Pioneer of popular TV Alejandro Romay dies
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| Argentine television Czar Alejandro Romay. |
vBy Julio Nakamurakare
Herald Staff
Rose from humble childhood in Tucumán province to unchallenged king of the small screen
Argentine television mogul Alejandro Romay, former owner of Channel 9 and several radio stations as well as a handful of theatres where he staged his own productions, died yesterday from a pulmonary disease he had been struggling with for quite some time. The illness was further compounded by a severe case of pneumonia over the last few days and Romay, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died yesterday at his home in the Belgrano neighbourhood. He was 88.
Argentine television mogul Alejandro Romay, former owner of Channel 9 and several radio stations as well as a handful of theatres where he staged his own productions, died yesterday from a pulmonary disease he had been struggling with for quite some time. The illness was further compounded by a severe case of pneumonia over the last few days and Romay, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died yesterday at his home in the Belgrano neighbourhood. He was 88.
Romay, perhaps the most iconic face in the history of Argentine television — he was rightly known as “The Czar” in the milieu — was born in the northern province of Tucumán in 1927 as Alejandro Argentino Saúl, and took on the stage name of Alejandro Romay after Juan Manuel Romay, a player of the Club Atlético Independiente. Romay was only 13 when he auditioned for LV7 Radio Tucumán, earning speaker bits while also running errands for the company’s execs. The boy proved so charming and endearing that he became a staple on the radio’s main shows.
At age 18, he was appointed director of Tucumán’s Radio Aconquija (today’s Independencia). In 1947, young and ambitious Romay moved to Buenos Aires, where he continued to work as radio host. In 1955, coinciding with the Revolución Libertadora military uprising that overthrew the government of President Juan Domingo Perón, Romay took over as programming director of the ex-Radio Belgrano, renamed as Radio Libertad after the military coup.
As majority shareholder of Channel 9, it was in 1963 that Romay started to devise the kind of popular programming that saw his shows soar to the top of viewership ratings.
Branching out into theatre production, he was about to premiere the local version of the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar at the Teatro Argentino in 1973, but the opening never came about as a bomb razed the building the night before.
Romay’s Channel 9 broadcasting licence expired in 1974, and the company suffered the State’s intervention, as did Channels 11 and 13. In the threatening climate of the dictatorship, Romay exiled himself to Puerto Rico. He would only return to Argentina after the return of democracy in 1983.
Romancing the audience
Romay was a true pioneer of different formats in the early years of Argentine television, specializing in highly successful genres as telenovelas and lengthy entertainment shows (locally known as “programas ómnibus”). Romay’s omnibus show, the long-running Sábados de la bondad, was designed to compete in the same slot against Nicolás “Pipo” Mancera’s Sábados circulares, which aired on another channel. Viewed in retrospect, Sábados de la bondad may be regarded as the first “benefitxploitation” programme, as it pitted charities against one another vying for substantial cash prizes or equipment, in the case of institutions such as hospitals. But while Mancera’s Sábados circulares... consisted mostly of wholesome music, dance and humorous numbers, Romay was wise enough to add an extra element that helped draw viewers to his programme: solidarity. The cash prize of one million pesos was garnered by one out of two institutions. The money was donated by audiences who voted for one or the other.
At the helm of Channel 9, Romay was behind successful telenovelas that became a hallmark of Argentine TV, some of which were later remade for the same medium. Compared to today’s network television, which has a high percentage of fiction shows imported from Mexico, Brazil and lately from Turkey, Romay pioneered the craft of creating and producing entire shows locally. In later years, the Romay-owned Teatro Nacional burnt during a performance of a revista led by Susana Giménez, in which the comedians parodied the military dictatorship. The theatre was rebuilt and reopened in 2000, with My Fair Lady as the first production.
After returning to Argentina in 1983, Romay founded the production company Telearte S.A., and won the bid for the Channel 9 broadcast licence. Romay’s best-remembered productions also include Grandes valores del tango (1963) and Feliz domingo para la juventud (1970). He created Teatro como en el teatro, a comedy series with Darío Vittori, Titanes en el ring, Música en libertad, and Alta comedia, a Saturday night staple featuring leading theatre personalities. With Romay at the helm, Channel 9 dominated the viewership ratings with such telenovelas as Amo y señor, Cosecharás tu siembra, La extraña dama, Más allá del horizonte, Ricos y famosos, and Una voz en el teléfono. According to viewership rating companies Ibope and the now defunct Mercados y Tendencias, Romay’s telenovelas peaked at 60 points during the 9pm primetime slot.
In 1997, Romay decided to pull out of television and, refusing to sell the business to Telefónica, he sold it to Australia’s Prime Media. Shortly thereafter, Channel 9 was transferred to Telefónica, while his radio stations were purchased by the Mexican consortium CIE, which had recently purchased the leading Rock & Pop from showbiz impresario Daniel Grinbank.
All things considered, Romay was the unrivalled Czar of Argentine television and the creator of business models later imitated in successful if unoriginal spin-offs, not to say copycats.
