Robert L. Stone

Robert L. Stone (December 19, 1921 – January 28, 2009) was an American business executive who served as chief executive officer of The Hertz Corporation and ran the television division at Columbia Pictures.

Born in New York City on December 19, 1921, Stone served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he enlisted in 1942. As a bombardier, he flew 40 combat missions in the Pacific and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

Stone was hired by a management consulting firm in 1946, after leaving his military service. In 1951, he was hired by the American Broadcasting Company, where he ultimately was named as vice president and general manager of WABC-TV, the network's flagship station in New York City. He was hired by the National Broadcasting Company in 1959, where he became general manager of the television network and president of the NBC radio network. Many of the commercials in what started as a $12.6 million advertising campaign were run initially during telecasts of football games, with the slogan "The Superstar in Rent-A-Car".

Columbia Pictures hired him in 1978 as its chief operating officer, overseeing the studio's television division until his retirement in 1983. In addition to his second wife, he was survived by his four children, two stepchildren and six grandchildren.