Jonathan Dolgen, the previous head of Viacom Entertainment, died on Oct. 9 of pure causes in Los Angeles. He was 78.

For a decade, from 1994 till 2004, the hard-charging Dolgen led Viacom’s movie, tv and amusement parks, in addition to Simon & Schuster and its music publishing operations, establishing a repute for smarts and drive.

“You come to work in the morning,” Dolgen as soon as instructed the New York Times in a profile shortly after he took the job at Viacom. “And you work twelve hours, and then you’re off twelve hours. And then you come to work again, and you push, and keep pushing, and learn, and keep learning. And you begin to accomplish what you want. . . . The trick is tenacity.”

It was a interval of relative success, one which noticed the releases of “Titanic,” “Braveheart” and “Forrest Gump,” all of which gained finest image, in addition to hits comparable to “The Truman Show,” “Face/Off,” “Zoolander” and “Mission: Impossible,” which stays a high franchise to today. He additionally helped oversee TV staples comparable to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Fraiser” to the display.

After leaving Viacom in a administration shakeup that additionally noticed the departure of Mel Karmazin as Viacom president and the elevation of Tom Freston and Les Moonves to high jobs, Dolgen shaped Wood River Ventures, an advisory and investing media agency. 

Dolgen began his profession as a Wall Street lawyer at Fried, Frank, Haris, Shriver and Jacobsen earlier than becoming a member of Columbia Pictures as a part of its authorized group. In 1985 Dolgen moved to Twentieth Century Fox the place he turned president of tv. He then labored at Sony Pictures in 1991 as president of Columbia Pictures, overseeing its film division and incomes a repute for retaining movies on time and on or beneath funds. He was also referred to as a troublesome and expert negotiator.

Dolgen was an energetic philanthropist, who supported Pitzer College, UCLA Neurosurgery and Cornell University. He was an Expedia Board of Directors Emeritus as was serving as a board member for such nonprofits together with The Simon Wisenthal Center, California Institute of the Arts and Claremont Graduate University. 

Dolgen is survived by spouse Susan, daughters Tamar and Lauren, son-in-law Sergio Bicas, three grandchildren and his brother David Dolgen.