John L. Tatta, Urban Cable Pioneer and Cablevision Co-Founder, Dies at 84.

BETHPAGE, N.Y. -- John L. Tatta, urban cable industry pioneer, who, as a founding executive and board member, helped build Cablevision Systems Corporation into one of the nation's leading telecommunication companies, died Thursday, February 3 on Long Island of complications from bone cancer. He was 84.

One of the first executives in a new industry that would become cable television, Mr. Tatta contributed many firsts to the field in a career that spanned nearly four decades. In 1966, at Cablevision's predecessor, Sterling Manhattan Cable Television, he partnered with company founder and industry leader Charles F. Dolan in New York City to build and market the nation's first urban cable system. Mr. Tatta also helped pioneer the cablecasting of New York Knicks and Rangers games from Madison Square Garden in 1967, when Sterling Manhattan became the first cable television operator to win exclusive professional sports rights. Six years later, in 1972, he spearheaded construction of the cable system on Long Island.

John Louis Tatta was born on April 27, 1920 in New York City. He grew up on the Lower East Side and graduated from Manhattan's prestigious Stuyvesant High School. Mr. Tatta studied civil engineering at City College of New York before entering the job market in 1943 as an installer at Dictograph, an interoffice communications equipment company, where he worked for 23 years in positions of increasing responsibility.

Mr. Tatta joined Charles Dolan at Sterling Manhattan Cable Television in 1966. One of the company's first employees, he oversaw the challenging task of laying underground cable in Manhattan as executive vice president and director of operations.

In 1973, following the sale of Sterling Manhattan's New York cable system and the birth of Cablevision, Mr. Tatta joined the new company and helped to expand the first cable television system on Long Island. Beginning with a 50-mile network in Nassau County, the new system cablecast games from Madison Square Garden.

Mr. Tatta was appointed president of Cablevision in 1981, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. Since its inception, Mr. Tatta worked tirelessly to ensure Cablevision's internal growth and external impact, and remained an active board member and company consultant until his death.

Those who knew him described Mr. Tatta as a colorful figure, larger than life, who treated colleagues and friends as extended family and counted employees at every level of the company as close friends for whom he always found time. He spoke in a straightforward, streetwise style that made him a popular industry figure.

"I had the honor of working closely with John for almost 40 years, and I am indebted to him for whatever success we have enjoyed at Cablevision and our predecessor companies," noted Cablevision Founder and Chairman Charles F. Dolan. "John was a wonderful man, skilled executive and an irreplaceable friend and I am thankful for the privilege of his participation and partnership. He will be sorely missed, both personally and professionally."

In addition to Cablevision, Mr. Tatta served on the board of directors of St. Francis Hospital, the National Cable Television Association and the Columbus Citizens Association. He was honored by the Dante Foundation of Nassau County in 1994 for his extensive community service and charitable donations.

Mr. Tatta is survived by his wife, the former Anne Frasca, whom he married in 1949; two daughters, Deborah DeCabia and Lisa Crowley, of Oyster Bay, NY and eight grandchildren.