Ted Turner CNN Founder Dead at 87
Media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner has died after battling dementia.
Turner Enterprises announced Ted died Wednesday morning. Back in 2018, he announced he'd been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. That announcement came shortly after his 80th birthday.
In addition to launching the world's first 24/7 news channel, the Cable News Network, in 1980 ... Ted created a media empire that included TBS Superstation, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and at one time, most of MGM Studios' film library.
The billionaire entrepreneur -- who got his media start in advertising -- is credited with shaping cable TV ... and most of the channels he launched remain staples today in your basic cable offerings.
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2/17/13
THE LAST TIME WE SAW HIM
Turner eventually merged his massive media holdings with Time Warner.
Nicknamed the "Mouth of the South," Ted also bought the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks in the early 1970s, and later World Championship Wrestling. He also won the America's Cup yachting race in 1977, which landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year.
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He famously married Jane Fonda in 1991, before divorcing 10 years later. He'd been married two times before that -- to Julia Nye and Jane Shirly Smith -- and had 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson said, “Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
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THROUGH THE YEARS
While he'll certainly be remembered as a media pioneer, Ted cared deeply about conservation, an owned ranches in New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma and other states. He used the swaths of land to raise more than 50,000 bison, and here's a fun fact -- it's the world's largest privately owned herd.
Turner was known for his philanthropy, and in 2010, became one of the tycoons who joined the Giving Pledge ... promising to donate the majority of his billions to charity when he died.
Turner was 87.
RIP
“Daddy… do I cost too much?” Callum Calder froze. His four-year-old daughter stood beside the kitchen table, three quarters clenched in her tiny fist. She was trying to slip them into the front pocket of his work bag without him noticing. “Sweetheart, what is this for?” Sadie lowered her eyes. She had started doing that lately whenever she thought she had done something wrong. Callum still didn’t know where she had learned to brace for trouble before anyone even raised their voice. “The cookie,” she whispered. “And my bath.” At the sink, Ivy stopped moving. The dish towel remained frozen in her hands. They had already left Walter and Diane’s house. Two weeks earlier, they had packed the car in a rush and driven away. It had started with something as small as Sadie reaching for a second cookie. Then came the screaming. Then Diane slapped the back of Sadie’s hand hard enough to make her cry. Another night, Diane snatched away Sadie’s bowl of noodles while she was still eating. The food spilled down the front of the little girl’s shirt. And Diane told her four-year-old granddaughter she hadn’t “earned” the right to finish dinner. Callum had driven away from his childhood home with Ivy and Sadie in the back seat believing one thing: Getting them out would be enough. Those two months with his parents had only been temporary. A way to save money while their apartment leases overlapped. Callum thought distance would undo whatever damage had been done there. Then his four-year-old daughter stood in their new kitchen holding seventy-five cents— trying to pay her own father for a cookie and a bath. And Callum realized leaving that house had only removed Sadie from the place that hurt her. It hadn’t removed the fear that place had taught her. 👉👉 I’ve exceeded the character limit, so please read the rest of the episode in the comments below. If you don’t see it, click **“All comments.”** 👇👇👇
“Daddy… do I cost too much?”
Callum Calder froze.
His four-year-old daughter stood beside the kitchen table, three quarters clenched in her tiny fist.
She was trying to slip them into the front pocket of his work bag without him noticing.
“Sweetheart, what is this for?”
Sadie lowered her eyes.
She had started doing that lately whenever she thought she had done something wrong.
Callum still didn’t know where she had learned to brace for trouble before anyone even raised their voice.
“The cookie,” she whispered.
“And my bath.”
At the sink, Ivy stopped moving.
The dish towel remained frozen in her hands.
They had already left Walter and Diane’s house.
Two weeks earlier, they had packed the car in a rush and driven away.
It had started with something as small as Sadie reaching for a second cookie.
Then came the screaming.
Then Diane slapped the back of Sadie’s hand hard enough to make her cry.
Another night, Diane snatched away Sadie’s bowl of noodles while she was still eating.
The food spilled down the front of the little girl’s shirt.
And Diane told her four-year-old granddaughter she hadn’t “earned” the right to finish dinner.
Callum had driven away from his childhood home with Ivy and Sadie in the back seat believing one thing:
Getting them out would be enough.
Those two months with his parents had only been temporary.
A way to save money while their apartment leases overlapped.
Callum thought distance would undo whatever damage had been done there.
Then his four-year-old daughter stood in their new kitchen holding seventy-five cents—
trying to pay her own father for a cookie and a bath.
And Callum realized leaving that house had only removed Sadie from the place that hurt her.
It hadn’t removed the fear that place had taught her.
👉👉 I’ve exceeded the character limit, so please read the rest of the episode in the comments below.
If you don’t see it, click “All comments.” 👇👇👇
