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... but the livin’ hasn’t always been easy. In 1979, for instance, media mogul Sumner Redstone narrowly dodged the Grim Reaper by glomming on to a third-story ledge during a Boston hotel fire. Even more traumatizing, his rival Rupert Murdoch recently beat him to snatching up MySpace. And to put the icing on the frustration cake, the man who insists that he always wants to be number one is ranked a self-esteem-busting number 86 on Forbes’ list of the 100 richest people on earth. In other words, with a paltry $8 billion to his name, if Mr. Redstone were to bankroll the war in Iraq, he’d be filing for chapter 11 in less than a month. It sucks to be poor.
On the bright side, the Viacom and CBS kingpin, whose somewhat exotic first name derives not from an accidental bastardization of the hot season but from the word summoner, was honored by the Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio, for his exemplary contributions to the media writ large. Paley Center CEO Pat Mitchell and Chairman of the Board Frank Bennack, Jr., presented the award to Mr. Redstone, and First Gentleman hopeful Bill Clinton extolled the esteemed recipient in a videotaped address.
Kim Cattrall, Andy Rooney, Dina Merrill, and 60-Minutes-man Steve Kroft looked on as Charlie Rose hosted the fete at the Waldorf=Astoria. The timeless Tony Bennett crooned Fly Me to the Moon, and CBS-Anchor and part-time country sensation Bob Schieffer, backed by his band Honky Tony Confidental, brought down the hotel with a self-penned paean about his vaunted superior: “There are good stones and bad stones / the Redstone is a gem / you said bye to Tom Cruise / but you can’t sell CBS News.”
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