Bert Robert Briller, longtime writer, ABC TV exec, ad maven and media critic, died March 22 in Chicago from complications of multiple myeloma he had battled for several years. He was 82.
Briller's career began after college when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and worked on the first Air Force newsletter the Beacon. After the war, Briller freelanced for several publications and worked for radio station WNEW's publicity department before joining
Variety in 1949 for a three-year stint as a reporter and critic. His
Variety sig was "Bril."
In 1953 he joined ABC as an assistant to the president before rising to vice president of creative services and secretary of the network's executive committee.
After nine years Briller left ABC for the advertising world where he spent two years as an account executive at Richard K. Manoff's agency and two years at MPO.
He was then invited to join the New York City Television Information Office, which was created to counter the scapegoating of TV for "real" inequities, violence and problems in society. Briller was executive editor of TIO for 20 years until it was dissolved.
At the time of his death Briller was vice chairman of Television Quarterly journal of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
He is survived by wife Sara, a daughter, three grandchildren and two sisters.
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