Orison Swett Marden III

1931 - 2017 Born in Scarsdale, New York, Ori was the son of Orison Swett Marden II, an attorney who served as President of the New York and American Bar Associations, and the former Virginia McAvoy. His grandfather, Orison Swett Marden, was an inspirational writer who was well known for his books about life and how to go about living it. Orison died of natural causes at the age of 85. He was a man of wisdom and great integrity with a sharp wit. He was much loved and will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Orison joined Columbia Pictures in 1981 as Vice President - Labor Relations for Columbia Pictures and Columbia Pictures Television and, in 1984, was named Senior Vice President - Labor Relations, Filmed Entertainment for Columbia. He retired from Columbia in 1988 and became an independent Labor Relations Consultant until finally retiring in 1997. Before Columbia, Ori worked for CBS Television for more than 20 years. He was Vice President - Labor Relations for CBS in Los Angeles from 1978 to 1981. He began working for CBS in 1957 in its Radio Network Sales operation in New York. After serving in a variety of production positions for CBS Radio Network, CBS News, CBS Television Network Operations, he was promoted to Assistant Director - Labor Relations in 1967. Orison was Director - Labor Relations for CBS in Los Angeles from 1971 to 1978. Orison graduated from Trinity College in Connecticut in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He went on to serve as a Special Agent in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps from 1953 to 1955. He lived in Sherman Oaks with his love of 40 years, Marilyn Fischer. Along with Marilyn, Ori is survived by his daughters, Jennifer Marden, Wende Sinnaeve, Leslie Ragsdale, Melissa Novell and Debra Fischer and his six grandchildren, Lanie, Lindsay, John, Julia, Samantha and Emily. He was preceded in death by his brother, John Newcomb Marden, and his grandson, Joe. It was Orison's wish that there be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) - contact www.mptf.com.