Les Moonves
Leslie Roy Moonves (/ˈmuːnvɛz/; born October 6, 1949)[1] is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation[2][3] from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse.[4] He has been married to TV personality Julie Chen since 2004.
Les Moonves
October 6, 1949
Media executive
- Lorimar Television/Warner Bros. Television (1985–1995)
- CBS (1995–2018)
-
Nancy Wiesenfeld(m. 1978; div. 2004)
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He held a series of executive positions at CBS from July 1995 to September 2018.[2] He was also on the board of directors at ZeniMax Media from 1999 until 2021.[2][5] Later, he was co-president and co-chief operating officer (COO) of the original Viacom, the legal predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split in December 2005. He became chairman of CBS in February 2016.[6][7][8] In September 2018, Moonves stepped down as chairman of CBS after multiple women brought forth sexual assault allegations against him. Moonves allegedly destroyed evidence of his sexual misconduct.[9]
According to various media reports, Moonves has amassed a net worth of over US$800 million through compensation from CBS. Moonves earned $68.4 million in 2017, combined with stock options of the media company, worth over $100 million.
Early life[edit]
Leslie Roy Moonves[10] was born in Brooklyn, New York City[1] to a religious Jewish family,[11][12] the son of Josephine (Schleifer) and Herman Moonves,[13][14] and grew up in Valley Stream, New York. His mother was a nurse.[15] He has one sister, Melissa Moonves Colon, and two brothers, including entertainment attorney Jonathan Moonves.[15] He attended Valley Stream Central High School and went to Bucknell University, graduating in 1971.[16] In his sophomore year, he decided that his science courses were unfulfilling and switched his major from pre-medical to the Spanish language (a subject he found vastly more enjoyable) and acted in a few plays; following graduation in 1971 he moved to Manhattan to pursue an acting career where he eventually graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He landed a few parts, playing tough guys on Cannon and The Six Million Dollar Man,[17] which he described as "forgettable" TV roles before deciding on the career change.[18] He also worked as one of casting director Caro Jones' first office assistants early in her career.[19]
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Public appearances[edit]
On April 7, 2003, Moonves portrayed himself in an episode of The Practice. From early 2004 until its end in May 2015, Moonves made regular appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman. One of these came when Letterman declared outrage that CBS featured his late-night competitor Jay Leno in an ad for CBS's telecast of the People's Choice Awards. Letterman jokingly warned the "CBS stooge in the control room" to call his buddies "before things turn ugly"; Moonves obliged. Later appearances took the same format, with Letterman discussing current events and the CBS network with the company's CEO.
On the March 23, 2015, premiere episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Moonves portrayed himself as the head of CBS who sends out a golden ticket granting whoever finds it a chance to host The Late Late Show, in an homage to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Moonves also appeared on the September 8, 2015, premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, operating a large switch he could use to switch back to reruns of The Mentalist if he was unhappy with the new program.[73]
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