In 1985, when Ben Silverman was in junior high, he told his mom he needed to stay home from school to watch TV, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“He said, ‘Brandon Tartikoff’s mother let him stay home from school,’ ” Mary Silverman recalled in an interview Tuesday, referring to the legendary NBC entertainment president. “From the age of 10, Ben always wanted to be the head of NBC.”

So after graduating from Tufts University in 1992, she said, he headed for Los Angeles “with one wool suit and an un-air-conditioned Volkswagen in what was the hottest summer on record.”

Now her son is about to really feel the heat. The 36-year-old just became co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and of the NBC Universal Television Studio, sharing the newly created top job with Marc Graboff, 51, a lawyer and NBC Universal’s top TV executive on the West Coast.

Their mission is to hoist the once-proud peacock out of the ratings cellar and make it relevant in the Internet age.

Silverman, a former William Morris talent agent, seems to have the TV-show chops: His production firm, Reveille, is behind some popular properties, including NBC’s “The Office” and ABC’s “Ugly Betty.” He’s executive producer of several reality shows, including “Nashville Star” on USA Network, “Blow Out” on Bravo and “Date My Mom” and “Parental Control” on MTV.

Read the full L.A. Times story

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