21 Facts About Les Moonves

1. Les Moonves was a year old when his family moved to the Long Island town of Valley Stream.

2. Les Moonves was born on October 6, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York.

3. Les Moonves became part of a controversy after he led CBS to file a $500 million lawsuit against Howard Stern on February 28, 2006.

4. Les Moonves is an American media executive and former actor.

5. Les Moonves is in a legal fight with CBS over a $120 million severance payment.

6. The Times reported that Les Moonves has set up shop at the famed 9000 Sunset Boulevard office tower.

7. In 1978, Les Moonves married Nancy Wiesenfeld, with whom he has three children including W magazine style director Sara Moonves.

8. Les Moonves appeared on the September 8, 2015, premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, operating a large switch he could use to switch back to reruns of The Mentalist if he was unhappy with the new program.

9. Les Moonves was placed under investigation by the CBS board.

10. Les Moonves worked as one of casting director Caro Jones' first office assistants early in her career.

11. Les Moonves landed a few parts, playing tough guys on Cannon and The Six Million Dollar Man, which he described as "forgettable" TV roles, before deciding on the career change.

12. Les Moonves has one sister, Melissa Moonves Colon, and two brothers, including entertainment attorney Jonathan Moonves.

13. Les Moonves had held a series of executive positions at CBS from July 1995 to September 2018.

14. Les Moonves appeared on the September 8, 2015 premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, operating a large switch he could use to switch back to reruns of The Mentalist if he was unhappy with the new program.

15. From early 2004 until its end in May 2015, Les Moonves made regular appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.

16. Les Moonves was subsequently placed under investigation by the CBS board.

17. Les Moonves has been on the board of ZeniMax Media since its foundation in 1999, alongside his friend and ZeniMax president Ernest Del.

18. In February 2006, Les Moonves led CBS to file a $500 million lawsuit against Howard Stern for allegedly breaching his contract by failing to disclose the details of his deal with Sirius Satellite Radio while still employed by Infinity Broadcasting.

19. In 2013, Les Moonves was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

20. In February 2005, Les Moonves was identified as the executive directly responsible for ordering the cancellation of UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise and the ending of the 18-year revival of the Star Trek television franchise.

21. Les Moonves joined Lorimar Television in 1985 as executive in charge of its movies and mini-series, and in 1988, became head of creative affairs.