/www.buenosairesherald.com/article/192515/pioneer-of-popular-tv-alejandro-romay-dies-
By Julio Nakamurakare
Herald Staff
Rose from humble childhood in Tucumán province to unchallenged king of the small screen
Argentine television mogul Alejandro Romay, former owner of Channel 9 and several radio stations as well as a handful of theatres where he staged his own productions, died yesterday from a pulmonary disease he had been struggling with for quite some time. The illness was further compounded by a severe case of pneumonia over the last few days and Romay, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died yesterday at his home in the Belgrano neighbourhood. He was 88.
Argentine television mogul Alejandro Romay, former owner of Channel 9 and several radio stations as well as a handful of theatres where he staged his own productions, died yesterday from a pulmonary disease he had been struggling with for quite some time. The illness was further compounded by a severe case of pneumonia over the last few days and Romay, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died yesterday at his home in the Belgrano neighbourhood. He was 88.
Romay, perhaps the most iconic face in the history of Argentine television — he was rightly known as “The Czar” in the milieu — was born in the northern province of Tucumán in 1927 as Alejandro Argentino Saúl, and took on the stage name of Alejandro Romay after Juan Manuel Romay, a player of the Club Atlético Independiente. Romay was only 13 when he auditioned for LV7 Radio Tucumán, earning speaker bits while also running errands for the company’s execs. The boy proved so charming and endearing that he became a staple on the radio’s main shows.
At age 18, he was appointed director of Tucumán’s Radio Aconquija (today’s Independencia). In 1947, young and ambitious Romay moved to Buenos Aires, where he continued to work as radio host. In 1955, coinciding with the Revolución Libertadora military uprising that overthrew the government of President Juan Domingo Perón, Romay took over as programming director of the ex-Radio Belgrano, renamed as Radio Libertad after the military coup.
As majority shareholder of Channel 9, it was in 1963 that Romay started to devise the kind of popular programming that saw his shows soar to the top of viewership ratings.
Branching out into theatre production, he was about to premiere the local version of the Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar at the Teatro Argentino in 1973, but the opening never came about as a bomb razed the building the night before.
Romay’s Channel 9 broadcasting licence expired in 1974, and the company suffered the State’s intervention, as did Channels 11 and 13. In the threatening climate of the dictatorship, Romay exiled himself to Puerto Rico. He would only return to Argentina after the return of democracy in 1983.
Romancing the audience
Romay was a true pioneer of different formats in the early years of Argentine television, specializing in highly successful genres as telenovelas and lengthy entertainment shows (locally known as “programas ómnibus”). Romay’s omnibus show, the long-running Sábados de la bondad, was designed to compete in the same slot against Nicolás “Pipo” Mancera’s Sábados circulares, which aired on another channel. Viewed in retrospect, Sábados de la bondad may be regarded as the first “benefitxploitation” programme, as it pitted charities against one another vying for substantial cash prizes or equipment, in the case of institutions such as hospitals. But while Mancera’s Sábados circulares... consisted mostly of wholesome music, dance and humorous numbers, Romay was wise enough to add an extra element that helped draw viewers to his programme: solidarity. The cash prize of one million pesos was garnered by one out of two institutions. The money was donated by audiences who voted for one or the other.
At the helm of Channel 9, Romay was behind successful telenovelas that became a hallmark of Argentine TV, some of which were later remade for the same medium. Compared to today’s network television, which has a high percentage of fiction shows imported from Mexico, Brazil and lately from Turkey, Romay pioneered the craft of creating and producing entire shows locally. In later years, the Romay-owned Teatro Nacional burnt during a performance of a revista led by Susana Giménez, in which the comedians parodied the military dictatorship. The theatre was rebuilt and reopened in 2000, with My Fair Lady as the first production.
After returning to Argentina in 1983, Romay founded the production company Telearte S.A., and won the bid for the Channel 9 broadcast licence. Romay’s best-remembered productions also include Grandes valores del tango (1963) and Feliz domingo para la juventud (1970). He created Teatro como en el teatro, a comedy series with Darío Vittori, Titanes en el ring, Música en libertad, and Alta comedia, a Saturday night staple featuring leading theatre personalities. With Romay at the helm, Channel 9 dominated the viewership ratings with such telenovelas as Amo y señor, Cosecharás tu siembra, La extraña dama, Más allá del horizonte, Ricos y famosos, and Una voz en el teléfono. According to viewership rating companies Ibope and the now defunct Mercados y Tendencias, Romay’s telenovelas peaked at 60 points during the 9pm primetime slot.
In 1997, Romay decided to pull out of television and, refusing to sell the business to Telefónica, he sold it to Australia’s Prime Media. Shortly thereafter, Channel 9 was transferred to Telefónica, while his radio stations were purchased by the Mexican consortium CIE, which had recently purchased the leading Rock & Pop from showbiz impresario Daniel Grinbank.
All things considered, Romay was the unrivalled Czar of Argentine television and the creator of business models later imitated in successful if unoriginal spin-offs, not to say copycats.
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