James T. Aubrey was president of CBS from 1959 until 1965. He later headed MGM Studios, from 1969 to 1973, under studio owner Kirk Kerkorian, and then finished his career as an independent producer. While he is remembered in some circles as the man who oversaw the dismantling of much of MGM’s heritage in an effort to save the failing studio from financial ruin, it was his tenure at CBS that earned him his place in the annals of entertainment history.

Aubrey began his broadcasting career as a salesman for CBS’s Los Angeles radio station, KNX, in 1948. Aubrey also worked with CBS’s new television station, KNXT, and soon advanced into the ranks of the network’s West Coast programmers, where he was largely responsible for the development of the offbeat western series Have Gun, Will Travel. Aubrey left CBS in 1956 to join ABC, where he was made head of programming, and while there he was responsible for scheduling such shows as 77 Sunset Strip, The Real McCoys, The Rifleman, Maverick, and The Donna Reed Show. He was lured back to CBS in 1958, and shortly thereafter he was named president of the network, succeeding Lou Cowan.

In this position Aubrey’s star shined. He assumed complete control over the network’s programming decisions and added shows to the CBS schedule that would become staples for the next decade, including CBS’s famed lineup of “rural comedies.” Among the programs for which Aubrey can be credited as the overseer of development are The Beverly Hillbillies, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mr. Ed, Petticoat Junction, and The Munsters. He also unsuccessfully urged CBS chairman William S. Paley to purchase a Paramount Pictures package of theatrical films to air on the network; the decision to stay away from theatricals returned to haunt CBS, for it allowed NBC to enjoy a substantial advantage in programming feature films throughout the 1960s.

While many critics saw Aubrey’s lowbrow programming tastes as tarnish on CBS’s “Tiffany” reputation for quality programs, no one could question his knack for finding shows that met with enormous commercial success. By the 1963–64 season, CBS had 14 of the 15 highest-rated programs in prime time and dominated the daytime ratings in a similar fashion. CBS’s net profits doubled in kind during Aubrey’s tenure, from $25 million a year in 1959 to $49 million in 1964.

Aubrey’s downfall at CBS came quickly and for a number of reasons. CBS started the 1964–65 season slowly, and its once seemingly insurmountable lead over NBC and ABC was in danger. Aubrey likely would have been given more time to correct the situation had it not been for other factors weighing against him in the minds of Paley and his right-hand man, Frank Stanton. For one, Aubrey’s brusque and sometimes ruthless style often alienated his allies as well as his foes, earning him the nickname “The Smiling Cobra.” His abrupt and arrogant manner in dealing with people proved especially troublesome when he treated CBS talent in the same way. At various times, he had run-ins with stars such as Jack Benny (whose long-running program was cancelled by Aubrey), Lucille Ball, Garry Moore, and others. Also contributing to Aubrey’s demise at CBS were questions of improprieties in the handling of his business and personal affairs, including allegations that he gave special consideration to certain program producers in exchange for personal favors and gifts. These factors combined with the downturn in CBS’s programming fortunes and led Paley and Stanton to fire Aubrey from his post in February 1965. Evidence of Aubrey’s impact on CBS, at least in the minds of Wall Street financial executives, came in the immediate nine-point drop in CBS’s stock price that followed his dismissal.

Aubrey’s reputation as a hard-fighting, hard-living executive would follow him for the rest of his life, thanks in part to his immortalization as a leading character in a number of nonfiction and fiction books. He was featured prominently and unflatteringly in Merle Miller’s best seller about the television industry, Only You, Dick Daring!, while Jacqueline Susann acknowledged patterning the ruthless character of Robin Stone after Aubrey in her 1969 novel, The Love Machine. Among Aubrey’s credits in his later career as an independent producer was that of co-executive producer of the highly rated and critically panned 1979 ABC made-for-television movie The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.