Kenneth W. Bilby

Kenneth W. Bilby (October 7, 1918 – August 1, 1997) was a winner of the Legion of Honor, an executive vice president of RCA, and the author of "The General," a book on David Sarnoff's role in the creation of RCA and television. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Former RCA executive Kenneth W. Bilby dies |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D933F1791775&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=Former RCA executive Kenneth W. Bilby died Friday of leukemia at Zale Lipshy University Hospital in Dallas. Services for Mr. Bilby, 78, will be at 2 pm ... |work=Dallas Morning News |date=August 2, 1997 |accessdate=2008-07-17 ]

Biography

He was born in Tucson, Arizona, and during World War II he was awarded The Legion of Honor, The Bronze Star and The Silver Star. After the World War, he covered the Arab-Israeli War and authored the book: "New Star in the Near East". He married Helen Owen Lehman in 1948. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Helen O. Lehman To Wed Saturday. Descendant of William J. Bryan Engaged to Kenneth W. Bilby of Herald Tribune Staff. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B16FF395A157B93C3A91788D85F4C8485F9 |quote=Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lehman of 625 Park Avenue have announced the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Helen Owen, to Kenneth W. Bilby of ... |work=New York Times |date=March 1, 1948 |accessdate=2008-07-17 ] When he retired from RCA he was appointed Executive in Residence at Harvard Business School.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Kenneth Bilby, 78, Author and Journalist |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E5D8143DF931A3575BC0A961958260 |quote= Kenneth W. Bilby, an author and journalist, died of leukemia in Dallas yesterday. He was 78. Born in Tucson, Arizona, Mr. Bilby graduated from the University of Arizona. He worked at The New York Herald Tribune as a United Nations correspondent, an assistant city editor and a foreign correspondent in Europe and the Middle East. He also worked in public relations, mostly with NBC and RCA. Following his retirement from RCA, where he was executive vice president, in 1986 Mr. Bilby wrote "The General," an account of David Sarnoff's role in the creation of RCA. A first marriage, to the former Helen Lehman, ended in divorce. Survivors include his second wife, the former Joanne Stroud, of Dallas; a brother, Richard Bilby of Tucson, Ariz.; two daughters, Wynne B. Racine of Littleton, Colo., and Margot B. Snellback of Newtown, Conn.; two sons, Kenneth Bilby Jr. of Washington and Bryan Bilby of San Francisco, and five grandchildren. ... |work=New York Times |date=August 2, 1997 |accessdate=2007-07-21]

Books

* New Star in the Near East, Doubleday
* The General: David Sarnoff and the rise of the Communications Industry (1986), Harper and Row, ISBN 0-06-015568-X

References