Donald Victor Petroni died at the age of 88 on February 7, 2020. Don and his beloved wife, Ann, previously from Los Angeles, had retired in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Donald grew up in Reno, Nevada, son of Victor & Mary, and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1952. He attended Stanford Graduate School of English before serving in the Army’s counter intelligence in Vienna, Austria and Trieste, Italy. He returned to complete his law degree at Stanford in 1958 and joined the O’Melveny & Myers law firm upon graduation.
Don specialized in international law at Columbia University in 1962 leading to his selection to open the O’Melveny office in Paris. He returned with his family to California in 1968 and went on to head the Entertainment Department at O’Melveny spearheading ground-breaking contracts for actors like William Holden, Burt Reynolds, Shirley Temple Black, Ursula Andress and others. He also represented the International Olympic Committee, negotiating contracts with TV networks covering Summer and Winter Olympic Games from 1988 to 2004. Don also represented titans of the industry such as Jerry Perenchio and Norman Lear in their hugely successful television ventures like TAT/Tandem and later the Univision Network.
Don was a bon vivant. During his years in Paris he developed an appreciation for fine food and wine. He achieved the Chevalier du Tastevin Certification in 1968, attended the Cordon Bleu Cooking School and returned annually to St. Moritz for the Cresta Run. He loved life. In 1993 he fulfilled his dream of building his ‘castle’ in Santa Ynez, growing grapes & olives, and making wine from his Italian Sangiovese vines.
Don is survived by his wife Ann and his children, Lisa Petroni Osur (Rochester, NY), Victor H. Petroni (Marlborough, CT) from his previous marriage to Abby Richmond, Alvah Chisholm Halle (deceased) Pamela King Halle (Los Angeles) Samuel Horatio Halle ll, wife Courtney (Manhattan Beach, CA), Michael Gelston Halle (Portland, OR) and 10 grand children. Also surviving Don are brothers Robert Petroni (Las Vegas, NV) and Edward Petroni (wife Marcia, Sun City, AZ).
Don is laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery in Ballard, California. Services will take place on Saturday, March 21st at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Los Olivos, California at 11:00 am, followed by a celebration of his life at the Hitching Post II in Buelton, California.
In lieu of flowers contributions can be made in his name to Stanford Law School (by mail to 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305-8610) or online at law. stanford.edu/give, or to The Colleagues, 3312 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405.
