Barry Reardon with wife Marsha at home in Orchid Island. “In spite of our years in California, we’ve always been East Coasters at heart,” says Reardon. “Vero Beach brings us the East Coast plus some of that California sunshine.” The couple’s daughter, Lisa, is now an associate producer with Warner Brothers.
It began with a chance meeting on a flight from New York to Los Angeles. The year was 1967 and Barry Reardon, a 37-year-old executive with Litton Industries, was on his way to a business meeting. Sitting next to him as the plane took off was a big, bluff man he knew he’d seen in the newspapers though he couldn’t quite place him.
A few minutes later, the stranger introduced himself as Charles Bluhdorn, the chairman of Gulf & Western. The two men began chatting as the 707 rumbled westward and Bluhdorn suddenly grew attentive when Reardon mentioned his work as one of Litton’s financial troubleshooters.
“In a few months I might have a job for someone like you,” he said. “I’m in the process of buying Paramount Pictures, and I’ll need people with a strong financial background.”
Read the entire article in the Summer 2002 issue
True Tails is a series written by Amy Robinson for Vero Beach’s dog lovers. Ask Amy about your dog’s behavior by clicking below.
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