Ted Turner Dies at 87: The Maverick Who Built CNN and Transformed Television

If you watched TV anytime in the last 40 years, odds are you've crossed paths with Ted Turner's work—even if you didn't know his name. Well, Turner, a guy who helped rewrite the rulebook for American television (and apparently liked to write his own rules too), has died at 87. If you care at all about cable, classic movies, or pro wrestling hijinks in the 90s, keep reading. Let's talk about what made Ted Turner tick—and why you'll probably keep bumping into his legacy every time you flip channels.

The Guy Who Gave Us 24/7 News (and a Million Re-runs)

Ted Turner was basically the mad scientist behind modern cable. Before he came along, news was something you watched at dinner, sitcoms had finite reruns, and, well, nobody thought you needed a channel just for old movies or cartoons. Then Turner rolled in and said: 'What if we did all that, but more, and non-stop?'

• CNN: Sure, everyone knows it now. But before Turner, 24-hour news wasn’t even a thing. TV execs called him nuts for trying.
• TBS & TNT: These were the OG 'superstations.' TBS was home to Atlanta Braves baseball, random sitcom marathons, and a kind of 'open for anything' vibe. TNT got big on drama series, movies, and—later—a whole lot of wrestling (more on that below).
• Turner Classic Movies & Cartoon Network: People thought a channel just for classic movies wouldn't work. Turner didn't care. Same for a whole channel just for cartoons. Both still thriving, both still have his fingerprints all over them.

Not Just TV: Turner the Eccentric Tycoon

Turner was never especially subtle about doing things his way. He literally carried around a custom card, his so-called '11 Voluntary Initiatives'—an update, in his mind, to the Ten Commandments. If you ever wondered what kind of media baron prints out their own personal rules to whip out at parties—yeah, that's the energy we're talking about here.

He was also married to Jane Fonda for a decade (arguably the power couple of weirdly mismatched icons if there ever was one), owned the Atlanta Braves for years, and was genuinely onto early environmental activism before it was cool. Oh, and he donated $1 billion—yep, with a 'b'—to the United Nations, just because he felt like it.

Wait, Did I See That Guy at a Wrestling Match?

If you remember the late-90s Monday night wars, you probably know Turner's networks (especially TNT) were all-in on wrestling with WCW, which genuinely rattled the WWE for a bit. Turner was no passive owner: he hired Eric Bischoff, green-lit big moves, and was not shy about his love for the spectacle.

He Basically Saved 'Shawshank' From Obscurity

Ever wonder why The Shawshank Redemption went from box office flop to all-time favorite? You can thank Ted Turner's channels for that. According to Tim Robbins—Andy Dufresne himself—the film's second life is pretty much down to Turner rerunning it over and over on his movie outlets:

'We’re at 30 years now [on from] Shawshank Redemption. When it came out it got good reviews, it got nominated for Academy awards, but nobody saw it. It was VHS and [Ted] Turner playing it on his television channel [Turner Classic Movies] that changed that.'

So, next time the Redemption theme music cues up on a lazy Saturday, you’ve got Turner to thank (or blame, if you just wanted to find Seinfeld reruns instead).

The Highly Quotable, Occasionally Messy Life

Turner was never boring, for better or worse. He won the America’s Cup in 1977—then nearly overshadowed it by showing up tipsy to the victory press conference. Word is, that blunder made him rethink his drinking, and he eventually gave up booze entirely in 2011.

Sadly, he's been fighting Lewy body dementia in recent years. This morning, his company made things official—Ted Turner has left the building. But honestly, between TV, movies, sports, and more, it's going to take a lot longer for the world to stop running into his influence.