Following the announcementon Tuesday that Viacom president and COO Mel Karmazin will be succeeded by TomFreston and Les Moonves, Viacom Entertainment Group chairman Jonathan Dolgenhas resigned. He will leave the company on July 15.

Dolgen, who has overseenParamount Pictures for over a decade, leaves behind a studio which has had atroubled couple of years and has a crucial year of expensive non-sequelreleases ahead including The Stepford Wives, Sky Captain And The World OfTomorrow, Sahara, The Manchurian Candidate and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

"Due to the recentlyannounced changes in Viacom's management structure, the time was right for meto step aside," said Dolgen in a statement released today. "It has been aprivilege to work with Sumner Redstone for more than a decade and to haveparticipated in the growth and success of Viacom. In Tom and Les, Sumner has chosen exceptional executives tohelp him lead this company well into the future.

"I couldn't be more proud ofthe operations I'm leaving behind, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount TV,Simon & Schuster, Famous Players, and Paramount Parks, and theextraordinary executives who lead them. I have been especially fortunate tohave worked so closely with my partner Sherry Lansing, one of the true greatsin the motion picture industry. Together we have been able to make greatpictures and contribute to Viacom's overall performance. It has been a greatrun. I am looking forward to taking the summer off,and then beginning the next chapter of my life."

"Jon is one of the best andmost innovative managers in our industry or in any industry," said Redstone,Chairman and CEO of Viacom, in the same statement. "Under his leadership overthe past decade, Paramount has been known for making great pictures and makingthem profitably. Under his watch, Paramount has won three Academy Awards forBest Picture, run one of the most successful television production operationsin the industry, and pioneered the concept of co-financing and financialdiscipline since emulated by other motion picture companies. It has been one ofmy great pleasures to work closely with Jon."