Frank Biondi - Lets Be Frank: A Daughters Tribute to Her Father, The Media Mogul Youve Never Heard of

Praise for Lets Be Frank

Frank Biondi is the type of leader you want on your team. I speak from experience; we played baseball together at Princeton. Lets Be Frank offers timeless lessons about how to make your own contributions to the world, just as Frank did for the media industry and the friends, colleagues, and communities he lifted up during his life.

Former U.S. Senator BILL BRADLEY, author of We Can All Do Better

A lovely and deserved portrait of Frank Biondi.... He became one of my go-to executives as I strove to understand the fast-changing media business. I greatly valued our relationship and his knowledge. Like many in business, he had talent. But he also had something all too rare: decency.

KEN AULETTA,New York Times best-selling author of Googled

The life of Frank Biondi shows what true principle and integrity can mean in a field where its not always present.

NORMAN LEAR, legendary television and movie producer and author of Even This I Get to Experience

Attention to detail, moral compass, humility; these are characteristics that describe Frank Biondi and his long tenure as an outstanding entertainment executive. And, by the way, Sumner Redstone said to me that hiring Frank was a fantastic move and firing him was my biggest mistake.

MICHAEL EISNER, former chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company and author of Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed

I had the privilege to know Frank both as a top business executive and as a friend. In both roles, he comported himself with the same combination of intelligence, humility, and total integrity. Im so glad that through this book, he will be remembered as he is deserved to be.

STEVE RATTNER, chairman and CEO of Willett Advisors, economic analyst on MSNBCs Morning Joe, former counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury and author of Overhaul

Frank Biondi had an extraordinary impact on my life and my career. The lessons imparted in Lets Be Frank are timeless and remind me of what a remarkable leader and person he was. Frank outlines to the reader how to carve out your own path, learning from the leaders of the past, just as he did.

JIM STEYER, Founder of Common Sense Media, professor at Stanford University, and author of Which Side of History

Get ready to learn from one of the most influential people youve never heard of. Although Frank Biondi had a monumental impact on the world of entertainment, he preferred to stay out of the spotlight. At long last, this book takes you backstage to see how he led many of Hollywoods most iconic brands, made decisions, and built relationships.

ADAM GRANT, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

This book is a memoir reflecting the authors truthful recollections of experiences over time. Except where noted, the story and words are the authors alone. Some details and characteristics may have been changed, the chronology of some events may have been compressed, and some dialogue may have been recreated and/or supplemented.

Published by River Grove Books

Austin, TX

www.rivergrovebooks.com

Copyright 2022 Jane Munna

All rights reserved.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following source(s) for permission to reproduce copyrighted material: Photo of Frank Biondi and peers for Vanity Fair: Annie Leibovitz / Trunk Archive: Photography copyright Annie Leibovitz. Wired cover copyright John Plunkett; concept and design: John Plunkett; Photoshop imagery: Eugene Mosier.

Thank you for purchasing an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright law. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.

Distributed by River Grove Books

Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group and Brian Phillips
Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group and Brian Phillips
Cover images copyright Igor Shikov and Phongphan. Used under license from Shutterstock.com; iStockphoto.com/Extreme Media, 2019; Willem Arriens/Alamy Stock Photo; Mark Waugh/Alamy Stock Photo; Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alamy Stock Photo.

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.

Print ISBN: 978-1-63299-579-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63299-580-3

First Edition

Nothing made Frank happier than being
Poppi to his incredible grandchildren.
This book is dedicated to them: Diana, Charlotte,
Katherine, Victoria, Bobby, and Maisie.
He loved you so much!

Given Frank passed away before the book was finished, the time and perspective of his devoted former colleagues and friends made it possible to finish what he started. Special thanks to Jim Stein, without whom you would not be reading this. Jims guidance, expertise, friendship, and encouragement over many years made this entire endeavor possible.

Thank you does not quite capture the full gratitude owed to Alan Horn, Alan Schwartz, Greg Meidel, Henry Schleiff, Jon Dolgen, Ken Solomon, Martin Shafer, Dr. Phil McGraw, Rick Reiss, Scott Budnick, Sherry Lansing, and Tom Freston for their time, input, and commitment to this book. Thanks also to Peter Chernin, Rob Reiner, Neil Braun, and Bill Robinson for letting me share their remembrances within the book.

Thanks to Jeff Wilser for his work with my father and me to turn his life experiences and recordings into engaging written stories.

Personal thanks to my husband for his support and encouragement across the years from idea to completion with so much in between.

The final and most special thanks goes to my mom, Carol, for her encouragement and assistance with this multiyear project, but even more for her belief and support of my father throughout their forty-five years of marriage. She encouraged (and pushed!) him to be his best and reach the highest heights in life and in business.

FRANK

My wife, Carol, is very active in dealing with children who are in the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system. In the course of that work, she bumped into a young man who was also helping kids who were incarcerated. The young mans name was Scott Budnick, who happened to work at Warner Bros. as a producer.

So we would all socialize from time to time. One day I said to Scott, just to make conversation, Whats your next movie?

Well, were doing a comedy in Las Vegas.

Whats it about? I asked.

Its kind of complicated, he said.

Where are you in the process?

Were just setting up. We wont start for several months.

Now at the timethe mid-2000sI sat on the board of Harrahs, which ultimately was renamed to Caesars Entertainment.

Where are you guys going to stay? I asked Scott.

I dont know.

Would you be interested in staying at Caesars, or one of the other Harrahs hotels?

Sure, if we can work it out!

I said, Let me give the president of Caesars a call.

So I called up the president of Caesars and put the two of them in touch. They were able to make the arrangements and logistics work, and Scotts team stayed in the hotel for three or four months while shooting the film in Vegas.

What I didnt know at the time was that the movie Scott was working on was The Hangover.

JANE

Thats how my father, Frank Biondi, tells the story of how