CBS marketing executive Ron Scalera dies at 49

Ron Scalera, a well-regarded marketing executive for CBS, died Wednesday after collapsing while on a walk near his home in Encino. He was 49. 

A native of Newark, N.J., Scalera had been with CBS since 1997 and shaped promotional campaigns for several of the network’s hit shows, including “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Good Wife” and “Undercover Boss.” He played a key role in crafting the image the network projected to both viewers and advertisers. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said Scalera’s work “graced the air of CBS every day.” 

In his years at the network, Scalera rose to executive vice president and creative director. Before that he was a senior marketing executive for Fox, where he was instrumental in much of that network’s early success through his promotion and branding campaigns. He started his career in local television as a junior writer and producer at WNYW-TV in New York. 

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; children, Rachel and Michael; and mother, Kathy, and brother, Paul, both of New Jersey.

-- Joe Flint