Charles Dolan, then-chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp., speaking to the Long Island Association and business community at a catering hall in Woodbury, New York on June 12, 1997. (Photo by Don Jacobsen/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Charles Dolan, the telecommunications pioneer from Cove Neck who innovated cable television with the founding Cablevision Systems Corporation and HBO — ventures that made him a billionaire — died on Dec. 28. He was 98.
Born on Oct. 16, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio, his father David was an inventor, and his mother Corrine worked for the Catholic diocese. The U.S. Army Air Forces veteran served in World War II and attended John Carroll University before he moved to New York, where he founded Cablevision and Home Box Office, later shortened to HBO, which was the first premium cable channel. He also launched News12, the nation’s first 24-hour local news network on cable, and American Movie Classics.
“Remembered as both a trailblazer in the television industry and a devoted family man, his legacy will live on,” the Dolan family said in a statement.
Dolan ranked among the richest men in the world with a net worth of $5.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Dolan grew Bethpage-based Cablevision to about 3 million subscribers across the New York Metro area, making it the fifth-largest cable company in the nation. His son James Dolan was CEO from 1995 until European telecommunications giant Altice bought Cablevision for $17 billion in 2016.
Besides his business ventures, Charles was also founder and chairman emeritus of the Lustgarten Foundation, a Uniondale-based nonprofit that fundraises to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer.
Dolan is survived by his sons James — who owns the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and is CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. — and Patrick, the owner and publisher of Newsday. He is also survived by his son Thomas Dolan, daughters Marianne Dolan-Weber, Kathleen Dolan and Deborah Dolan-Sweeney, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his wife of 73 years Helen Ann Dolan, who died last year.