In 1963, three men from the Philadelphia area bought a small cable television system in Tupelo, Mississippi, for $500,000. One of them, Ralph Roberts, became the name people remember as the founder. Another, Daniel Aaron, kept operations in order. The third, Julian Brodsky, was the one who raised the money. Brodsky died Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 93. He was the last of the three.

From the Army to the books

Julian A. Brodsky was born in Philadelphia on July 16, 1933. He graduated from Overbrook High School and from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, served two years in the Army and worked as an accountant and auditor. Along the way, PhillyVoice reported, he developed an interest in cable television.

Tupelo

Roberts had come to cable from another business entirely. According to Wikipedia, he ran the Pioneer Suspender Company and used the proceeds to start buying local businesses. The Los Angeles Times described the 1963 purchase in 2013 as American Cable Systems, a cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi, bought for $500,000. Brodsky, Roberts and Aaron worked out of an office near Philadelphia. The company took the name Comcast in 1969.

The man with the foot on the gas

Wikipedia describes the three partners as a threesome driving a car: Brodsky stepping on the gas by raising the capital for growth, Aaron with his foot on the brakes to keep operations in order, and Roberts with his hands on the steering wheel as chief executive. Brodsky was the company’s longtime chief financial officer. PhillyVoice reported that he worked to secure capital for Comcast’s growth and oversaw its acquisitions of smaller companies, and that Comcast credited him with showing investors, in cable’s early days, that the business had long-term value.

The milestones:

• 1963: Brodsky, Roberts and Aaron buy the Tupelo system for $500,000.
• 1969: The company takes the name Comcast.
• 1972: Comcast goes public. PhillyVoice reported that Brodsky played a key role in the IPO.
• 1999: Brodsky and Roberts co-found Comcast Ventures, the company’s investment group for early-stage technology startups.
• 2004: He becomes non-executive vice chairman.
• 2011: He retires after seven years in that role.

He was inducted into the Cable Television Hall of Fame and received the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership. Comcast chairman Brian Roberts, Ralph Roberts’s son, called him a “brilliant financial mind and one of the architects of cable television.” “He was one of the most creative financiers of his generation,” Roberts said, “but just as important, he established a culture of financial integrity, uncompromising standards, and respect for colleagues that remains at the heart of our company today.”

The last of the three

Aaron died in 2003, according to a New York Times obituary headlined “Daniel Aaron, 77, a Founder of Comcast Cable Television.” Roberts died June 18, 2015, at 95. That left Brodsky as the only founder still living when he died.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

Away from Comcast, Brodsky was a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for almost three decades. His wife, Lois, volunteered there as a museum guide for more than 30 years. Less than two weeks before he died, the couple announced a $20 million donation to the museum, PhillyVoice reported. It will pay for a new education center, expected to include a visitor orientation area, a community hub, art studios and a learning center for families. Plans for the center are not expected to be complete until next summer.

Quick facts

• Born: July 16, 1933, Philadelphia
• Died: Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 93
• Education: Overbrook High School; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Career: Co-founder and longtime chief financial officer of Comcast; non-executive vice chairman 2004-2011
• Honors: Cable Television Hall of Fame; NCTA Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership

The last headline

Comcast announced Brodsky’s death on Friday, Nov. 6. The company did not state a cause of death. He is survived by his wife, Lois, three daughters and four grandchildren. His family plans a private memorial service and will hold a celebration of life at a later date.

Roberts steered, Aaron braked, and Brodsky stepped on the gas. Of the three men who bought a cable system in Tupelo in 1963, he was the last to let go of the wheel.

Sources

• PhillyVoice, Julian Brodsky, who co-founded Comcast and turned it into a cable TV giant, dies at 93
• Wikipedia, Julian Brodsky
• Wikipedia, Ralph J. Roberts
• Los Angeles Times, Comcast earnings and the 50th anniversary of the Tupelo purchase (Feb. 13, 2013)
• New York Times, Daniel Aaron, 77, a Founder of Comcast Cable Television (Feb. 24, 2003)