Those Guys Have All the Fun - James Andrew Miller [15]
Stuart Evey, meanwhile, was following his money. While Bill and Scott pushed forward to a planned September launch, Evey decided it was time to supplement the executive ranks. He called his pal Hollywood super-lawyer Ed Hookstratten, known ominously around town as “The Hook,” and put him on the case. Evey informed Rasmussen too, and Good Ol’ Chairman Bill set out in search of a president who would report to him, with Scott holding on to the title of executive vice president. Evey’s plan, after all, sounded reasonable enough…
DICK EBERSOL, Chairman, NBC Sports:
I had been fired by NBC as head of comedy, variety, and specials in January of 1979. [Legendary programmer] Brandon Tartikoff said at the time, “Dick then backpacked in his Porsche.” I can’t remember whether Bill Rasmussen made the first phone call to me himself or whether there was an intermediary, but ultimately I was talking to him. Bill and I had at least two meetings, and he seemed very, very intrigued by the idea of me coming to ESPN. Bill told me that I would be hearing from a guy named Stu Evey; I didn’t know who Stu Evey was at the time.
STUART EVEY:
Dick Ebersol was Bill Rasmussen’s idea. He gave me his name as a possibility for president because of his Wide World of Sports experience under Roone Arledge. But I never spoke to Dick Ebersol personally.
DICK EBERSOL:
Stu invited me to a meeting in late June of 1979, and we met late in the afternoon. I was well-read enough as a kid to understand that these people were to the right of the Reichstag. This was no great middle-of-the-road American institution, this was Getty Oil! I found it so odd that they were really going to fund this wacky idea where you get a satellite and people everywhere could watch Connecticut sports. But you could see it was growing from that; I mean, they had already done this NCAA deal with Walter Byers, which I give Rasmussen a lot of credit for. That doesn’t get remembered. Evey seemed almost overly large; he more than filled the room. He was very clear about letting me know it would be him and not Bill making the decision. He did say, “You’re Bill’s first choice for this role.”
Anyway, Evey seemed intrigued by me but I didn’t hear anything for four or five days, so I called him up late one afternoon and said we should have another conversation. We met at a restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in the Valley that was a favorite of his. Except for maybe some college escapade, there was more alcohol poured that night than any other night in my life. I’m not a drinker, but he just kept pouring and pouring. It’s one of only two times in my life I went in the bathroom and put my fingers down my throat to throw up so I could go back and take more of this while this guy went on.
I was very much intrigued by the job.
STUART EVEY:
The major player who had the most to do with our broadcasting end of the business was Ed Hookstratten. Ed had a reputation of being the most powerful man, agent-wise, in broadcasting. He represented the major on-air personalities in the network business. Ed and I crossed paths at many social events. As executive assistant to George Getty, I traveled in a crowd like that, and Ed was a personal friend of mine. Getty hired him on a consulting basis for procuring our on-air talent and all of our other management talent.
ED HOOKSTRATTEN, Attorney: