifically the fact that it’s Frank Biondi Remembered in a Book World (Continued from Page 4)
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