Burke also served as the president and chief operating officer of Capital Cities/ABC since 1972.
Burke first joined Capital Cities in 1961 as general manager of a TV station in Albany, and climbed the executive ladder at Capital Cities until 1986, when it acquired ABC.
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. is now ABC, Inc., part of the Walt Disney Company.
He received his B.A. from the University of Vermont in 1950, and then served as an infantry lieutenant in the Korean War in 1951 and 1952. He went on to get his M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1955.
President George H. W. Bush appointed Burke to the Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund in 1990.
Burke is being remembered as a man who stood for integrity and encouraged a balance of work and family life. He is survived by his wife and four children.
See photos of other notable people who have died in 2011.
ABC News contributed to this report.
