Ted Turner

Turner was married three times. His first marriage, to Judy Nye, produced Laura and Robert Edward Turner IV, known as Teddy. He later married Jane Smith, with whom he had Rhett, Beau, and Jennie.

In 1991, Turner married actress and activist Jane Fonda. They divorced in 2001, but remained close friends and continued to speak regularly and attend charitable events together.

Turner joined his father’s billboard company in 1960 and took control of the business after his father’s death in 1963. He stabilized the heavily indebted company, expanded it across the Southeast, and renamed it Turner Communications Group. His interest in broadcasting led him to purchase a struggling UHF station in Atlanta in 1970, followed by another station in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Turner filled the stations with old films, television reruns, professional wrestling, and Atlanta Braves baseball. He used satellite technology to transmit the Atlanta station, first known as WTCG and later as WTBS, to cable providers throughout the United States. The service became television’s first superstation and gave viewers across the country access to Braves games, helping the team become known as “America’s Team.”

Turner launched Cable News Network, or CNN, on June 1, 1980. It was the first 24-hour all-news television network, an idea that many broadcasting professionals initially considered impractical. CNN’s use of satellite technology enabled live coverage from around the world and changed how breaking news was produced and delivered.

Turner expanded the company with CNN Headline News, CNN International, TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies. He also acquired the MGM film library, which contained thousands of films, and attracted controversy by colorizing some black-and-white classics. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner. Turner became a vice chairman and continued overseeing the company’s cable networks before resigning from the position in 2003 and leaving its board in 2006.

CNN’s coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91 demonstrated the reach of Turner’s around-the-clock news model. Time magazine named him its Man of the Year in 1991.

Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and the Atlanta Hawks in 1977. The teams supplied valuable programming for his growing cable operation, while national broadcasts helped build a wider following for the Braves. Under his ownership, the Braves won five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series. Turner also created the Goodwill Games in 1986, an international athletic competition intended to ease tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Turner was an accomplished competitive sailor. He piloted the yacht Courageous to victory in the 1977 America’s Cup and won the dangerous 1979 Fastnet Race aboard Tenacious. His sailing achievements led to inductions into the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

After stepping back from the media business, Turner devoted much of his attention to philanthropy, environmental protection, and international security. He founded the Turner Foundation in 1990 and later established the United Nations Foundation. He also co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with former senator Sam Nunn in 2001, focusing on reducing the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction.

Turner’s conservation work centered on his ranches and the restoration of bison and other threatened species. His properties supported habitat protection, sustainable land management, and ecotourism. He founded the Turner Endangered Species Fund in 1997 and maintained one of the world’s largest privately managed bison herds.

Turner co-created the animated environmental series Captain Planet and the Planeteers with Barbara Pyle and helped establish the Captain Planet Foundation. In 2002, he co-founded Ted’s Montana Grill with restaurateur George McKerrow, a restaurant chain built around bison and environmental practices. He also wrote the 2008 autobiography Call Me Ted.