Ted Turner, the bombastic television pioneer credited with creating the 24-hour news cycle and launched CNN in 1980, owned the Atlanta Braves and The Hawks, who flexed his influence among the global elite and donated a $1 billion to United Nations charities, and was married to Oscar-winner Jane Fonda, has died at age 87.
President Donald Trump was among the first of many influential figure to eulogize Turner, calling him “one of the Greats of All Time … one the Great of Broadcast History and a friend of mine.”
Turner was the founder and creator of CNN, TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies and more.
He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, his family moved to Savannah, Ga., when he was 9. He attended Brown University, but didn’t graduate, then joined the Coast Guard Reserve during the Vietnam War.
His father, Robert Edward Turner II, died by suicide when Turner was 24, leaving him the family billboard advertising business, Turner Outdoor Advertising. He began buying up radio and TV stations, including Channel 17 in Atlanta, which became the first cable super-station.
Turner bought the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, and created CNN when he saw a gap in the news market.
“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” CNN reported he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”
CNN went live on June 1, 1981.
Turner expanded, adding a second 24-hour news network CNN2 (later Headline News, then HLN) in 1982, and created CNN International in 1985. He later added Turner Network Television, Turner Classic Movies and the Cartoon Network.
UPI contributed to this report.