50 Fun Facts About Ted Turner

Which pioneering 24-hour cable news network did Ted Turner found in 1980?

He sold his Charlotte station WRET for a then-record $20 million to fund it and based it in low-cost, non-union Atlanta.

In which city was Ted Turner born in November 1938?

His family moved to Savannah when he was nine, and he attended the McCallie School in Chattanooga.

Why was Turner expelled from Brown University before finishing his degree?

His father had been 'appalled, even horrified' that he first majored in classics; Brown gave him an honorary BA in 1989.

What kind of business did Turner take over from his father in March 1963, after his father's suicide?

Turner Outdoor Advertising was worth about $1 million; he was 24 and became the largest outdoor advertiser in the Southeast.

In which branch of the military did Turner serve to fulfil his national service obligation?

'I liked boats,' he said, and was deployed to 'some pretty sweet places - Charleston and Fort Lauderdale'.

What did the call letters WTCG, given to the Atlanta UHF station in 1970, stand for?

He promoted the struggling channel 17 with the slogan 'Watch This Channel Grow'.

Which animal 'co-anchored' the 3 a.m. news with Bill Tush on Turner's early Atlanta station?

The dog wore a shirt and tie and ate a peanut-butter sandwich; it appeared only once but a myth grew that it was a nightly guest.

How did Turner's Atlanta station become the first 'superstation' on December 17, 1976?

The FCC had cleared the satellite feed that year; subscribers eventually reached 2 million and Turner's net worth $100 million.

From whom did Turner buy the call sign WTBS in 1978 for $50,000?

Technology Broadcasting System, now WMBR, gave up the letters so Turner could brand his superstation TBS.

Which baseball team did Turner buy in 1976, partly to provide programming for his station?

He bought the NBA's Hawks the next year; the Braves won the World Series under his ownership in 1995.

Turner suggested that Braves pitcher Andy Messersmith, who wore number 17, change his surname to what?

The idea was a walking advertisement for channel 17.

How many games did Turner manage the Braves himself in May 1977 before the league stopped him?

He sent manager Dave Bristol on a 'scouting trip' during a 16-game losing streak, lost to Pittsburgh, and was ordered out by NL president Chub Feeney.

Which commissioner suspended Turner for a year in 1977 over his pursuit of free agent Gary Matthews?

The Braves also lost draft picks, later restored on appeal, one of which became Bob Horner.

On what date did CNN go on air?

Turner vowed the national anthem would be played only once, at launch, and 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' at the end of the world.

What is the 'Turner Doomsday Video', leaked from CNN's archive in 2015?

It was tagged in the database '[Hold for release] till end of world confirmed'.

Which media executive did Turner hire as CNN's first president?

Turner replaced him as CEO in 1982 after a row over the firing of Sandi Freeman.

Whom did Turner buy MGM/UA from in 1986 for $1.5bn?

Drowning in debt, he sold most of it back but kept the pre-1986 film library of about 2,200 films.

Which practice by Turner with classic movies helped prompt the creation of the National Film Registry?

Roger Ebert called a colourised Casablanca 'the vulgarity of his computerized graffiti gangs'.

Which wrestling company did Turner buy in 1988 and rename World Championship Wrestling?

WCW's Monday Night War with Vince McMahon's WWF ran through the 1990s; AOL Time Warner sold WCW to the WWF in 2001.

With which film did Turner launch TNT in 1988?

Turner Classic Movies followed in 1994, airing the pre-1986 MGM library, pre-1948 Warner films and all RKO films.

Which animation studio did Turner buy in 1991, forming the core of Cartoon Network?

Cartoon Network launched on October 1, 1992, also drawing on early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies from the pre-1949 Warner library.

Which environmental superhero cartoon did Turner create in 1990?

The Turner Foundation, created the same year, focuses on environmental and overpopulation grants.

What international sporting event did Turner found in 1986 to ease Cold War tensions?

They also gave his superstation Olympic-style programming.

Turner Field, the Braves' former home, was originally built as what?

It was converted to a baseball-only park after the Atlanta Olympics.

