Robert Naify

The son of a Lebanese immigrant who founded movie houses in the United States, Mr. Naify was born in Sacramento and raised in San Francisco with a brother, Marshall, and a sister, Georgette. He and his brother followed in their father’s footsteps and built an empire, while his sister, nicknamed Dodie, became the internationally renowned jet-setter Dodie Rosekrans. The small group of independent theaters that the family owned, United Cal, grew into United Artists Theatres Inc. — no relation to the film company — and after the acquisition of cable companies, into United Artists Communications Inc., which Mr. Naify ran as co-CEO with his brother. The two also partnered with Hollywood film producer Michael Todd, a husband of Elizabeth Taylor’s, in Todd-AO, at one time the largest sound studio in the world. The brothers sold United Artists, with about 1,110 theaters in its fold, to Tele-Communications Inc. in 1986 for a reported $390 million. Todd-AO was sold to Liberty Media in 1999. Mr. Naify was nevertheless drawn to the very public spectacle of horse racing. He was an investor in the limited liability company that owned California Chrome, the horse that won this year’s Dubai World Cup, as well as the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2014. He was also a commercial real estate investor who owned prime property around Union Square, as well as a golf enthusiast who owned the Marbella Golf & Country Club in Spain. His philanthropic efforts included the donation of the Michael A. and Hanna Naify gallery to the Palace of the Legion of Honor in memory of his parents, and the Robert A. Naify A/Fib Center at UCSF after he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a heart irregularity, four years ago. Mr. Naify attended Grant Elementary, Lowell High School and Stanford University and was married three times. His first wife, Barbara, was the mother of three children, his second was Francesca Cortesi, and his third, Jan Van De Bos Naify, was his partner for almost 19 years before they wed a year ago on April 6. In addition to his wife, Mr. Naify is survived by two daughters, Leslie Naify of Los Altos and Christie Naify Stadnick of San Francisco; a son, Mark Naify, of Sonoma; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.