Ted Turner - Call Me Ted

T his book wouldnt have happened without a lot of help from many people. I thank Mort Janklow, my agent, for his enthusiastic support and for introducing me to a great team at Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing. Among others there, I thank David Young, Jamie Raab, and Rick Wolff for everything they contributed to making this book the best it could be. I also appreciate the ongoing support of my two right handsDebbie Masterson and Taylor Gloverfor their friendship, support, and everything they do to keep me on track on a daily basis. My friend Elizabeth Dewberry also lent her literary expertise to provide me with tremendous help when it came to reviewing draft manuscripts. I appreciate the contributions of everyone who took the time to share their own Ted Stories with us, and, last but not least, I thank Bill Burke for all his hard work and dedication to this project.

Except as noted below, all photographs are from the Turner family collection.

First insert: Page 2, bottom, courtesy of McCallie School. Page 3, top, courtesy of McCallie School. Page 4, center, photographer unknown. Page 5, center, photographer unknown; bottom, courtesy of Walter Victor. Page 6, top and bottom, courtesy of Walter Victor. Page 7, center, courtesy of Chris Cunningham; bottom, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 8, top, Dan Nerney; center two, photographers unknown; bottom, courtesy of Cotten Alston.

Second insert: Page 1, top, photographer unknown; bottom, Photograph Liz Wickersham, used with permission. Page 2, top and center, photographers unknown; bottom, Leigh Wiener. Page 3, bottom, Reprinted through the courtesy of the Editors of TIME Magazine 2008 Time Inc. Page 4, bottom, courtesy of Janice Crystal. Page 5, top, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; center, photographer unknown; bottom, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 6, top, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Page 7, top, courtesy of United Nations Foundation; center, courtesy of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; bottom, courtesy of Teds Montana Grill. Page 8, top and center, courtesy of Shearon Glover; bottom, DenverBryan.com.

M any years ago, I tried to codify the series of things I thought that we as human beings should all try to do to make the world a better place. Originally, there were ten items on this list, but rather than be presumptuous and call them commandments, and knowing that I had no right telling other people what do (and since Ive not been able to live up to all of these consistently myself), I decided to describe these as voluntary initiatives.

In 2008, I added an eleventh item, to address global climate change. I carry this list in my pocket at all times and share it with others whenever possible.

Eleven Voluntary Initiatives

by Ted Turner

1. I promise to care for Planet Earth and all living things thereon, especially my fellow human beings.

2. I promise to treat all persons everywhere with dignity, respect, and friendliness.

3. I promise to have no more than one or two children.

4. I promise to use my best efforts to help save what is left of our natural world in its undisturbed state, and to restore degraded areas.

5. I promise to use as little of our nonrenewable resources as possible.

6. I promise to minimize my use of toxic chemicals, pesticides, and other poisons, and to encourage others to do the same.

7. I promise to contribute to those less fortunate, to help them become self-sufficient and enjoy the benefits of a decent life including clean air and water, adequate food, health care, housing, education, and individual rights.

8. I reject the use of force, in particular military force, and I support the United Nations arbitration of international disputes.

9. I support the total elimination of all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and ultimately the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.

10. I support the United Nations and its efforts to improve the condition of the planet.

11. I support renewable energy and feel we should move rapidly to contain greenhouse gases.

Early Years

M y first word was pretty. At least thats what my parents told me. As the story goes, I was looking at a butterfly and out popped, pretty! Other parents might have wished for Mommy or Daddy, but by all accounts, mine were thrilled to hear my first word express an appreciation for nature.

My parents would probably never have met and I would never have been born had it not been for the tragic death of my mothers first fiancfrom complications of a burst appendixthe very day before their proposed wedding. Throughout her grieving, my mom remained very close to her fiancs family and for the next several years did little if any dating.

It was toward the end of my mothers grieving period that Ed Turner (my father) made his way from his home in Mississippi to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was by all accounts a very enterprising young man and moved north after accepting a promising position in the sales department of a local Chevrolet dealer. In addition to responding to the appeal of a job in the automobile business, its also likely that my father was eager to leave his home state. His parents had lost nearly everything after the stock market crash. They were living in near-poverty conditions as Mississippi sharecroppers, and opportunities in their area were slim. In high school my father had won acceptance to Duke University but hard times prevented his parents from being able to send him. He wound up going to Millsaps College, a less expensive Methodist school in Jackson, Mississippi. But even at the less pricey school, paying tuition was a hardship for my grandparents, and with a job opportunity up north he left school early, before ever earning his degree.

When my father reached Ohio the arrival of this gregarious and charming southerner did not go unnoticed. One Cincinnatian who took an instant liking to my dad was young George Rooney, my moms brother. Hopeful that his sister might emerge from her grieving and find a new beau, George insisted that the two should meet. My mother, Florence Rooney, was a bright, beautiful, and elegant woman with a terrific personality. She stood about five foot eight, and my father, who was six feet tall, always liked tall women. My dad was smitten from the moment they met and he courted her aggressively. His extra effort was justified, as their differences were significant. In addition to being a southerner, my father was raised Protestant, and for the Rooneys, who were Catholic, marrying outside the church was no small matter. Ive been told that it was only after he agreed to raise his children in the Catholic faith that my mom accepted his proposal for marriage. They were wed in a Catholic ceremony in the Rooneys home on August 14, 1937.

I came along on November 19, 1938, the first Turner born north of the Mason-Dixon line, and as the first grandchild on either side of the family I was showered with lots of love from my parents and extended family. Some of my earliest memories are of holding the screen door open for my great-grandmother on my moms side. She lived until she was ninety-one and used to call me a little dickens. We would visit my fathers Mississippi relatives on occasion but living my early years in Cincinnati exposed me more to my mothers side of the family. My grandfather George Rooney lived with two of his unmarried sistersback then they were referred to as old maidsand I got along great with all three of them.

But despite being surrounded by loving family, my parents marriage had its challenges from the very start and their differences over their parenting especially added to the tension. Regardless of his courtship assurances, after I was born my father let my mother know that he would not allow his children to be brought up Catholic. This was no small issue for my mom and the Rooneys. Ill never know exactly how those conversations went, but although I did attend a Catholic church occasionally, I was not raised Catholic. My mother never spoke of the issue in front of me but Im sure she wasnt happy about it.