Thomas F. O’Neil, 82; Brought Movies to TV

Thomas F. O’Neil, scion of a tire magnate who opted to find his own way in the entertainment industry and was a pioneer in bringing feature films to television, has died.

A family spokesman said this week he had died Saturday at his summer home in Greenwich, Conn. He was 82 and had been battling heart problems and pneumonia.

O’Neil was one of a handful of visionaries in the early days of TV to see that movies and television could coexist to mutual advantage.

Encouraged by his father, William, founder of General Tire & Rubber Co., the younger O’Neil returned from World War II service in the Pacific to form General Teleradio in 1948. He began limited TV broadcasting while starting and buying radio and TV stations on both coasts. (Among his acquisitions were the Don-Lee Network’s KHJ-TV in Los Angeles and Don-Lee West Coast radio stations.)

In 1952, the Mutual Broadcasting System was added to General Teleradio.

To satisfy his TV programming needs, O’Neil began negotiating for broadcast rights to feature films. Many major studios objected, fearing TV would harm the theater business. But O’Neil not only secured dozens of films, he also sold the broadcast rights to other TV outlets--the first television syndication deals.

One memorable negotiation involved Howard Hughes and his RKO Radio Pictures, which O’Neil eventually purchased via a contract signed in a men’s room at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

O’Neil changed the name of the studio to RKO General, and with it O’Neil’s company began producing films for pay TV. But the effort was unsuccessful.

“The problem was,” O’Neil’s son Shane said of the coin-operated box used then, “you still had to pick up the money.”

In addition to five sons and four daughters, O’Neil is survived by his wife, Claire.