Former ABC TV Network President Mark Mandala Dies

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Mark Mandala, 72, retired former president of the ABC TV Network, died of apparent heart attack while playing golf July 11 in Dorset, Vt., according to his family.

Mandala's son, Steve, is a top cable sales executive with NBC Universal.

Mark Mandala was with ABC for 32 years, retiring in 1994 as head of the network.

He joined the company in 1962 and after a number of sales and management posts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York, was named president of the owned TV stations division in 1983. He was named president of the network in 1986.

Mandala is survived by his wife, Joan Neely Mandala, and three sons, Steve, Charlie and Michael.

A memorial service on the West Coast is being planned.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.