D. Barry Reardon, former longtimeWarner Bros. President of Sales andDistribution, has died at 92.
The latter picslate producer Arnold Kopelsontold theL.A.
Timesthat the dating maneuver was pure genius.
D. Barry ReardonCourtesy
The clincher was he did it in such a gentlemanly way it could really be irritating.
Tom Sherak, chairman of 20th Century Foxs Domestic Film Group, told theL.A.
Times: Barry singlehandedly changed the way distribution is looked at as an art form in the business today.
Exclaimed Goldstein in an internal email to staff: He wasTHEO.G.
Dean of Distribution whose many accomplishments are legendary.
His mentorship has inspired generations of entertainment leaders.
The impact of his legacy is long lived.
Warner Bros is a better company because of his leadership.
Our lives were enriched by his friendship.
Reardon was born on March 8, 1931, to David and Anne Cotter Reardon in Hartford, CT.
In 1967, Reardon began his career in the entertainment business.
He joined Paramount Pictures in NYC as the associate to the VP Finance.
Then he moved to marketing and distribution as VP and Assistant to the President.
In 1975, he joined General Cinema Corporation in Boston, in charge of marketing and film procurement.
At that time General Cinema was the largest movie circuit in the US.
He was recruited by Warner Bros in 1978, and the family moved to Los Angeles.
This turned out to be his dream job.
ShoWest, the exhibition confab forerunner of CinemaCon, honored Reardon with the title Dean of Distribution.
Reardon retired in Vero Beach, spending summers in Wilmington, VT. Reardon is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marsha, and his daughter Lisa.
