Rick Squire, Longtime NBC, CBS and Fox Marketing Exec, Dies at 68

hollywoodreporter.com:

Rick Squire, a marketing executive for NBC, CBS and Fox, died Thursday of heart failure at his home in Long Beach, California, a family spokesman said.

He was 68. A winner of Clio and Promax Gold awards, Squire attended USC and began his 40-plus-year career in television at Westinghouse/Group W as an on-air promo writer, producer and director.

He joined NBC in 1982 as director of special projects and helped the network move from third to first place in the ratings, then moved to CBS in 1987.

At Fox from 2000-03, he oversaw the marketing of such hits as American Idol, 24, That '70s Show and Malcolm in the Middle. Squire also founded Planet 3 Films, a creative boutique agency that produced campaigns for TV networks, cable and syndication, and.