TV executive syndicated Oprah, ‘Jeopardy!’

Roger M. King, the CBS and King World Productions Inc. executive who helped bring such stars as Oprah Winfrey, Alex Trebek and “Dr. Phil” McGraw to television, died Saturday, a CBS spokesman said. He was 63.

King had a stroke at his Boca Raton, Fla., home Friday and died Saturday at a hospital, CBS spokesman Chris Ender told the Associated Press.

At the time of his death, King was chief executive of CBS Television Distribution. He joined the network in 2000 when his family’s groundbreaking company, King World, merged with CBS. He had been board chairman for King World since 1977.

“Television has lost a legend, a truly original executive with an unparalleled combination of business acumen, passion and personality. CBS has lost a colleague and a good friend,” CBS Corp. President and CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement.

Under King’s guidance, King World became the industry’s leading distributor of first-run syndicated programming, bringing to television such shows as “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Dr. Phil.” He also launched the long-running syndicated news magazine “Inside Edition.”

“King was one of the most successful executives in the history of television, transforming his family business, King World, into a production and syndication empire with unmatched impact and influence in the broadcasting business over the past 30 years,” CBS said in a statement. “He leaves behind a legacy of high-quality, high-rated programming that still dominates the airwaves today, as well as a larger-than-life personality that will never be forgotten.”

In 1983 King and his brother Michael struck a deal with Merv Griffin to syndicate his game show “Wheel of Fortune,” which introduced the nation to host Pat Sajak and letter turner Vanna White. CBS says it has been television’s No. 1 syndicated show for the last 23 years.

The King-syndicated version of “Jeopardy!,” with Trebek as host, has ranked among television’s top three syndicated shows for 22 years.

CBS said King also was responsible for the reality series “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “America’s Next Top Model,” as well as the syndicated sale of reruns of such popular network prime-time shows as “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

King was born in New Jersey, one of six children of Charles King, who founded King World in 1964, and his wife, Lucille. The family business was built on the rights to license the “Our Gang” black-and-white comedy shorts, which King World repackaged and distributed on television as “The Little Rascals.”

Charles King died in 1972.

Roger King started out working in sales for newspapers, radio and television. In the ‘70s, he was host of a late-night movie show on a TV station in Hollywood, Fla., and sold ads for the show during the day.

King ran into legal troubles in the late 1980s and early ‘90s and acknowledged that he had been treated for substance abuse.

In 1987 he pleaded no contest to charges of auto theft and cocaine possession after a dispute with a cab driver who picked him up from a nightclub in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In 1992 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery after a physical altercation with two hotel guests at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

King was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 1992 and the National Assn. of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2004.

Survivors include his wife, Raemali, and three daughters.