Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein; May 27 1923) is majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain. Through National Amusements, Sumner Redstone and his family are majority owners of CBS Corporation, Viacom, and MTV Networks, BET, and movie production and distribution Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks movie studios, and are equal partners in MovieTickets.com.

Early life and career

Sumner was born to Jewish parents in Boston, Massachusetts Belle (née Ostrovsky) and Michael Redstone.Sumner Redstone Biography (1923-) His family's name was changed from Rothstein to Redstone when Sumner was 17. His father was the owner of the Northeast Theater Corporation in Dedham, Massachusetts--the forerunner of National Amusements.Weddings/Celebrations: Paula Fortunato, Sumner M. Redstone, The New York Times, April 6, 2003 He also owned the Boston branch of the Latin Quarter Nightclub.www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8005517.html

Redstone attended the prestigious Boston Latin School, where he graduated first in his class. He then attended Harvard College, where he completed his B.A. in three years. Later, Redstone served in World War II, serving with the team that decoded Japanese messages for the United States Army.Cf. "The Highwaymen" by Ken Auletta. Auletta also wrote that Redstone finished his Harvard undergraduate degree in two and a half years. Upon completion of his Army service, he worked in Washington, D.C. and attended Georgetown University Law School. He transferred into Harvard Law School and received his LL.B., later amended to a Juris Doctor, from that institution.