Remembering the Many Moods of Ben Silverman

Ben Silverman's departure today from NBC Universal marks the end of a particularly volatile era at the network, but not necessarily due to any fault of Silverman's own. As you consider life after Ben -- including some of the outgoing executive's more mercurial moods collected after the jump -- you'll come to realize this guy was always more chameleon than peacock. And you'll miss him more than you probably think.

1. The Classic: Silverman's signature look -- young and fresh, with a grin made for the press line and a gaze that whispers, "Come for the open collar, stay for the eyebrows."

2. The Dealmaker: Running a network isn't all bike rides and locker-room shenanigans. You've gotta be ready to take calls -- even while receiving a blow job in traffic, as this lap's-eye back-seat view suggests.

3. The Man of Leisure: While Jeff Zucker spent last holiday season gutting his entertainment division, Silverman followed his instincts to the slopes of Park City, Utah. An office bloodbath was never an excuse not to enjoy the finer things, especially if it's for charity.

4. The Performance Artist: Many of Silverman's harshest critics have insisted that his entire tenure at NBCU was an extended art piece -- a fully immersed, existential commentary on how puny individuals do battle in the Celebrity-Industrial Complex. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but there's little better evidence than his locker-room blues duet with Fisher Stevens to support that theory.

5. The Big Kid: Taking a cue from such youthful, casual institutions as Google and Pixar, back-lot bike rides went a long way to help clear young Ben's mind and develop such hit programming as Knight Rider and/or my Own Worst Enemy. All of which he espoused in his mood as...

6. The Philosopher: See the above clip from the Charlie Rose Show to hear Silverman's trenchant ideas on "how people consume content." Barry Diller is going into business with that mind.

7. The Killer: Smooth, persuasive and lethal. Especially for his own network.

8. The Slave to the Grind: Meetings, stress, speculation... Ben Silverman could never be accused of not giving everything he had to his job. Except in those cases when he rolled into the office directly from an all-night white-tiger party. Can you tell the difference?

9. The Gladhander: No soft-hearted talent (including The Office's Melora Hardin, pictured here), hard-nosed exec or cutthroat agent (well, maybe one) who could resist Silverman's touchy-feely, million-watt charm. Once a survivor, always a survivor.