Ticket 2 Ride

From a failing family billboard business to a media mogul, Ted Turner, was a larger than life character who said what he thought and did what he wanted. Nicknamed Captain Outrageous and the Mouth of the South, has passed from this world at age 87. “If only I had a little humility, I’d be perfect,” he once bragged.

His obituary would take multiple pages, I’ve written other blogs on Turner, so feel free to consult those. Ted Turner was a complicated man. He was a victim of his own success in business, it made him rich beyond dreams, but it cost him control of his empire.

Along the way, he established the first cable superstation, several cable networks including CNN, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and launched original programming. He purchased the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets), and acquired the business he named WorldChampionship Wrestling. Turner even hired himself as the Braves’ manager until he was removed by the National League President. He was also suspended by the Commissioner of Baseball for tampering, but that was overturned in court. Turner was an avid sailer and captained yachts that competed in and won the America’s Cup.

Turner had tried to buy CBS but failed. He bought MGM/United Artists, retaining the film library, but selling the movie business back to Kirk Kerkorian and the studio facilities to Lorimar. His rapid and costly expansion put him in weak position where he lost his independence, needing corporate approval for big acquisitions. The man who made deals now answered to a board, mainly a man named John Malone of Liberty Media, who was a big investor. Turner’s wings were clipped by his drive to expand his holdings. Liberty would also buy the Atlanta Braves after the Turner-Warner merger.

Turner’s company merged with Time Warner in 1996. The various Turner media assets were absorbed into Time Warner. Although he was the vice-chairman of the AOL Time Warner board of directors, he resigned in 2003 when his term on the board ended. Turner spent his time on the board mostly sidelined, his operational role diminished, and although known as a visionary, no real strategic role in the company.

Privately, Turner at one point was the largest private landowner in the United States. His ranches, farmland and reserves were managed in an “economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species.”

A philanthropist, Turner donated $1B to the United Nations Foundation, and established many funds that supported sustainability, renewable energy and endangered species. “Over a three-year period, ‌I ⁠gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my hands shook as I signed it away,” Turner said.

Boisterous, known to drink a bit, have several girlfriends at the same time, and be highly competitive, Turner was also known for making deals and headlines.

Years ago, WWE’s Vince McMahon said of Turner, “All I’ll say about Ted is he’s a son-of-a-bitch, other than that, he’s probably not a bad guy, but I don’t like him at all.”

“Ted Turner created an unstoppable media revolution for the BENEFIT of all humankind,” CNN International Anchor Christiane Amanpour said.

Today, former wife Jane Fonda released a statement that said in part: “He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor. Ted was supremely strategic. He could see around corners for sure. He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same. Rest in Peace, dearest Ted. You are loved and you will be remembered.”