Born in New York City on December 19, 1921, Stone served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he enlisted in 1942.
In 1951, he was hired by the American Broadcasting Company, where he ultimately was named as vice president and general manager of WABC-TV, the network's flagship station in New York City.
[1][3] Many of the commercials in what started as a $12.6 million advertising campaign were run initially during telecasts of football games, with the slogan "The Superstar in Rent-A-Car".
[4][5] Columbia Pictures hired him in 1978 as its chief operating officer, overseeing the studio's television division until his retirement in 1983.
[2] Stone died at age 87 on January 28, 2009, at his winter home in Boca Grande, Florida due to heart failure.