Top television PR executives gathered at the Steven J. Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. lot Saturday to pay their respects to Robert Pietranton, Warner Bros. Television Group’s SVP Publicity & Communications who died suddenly Nov. 19 at the age of 56.
Attending the Celebration of Life was the leadership of WBTV, where Pietranton spent the last two decades, including Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of the Warner Bros. Television Group; Brett Paul, President of Warner Bros. Television; and Clancy Collins White, WBTV President of Creative Affairs.
Paul spoke on behalf of the studio at the event.
“Robert was not just someone you worked with — Robert was someone you relied on. When someone like that is just suddenly gone, the absence is felt immediately and profoundly,” Paul said. “Robert was a consummate professional — steady, thoughtful, thorough, dedicated and quietly essential. He moved through this business with dignity and care, showing up prepared and dependable day after day, without ever asking to be noticed for it. He didn’t seek attention. He didn’t need affirmation. He simply did the work — and he did it exceptionally well.”
Paul shared a fun anecdote of how Pietranton would always call him “Sir” over his repeated objections until Paul gave up and started calling him “Sir” too.
“It showed the respect he naturally carried for others and wanted to show them,” Paul said. “That respect wasn’t reserved for titles or positions. It was how he treated everyone.”
Paul also spoke of Pietranton’s love for the studio, noting that the PR executive used the WB water tower as his virtual background for every Zoom meeting, of Pietranton’s ability to remain calm under pressure and to “work without complaint and without the need for personal aggrandizement or recognition,” adding that “he actively shied away from it” and “believed the work mattered more than the credit, and the people mattered more than the noise that often surrounds our business.”
Pietranton’s longtime friend Stuart Levine, a TV communications executive at NBCUniversal, went further.
“Attention paid to Robert was like asking him to eat poison mushrooms. He despised people making a fuss over him,” he said. “Any spotlight of Robert was the physical equivalent of that same spotlight hitting a vampire. He would melt. He didn’t like it.”
Levine referenced the numerous Bruce Springsteen concerts he, Pietranton and Pietranton’s other close friend, David Shaw — all big fans of the Boss –attended together over the years.
“Instead of seeking the limelight and touting his own personal accomplishments, what he really relished was to be part of a team,” Levine said. “For all the Bruce Springsteen concerts that we attended – and there were many – we rarely ever sat together. For Robert, the best seat in the house for a Bruce show was always behind the stage. When I asked him why he wanted to sit back there, he said repeatedly, “It feels like I’m part of the band.”
Added Levine, “That was his mantra. Be part of a collective unit. Do a good job. Do it without attention. Give the spotlight to your friends and colleagues and make them look good. Just make sure the work gets done.”
Levine also spoke of Pietranton’s passion for mentorship and helping young men and women coming out of college get their start in this business.
Additionally, “he was incredibly generous,” Levine added. “One time when some of the coordinators in the office were going to lunch, he quietly handed one of them at $100 bill and said lunch was on him. His tipping was off the charts. 30% for every meal. Even when he was taking out. Who does that?”
Speeches by other friends of Pietranton and his brother Ryan revealed him to be a devoted brother, uncle and godfather who loved and spoiled his nephews and godson.
While he loved spending money on others, Pietranton rarely did it on himself. As Levine pointed out, for may years, he would drive the same Ford Explorer, even when it “had about 200,000 miles on it, the side view mirror was barely hanging on with duct tape, and the glove compartment wouldn’t close.”
In addition to sharing stories about Pietranton, attendees at the Celebration of Life had a selection of pins to choose from that reflected his passions, including Bruce Springsteen, The West Wing, The Wire, Snoopy, European soccer (primarily the Premier League and the Italian national team) and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
English (US) ·