On what date did Turner Broadcasting System merge with Time Warner?

Turner became vice chairman; he later estimated he lost as much as $7 billion when the stock collapsed after the AOL merger.

What sum did Turner estimate he lost when Time Warner's stock collapsed after the AOL merger?

Asked about buying back his old assets, he said he 'can't afford them now'.

How did the long feud between Turner and Rupert Murdoch begin in 1983?

A drunken Turner berated Murdoch at the post-race dinner and challenged him to a televised fistfight in Las Vegas.

What did Turner say the merged Time Warner would do to Rupert Murdoch?

Time Warner then refused to carry Murdoch's new Fox News on its New York cable system; the two made amends by 2019.

Aboard which yacht did Turner win the 1977 America's Cup with a four-race sweep over Australia?

He had lost the 1974 trials on Mariner to Ted Hood on the same Courageous; the win put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Turner won the storm-hit 1979 Fastnet Race, in which 15 sailors died, aboard which yacht?

He was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.

Which actress was Turner married to from 1991 to 2001?

They wed on her birthday, December 21; she told him she would leave if he ran for president.

How much did Turner pledge to create the United Nations Foundation?

He served as co-chairman of its board; Forbes gave him a perfect philanthropy score of 5 in 2020.

With which US senator did Turner co-found the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2001?

The non-partisan group works against the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Which two nicknames did Turner's outspokenness earn him?

He was said to lean into 'Captain Outrageous', and other moguls copied the act.

Which animal did Turner raise on his ranches in the world's largest private herd?

About 51,000 head on 15 ranches supplied his Ted's Montana Grill restaurant chain.

Who overtook Turner in 2011 as the largest private landowner in the United States?

Turner held about two million acres, including 19 ranches, three of them in Argentina.

Which Ted Turner ranch in New Mexico is the largest private contiguous tract in the US?

It covers 920 square miles; the Osage Nation bought his 43,000-acre Bluestem Ranch in Oklahoma in 2016.

What is the name of Turner's restaurant chain, built around bison meat?

It is headquartered in the Turner Building in Atlanta alongside Turner Enterprises.

Which NHL team did Turner own from its 1999 debut until 2004?

The franchise moved in 2011 to become the second Winnipeg Jets.

Which novel won the 1989 Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for fiction addressing global problems?

It was chosen from 2,500 entries worldwide.

What is the title of Turner's 2008 memoir?

Porter Bibb's 1993 biography It Ain't as Easy as It Looks discussed his lithium use and mental-health struggles.

Native American groups criticised Turner and his then-wife for which cheer during the 1991 World Series?

Fonda pledged to stop; Turner said he had not realised the reaction it would cause.

Which neurodegenerative condition did Turner reveal he had been diagnosed with in 2018?

Jane Fonda said his openness would help many people learn about the disease.

Where did Turner die on May 6, 2026, aged 87?

AEW aired a tribute episode on TBS that night, with ex-WCW voices Tony Schiavone and Sting giving the eulogy.

Which Atlanta campus, home of Turner Broadcasting from 1980, was renamed the Ted Turner Campus in 2019?

Slate has called him 'the Alexander the Great of broadcasting'.

At which Chattanooga boys' prep academy was the young Ted Turner educated?

Turner went on to Brown University, where he captained the sailing team and was vice-president of the debating union.

Which NBA team did Turner buy in 1977, a year after purchasing the Braves?

His Atlanta station had already acquired rights to telecast the team's games in 1972, and the purchase was partly to feed WTCG programming.

In which year did Turner launch Turner Classic Movies (TCM)?

TCM aired Turner's library of pre-1986 MGM films, pre-1948 Warner Bros. films and all RKO films, plus 1,000 licensed titles.

Which author wrote the 1993 Turner biography It Ain't As Easy as It Looks?

In the book Turner discussed his use of lithium and his struggles with mental illness.

How many wives did Ted Turner have over his lifetime?

His wives were Judy Nye, Jane Shirley Smith and Jane Fonda; he had five children from the first two marriages.