Roger Eugene Ailes May 15, — May 18, was an American television executive and media consultant. Ailes had hemophilia , a medical condition in which the body is impaired in its ability to produce blood clots. He died on May 18, , at the age of 77 after a subdural hematoma that was aggravated by his hemophilia. Ailes is known for his influence on conservative media , the conservative movement , and American Presidents.
He is also considered controversial due to the numerous allegations of sexual harassment against Ailes throughout his career and for allegedly creating a misogynistic environment at Fox News. He attended the Warren city schools, and later was inducted into Warren G. Actor and playwright Austin Pendleton was a childhood friend of Ailes. Ailes's father was an authoritarian parent who was often physically and verbally abusive, while Ailes later recalled that his mother feared his hemophilia and was only physically affectionate "once in a while".
Ailes's career in television began in Cleveland and Philadelphia , where he started as production assistant , producer , and executive producer —68 at KYW-TV , [ 13 ] for a then-locally produced talk-variety show, The Mike Douglas Show. He continued as executive producer for the show when it was syndicated nationally, and in and he won Emmy Awards for it.
In , Ailes had a spirited discussion about television in politics with one of the show's guests, Richard Nixon , who took the view that television was a gimmick.
Nixon's successful presidential campaign was Ailes's first venture into the political spotlight. Ailes was an employee of Television News Inc. In , Ailes worked on the campaign to reelect Ronald Reagan. Bush to victory in the Republican primaries and in the victory over Michael Dukakis. Ailes was credited with the "Orchestra Pit Theory" regarding sensationalist political coverage in the news media, which originated with his quip:.
