Sonny Werblin

Who was Sonny Werblin?

David Abraham "Sonny" Werblin was a prominent entertainment industry executive and sports impresario who was an owner of the New York Jets, Chairman of Madison Square Gardens, and who built and managed the Meadowlands Sports Complex.

Weblin was born in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Rutgers University, he went to work for Music Corporation of America in 1932 and was so successful that in 1951 he was made president of M.C.A.'s television division.

At M.C.A., Werblin made a considerable name at identifying and managing talent. His managed list of major stars were a who's who in not only music, but also movies and television. During the 1950s and 1960s, Werblin led a production team that developed television shows for all three major networks, an off-shoot of his ability to manage the stars that were featured in them. The list of top-rated television shows M.C.A. developed under Werblin, again, is lengthy. His power as a ' star-handler ' was such that eventually forces in the entertainment industry combined against him and M.C.A., resulting in lawsuits in 1962. The company's ability to manage stars would curtailed greatly under new industry rules after that point. Up to then, he had been known in management circles as " Mr. Show Biz ", his power in the industry having been so great.