John Cronopulos

John Cronopulos passed away on November 7th in Newport, Rhode Island, after a brief illness. He was 83 years old and a longtime resident of New York City and East Hampton, NY. John was the youngest of three sons of Photos (Mr. Frank) and Lucia (Comninos) Cronopulos. He was born in Manhattan on April 7, 1940, attended Martin Van Buren High School and graduated from NYU, School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance with a degree in Economics. John developed a lifelong love of baseball and the New York (San Francisco) Giants attending games at the Polo Grounds with his father. He frequently escorted his mother to Broadway matinees on Saturdays and rarely missed an opportunity to point out he had seen the original cast when revivals of The King and I, Camelot, West Side Story and others were at the theatre or on the radio.

John began his career and passion for advertising and media, as a trainee for Ted Bates & Co, an opportunity which almost slipped away when offered the position for $80 a week. "You've got to be kidding. I make $150 a night in tips tending bar for my father," he responded. The manager who had been instructed to hire him, asked him to follow him to the door, opened it and said, "See those three? Harvard, Yale and Princeton. They'll take the $80 in a split second. Why don't you sleep on it and get back to me tomorrow." Upon returning home and telling his father he wasn't dumb enough to accept such a low offer, he learned his position at the bar had been eliminated. He took the job.

John was recruited by the American Broadcast Company (ABC Network) becoming the Director of Network News Sales, as World News Tonight, Nightline and 20/20 were launching, a fast paced and unbelievably exciting 10 years. He subsequently joined USA Network where he spent 18 years, in various roles including Vice President of Sports Advertising Sales and Special Events. John had a deep abiding affection for his colleagues, loved the give and take of negotiating with clients, and most of all the sheer joy of being part of the US Open, the French Open, The Masters, The Ryder Cup and the many events USA Network carried.

He was a member of the New York Athletic Club for 48 years and a Chevalier du Tastevin, the Fraternity of Knights of the Wine-Tasters Cup, (Burgundy wine connoisseurs) for 17 years, sponsored by his good friend Dr. Liem Nguyen. John was a quintessential New York character; larger than life, brash, never boring, generous to a fault, full of malapropisms, and like many city boys, could really cut a rug. In John's case, his brother Nick's wives (Cuban, Columbian and Dominican) ensured there was no slouching in that department.

He leaves his wife of 37 years, Meg Ventura, a daughter, Anissa Raiford of Seminole, Florida, a son, John Francis Cronopulos (Wenjue Wu) of Hong Kong, a granddaughter, Athena (Junior) Halapio, a great grandson, Kanan Halapio, the mother of his daughter, Janet Long, all of Seminole, and twenty nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers Angelo and Nikolaos Cronopulos and his grandson Bryce Raiford.

A memorial service will be held at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Astoria, New York on Sunday, December 10th at 9:30 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the NYAC Athlete's Fund (nyac.org)