[Kzin]

HBO chief executive fired in wake of arrest

Chris Albrecht, the powerful Hollywood executive credited with bringing "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" to American living rooms, was ousted Wednesday as head of Home Box Office in the wake of his arrest in Las Vegas on suspicion of publicly assaulting his girlfriend.

The firing cast a pall over the cable channel, which makes about $1.2 billion a year and is one of the most profitable units of Time Warner Inc. Under Albrecht's direction, HBO not only minted money but also produced programs that left a lasting mark on American culture.

The upheaval comes at a time when HBO is uncharacteristically vulnerable, with no blockbuster to replace "The Sopranos," now in its last season.

Albrecht, 54, had temporarily stepped aside Tuesday, telling co-workers in a statement that he had lapsed into drinking after years of sobriety but expressing hope that he would return to HBO. "I won't let you down again," he said.

On Wednesday, The Times reported that in 1991 the cable network had paid a major settlement to Sasha Emerson, a subordinate and love interest of Albrecht's who alleged that he had shoved and choked her at HBO's West Coast offices in Century City. The incident, according to four people familiar with the matter, had been kept quiet for 16 years by the management of HBO.

Time Warner President Jeffrey L. Bewkes, then a top HBO executive, blessed the payout of $400,000 to $500,000. Bewkes is in line to become chief executive of Time Warner next year, when Richard D. Parsons retires.

Also Wednesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released details from its report of Albrecht's 3 a.m. arrest Sunday outside the MGM Grand Hotel, where the executive had attended a prizefight carried on pay-per-view by HBO. The officers who arrested Albrecht said that he had grabbed his companion around the neck so hard that he left red marks, and that they had to physically break his grip to free her.

Police declined to identify the woman, but a person familiar with the events said she was Karla Jensen, 37, whom Albrecht had been seeing for several months. The New York Daily News reported Wednesday that she was a correspondent for HBO and Telemundo.

Wednesday night, after a day of near-paralysis among shocked HBO employees, Time Warner sent word that Albrecht was out.

"With great regret, at the request of Time Warner, I have agreed to step down," Albrecht said in a statement released by Time Warner. "I take this step for the benefit of my Home Box Office colleagues, recognizing that I cannot allow my personal circumstances to distract them from the business."

Parsons said in the statement, "Jeff Bewkes and I believe that this is the right decision for the company."

HBO Chief Operating Officer Bill Nelson will assume Albrecht's duties until the appointment of a new CEO, the company said. People close to HBO said internal candidates for the job included Nelson; Eric Kessler, president of sales and marketing; and Richard Plepler, executive vice president of communications.

The HBO staff was shaken by the public downfall of Albrecht, who joined the channel in 1985 and had been running it for nearly five years. Before Wednesday, it had seen only three regime changes in 23 years.

"It's definitely hard to watch somebody go through this; it's very, very painful for everyone," Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO entertainment, said in an interview Wednesday before Albrecht was fired. "I've reported to him for 17 years. He's been my mentor."

It was largely Albrecht who led HBO into original programming and away from its earlier practice of mainly airing original and theatrical movies.

"Chris has been the architect of some of the greatest entertainment of the last quarter-century," said Brad Grey, chairman of Paramount Pictures and executive producer of "The Sopranos," who has known Albrecht for nearly 30 years. "I feel very sad today."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,1515559.story

The real question is how Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley scored the fight .... and can we get an opinion from the Fight Doctor, Ferdie Pacheco?

[TLK]

The real question is why isn't the woman being blamed for any of this?

Maybe if she wasn't super annoying shooting nags out of her 'gina he would still have a job right now.

[Rodd]

they were giving this douche a pass on O&A this morning which I didnt really understand.

[Kzin]

Eh, I think most companies, if they already had to pay out half a million to keep quiet a girlfriend you knocked around, are going to get pretty if they have to do it again.

You produce the Sopranos, dummy, you don't live it.

[Rodd]

Originally Posted by KzinKiller

Eh, I think most companies, if they already had to pay out half a million to keep quiet a girlfriend you knocked around, are going to get pretty if they have to do it again.

You produce the Sopranos, dummy, you don't live it.

I didnt read the article, what was his deal? 15 years sober and then this?

[Kzin]

Originally Posted by RodFlanders

I didnt read the article, what was his deal? 15 years sober and then this?

Yeah, I think I read an LA Times article where he basically said he'd been sober for years and then "started drinking again a couple years ago because I thought I could handle it now .... and I was wrong."