Media mogul and former Univision CEO Andrew Jerrold Perenchio has died at the age of 86.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the billionare died in his home on Tuesday after a five-month battle with lung cancer.
Born in Fresno on Dec. 20, 1930, Perenchio’s business savvy lead him to become one of the most influential figures in the media industry as the business partner of legendary TV producer Norman Lear and the former chairman and CEO of Univision Communications.
In 1974, Perenchio partnered with Lear to form the company TAT, which was responsible for such shows as “The Jeffersons,” “One Day at a Time” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” They’d go on to expand into the film business, distributing films including “Blade Runner,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “A Chorus Line.”
He would later still go on to purchase Univision Communications in 1992 for $550 million, leading the company’s growth into a multi-media empire and the dominant player in Spanish-language content in the U.S. By 2007 he had sold the company for $13 billion.
Perenchio was also a major donor to GOP political campaigns. In the 2008 presidential race, he was the one of the largest donors to the John McCain campaign, and last year he contributed more than $3 million to Carly Fiorina’s effort to win the Republican nomination. According to the L.A. Times, Perenchio donated upwards of $30 million to various candidates, political causes and the Republican National Committee.
Perenchio is survived by his wife, Margaret, and three children. Memorial services are to be held next week.