Roger Ailes

NEW YORK — Roger Ailes, the communications maestro who transformed TV news by creating Fox News Channel only to be ousted from his media empire for alleged sexual harassment, died Thursday, according to his wife, Elizabeth Ailes. He was 77.

Ailes died after a fall May 10 at his Palm Beach, Fla., home caused bleeding on the brain, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

A former GOP operative to candidates including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump, Ailes created a TV network that changed the face of 24-hour news.

In early 1996, he accepted a challenge from media titan Rupert Murdoch to build a news network from scratch to compete with CNN and other TV outlets deemed left-leaning.

In October 1996, Ailes flipped the switch on Fox News Channel, which within a few years became the audience leader in cable news.

His legacy and job unraveled following allegations by former anchor Gretchen Carlson that he had forced her out of Fox News after she spurned his sexual advances. The lawsuit quickly triggered accounts from more than 20 women with similar stories.

Despite Ailes’ staunch denials, 21st Century Fox corporate head Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, determined that Ailes had to go. The announcement was made on July 21.

Brash and bombastic, he was renowned for never giving in, for being ever confrontational with a chip on his shoulder and a blistering outburst at the ready.

Ailes is survived by his third wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Zachary.