Clark B. George, 88; Former Executive With CBS and Viacom

Clark B. George, 88, a former general manager of KNXT, now KCBS-TV Channel 2, in Los Angeles, who became the president of CBS’ radio division and the first president and chief executive of Viacom, died Feb. 28 of complications of prostate cancer at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla.

George rose within the management ranks of the CBS radio and television divisions, beginning as a publicist for CBS in Los Angeles in 1946. He became general manager of KNXT in 1956 and a vice president in 1959.

He later managed WBBM-TV Channel 2 in Chicago and was vice president-general manager of WCBS-TV Channel 2 in New York, where he turned the station’s news department into the largest of any local TV station in the nation. He earned numerous industry commendations, including an Emmy Award.

In 1967, CBS named George president of its radio division. When CBS formed Viacom in 1970 to comply with FCC regulations barring TV networks from owning cable TV systems or from syndicating their own programs in the U.S., George became Viacom’s president and chief executive officer.

He retired from broadcasting in 1971, shortly before Viacom became a separate company.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., George earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA in 1942. He served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War and retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1977 with the rank of captain.