Weaver died of pneumonia Friday at his home in Santa Barbara, his wife, Elizabeth, confirmed to reporters over the weekend.
Since joining NBC during television's infancy in 1949, the Emmy-winning mastermind helped shape the way Americans watch the tube--developing new programming formats, putting the networks in charge of production and stripping away advertiser control of content. Being a former advertising exec himself, Weaver helped bring the "magazine concept" to TV, in which advertisers paid for spots without dictating content.
Weaver told the Los Angeles Times in 1999 that he "had been hired to guide television into what it had a chance of becoming."
Under Weaver's guidance as VP of television (he remained at NBC until 1955), the fledgling network launched such programs as Your Show of Shows, starring Sid Caesar, and The Colgate Comedy Hour. He also saved Meet the Press from cancellation and expanded programming beyond just prime time, developing both the Today and Tonight shows.
"Pat Weaver was the first major creative force in television programming and one of the most innovative executives in the history of television," NBC Chairman Bob Wright said in a statement. "Pat's influence on NBC is still seen by millions of viewers every day."
Born in Los Angeles, Weaver began his career in radio, working in San Francisco and New York and working for NBC before joining on with ad agency Young & Rubicam, where we worked on comedian Fred Allen's radio show.
During World War II, Weaver helped produce antifascist radio programs airing in South America. And following Pearl Harbor, he spent two years in the Navy and produced the armed-forces radio program Command Performance.
Weaver returned to advertising work after the war but finally made his way to NBC in 1949. During his stint at the network, Weaver also helped usher in the color-television era: In 1953, the Federal Communications Commission gave him permission to experiment with the technology, and NBC's first color broadcast was of the opera Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti.
Weaver became president of NBC in 1953, but he resigned two years later, after getting pushed out of the top spot by Robert Sarnoff--the son of David Sarnoff, chief of NBC's parent company, RCA.
After a brief return to advertising, Weaver took an early stab at pay-cable television in 1963 with Subscription Television. Inc., but the company filed for Chapter 11 and was sold in 1966, amid efforts by broadcasters to stop its growth.
For all his pioneering work, Weaver became one of the first members of Television Academy's Hall of Fame, inducted by daughter Sigourney during the 1998 Emmy Awards.
Weaver and his wife celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in January. He is survived by his wife and daughter, as well as a son, Trajan, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.