D. Thomas Miller, a former president of CBS Television Stations, died Thursday of a heart attack while driving in Massachusetts. He was 86.
As president of CBS Television Stations in the 1970s, Miller (pictured here with Muppets creator Jim Henson in 1975) championed “The Muppet Show” to fill local stations’ 7pm hour. The show was eventually picked up as a production, taped in association with CBS-owned television stations and sold in syndication.
Miller started his career in broadcasting as an assistant research director at ABC Radio and Television. Before joining CBS in 1967, he was general manager of Chicago’s WLS for three years. After seven years as president of CBS Television Stations, he continued his career at the CBS Broadcast Group as vice president of technical resources and later vice president of new ventures.