1938-
Television Executive

Cable Visionary. More than any other figure in American television, Ted Turner saw the potential inherent in cable television in its early days and developed that potential into a communications empire. The local successes the confident, flamboyant Turner enjoyed in cable during the 1970s foreshadowed his international successes in the next decade. He also gained media attention in 1977 as captain of the winning ship, Courageous, in the America's Cup. In addition to being called "the Mouth of the South," Turner has since been called Captain Courageous or, sometimes, Captain Outrageous.

Small Beginnings.

Following the suicide of his father in 1960, Turner became the head of his family's billboard company in Atlanta, but only after going into debt to save the business from changing hands. During the next ten years he turned the company into a prosperous advertising firm called Turner Communications Group (TCG). In...