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He also drove employees slightly crazy with his mania for details. Chao recalls having to re-edit a promotional spot for the series Cops 15 times before Diller was satisfied. His combative style was stimulating to some, debilitating to others. "It's the yell-in-your-face school of management," says an ex-staffer. But for Diller, passionate argument is not just a matter of temperament; it is a management philosophy. "Arguing out of conviction and belief is positive to the creative process," he says. "Years ago I started to worry, How do you keep your instincts clean? How do you get to what you really think, rather than just repeating the morning line? To make the fewest mistakes, you've got to find out where the real opinion or passion lies. And that only comes alive in argument."
Diller's fans -- of whom there are many, at least on the record -- attribute his success also to his business acumen and showman's instincts. "He is the least cynical man I know," says Peter Chernin, now head of Fox's film division. "He has antennae for the kind of cynicism that says, 'We don't like this, but the idiots out there will.' " Says Michael Ovitz, head of the Creative Artists Agency: "In this business there are good analytical, practical and creative minds, but very few who combine all three. Barry can read a balance sheet, read a script, and forward-think."
Murdoch was most impressed with Diller's attention to detail and tight hand on the purse strings. "He was a very conservative manager," says Murdoch. "He would arm-wrestle movie producers for months." But after Murdoch moved to Los Angeles and started taking a more active role in his entertainment company, Diller began to chafe. "I never really felt I worked for Rupert Murdoch," he says. "I made decisions as if I owned the place." A turning point came at a News Corp. board meeting in the summer of 1991, when Diller made some suggestions that seemed to be ignored. "I had the feeling I was an unwanted voice chiming in," he says. "I thought, 'My God, I really am an employee.' " Diller asked if Murdoch could create a principal ownership role for him in the company. When Murdoch said no, Diller decided to leave.
He spent much of his interregnum visiting computer, cable and other high- tech firms, trying to scope out who would have the upper hand in the new information age. He also tried some restorative time off. In June he set out on a cross-country drive, renting a Chrysler convertible in Miami and wending his way along the Gulf Coast through towns like Pensacola and Biloxi. But the summer heat and stale motel air left him dehydrated, and by the time he reached Little Rock, he was running a 100 degrees fever.
Little Rock? When Barry Diller wanders the country, even unemployed, he doesn't touch base with just the common folk. Though his fever put a damper on his private dinner with Bill and Hillary Clinton, Diller still mustered some typical words of advice for the future President. The primaries were over, but Ross Perot's popularity was starting to worry the Clinton camp. "I told him, 'You've won. Act like it.' " It's one piece of advice Barry Diller will never need. Winner or not, he always acts like it.