Television executive, media consultant, and entrepreneur Sylvester L. “Pat” Weaver Jr. (1908-2002) began his career in broadcasting in the 1930s working in radio, eventually moving to the advertising side of the business in the 1940s. He was hired by NBC as vice president in charge of television in 1949, eventually becoming president and then chairman of the board before resigning in 1956. While at NBC, Weaver made innovative changes to the way the network programmed its shows and sold advertising. He played a large role in the development of many influential shows including the Tonight Show and the Today Show, among many others. Upon leaving NBC, Weaver formed his own entertainment company, Weaver Associates. He attempted to create a fourth television network called the Program Service Network in the late 1950s, but abandoned the project to spend more time as a consultant to other businesses and individuals. Weaver worked on Nelson A. Rockefeller's New York gubernatorial campaigns from 1958 to 1962, and was a television advertising advisor for Kaiser Industries, having a hand in the production of the television western Maverick.
During the early 1960s, Weaver continued to act as a freelance consultant while also working for the advertising firm of McCann-Erickson, first as general manager of the company's international division, and later as head of McCann Production in the United States. After leaving McCann-Erickson, Weaver headed Subscription Television Inc. and made an unsuccessful attempt to establish cable television in California. He acted as a consultant for companies such as Alcoa and CBS, before becoming communications director of Wells, Rich, Green Inc. in 1967. By the 1970s, Weaver was semi-retired, but continued to work in the broadcasting industry, taking an active interest in the development of public television and in advances in communication and entertainment technology.
