Ted Turner turns 86 later this month, but his legacy is already being celebrated in a new docuseries.
“Call Me Ted” explores the media mogul’s life in six episodes, ranging from Turner’s childhood, the founding of his cable businesses and CNN and his later work as a philanthropist.
On Tuesday night, a crowd gathered at the Atlanta History Center for a special preview. Those in attendance included civil rights icon and Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young and CNN chairman and chief executive officer Mark Thompson.
David Zaslav, chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, which now owns the networks Turner founded, led those in attendance in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Turner, who appeared briefly via Zoom and was surrounded by some of his family.
In his remarks, Zaslav hailed Turner as “someone that many of us, almost every one of us in this business, owe our careers to.” He reflected on Turner’s vision to bring the world together, remarking on the historic nature of CNN’s coverage of the 1991 Gulf War on a 24-hour news network, the first of its kind.
“He really changed the world,” Zaslav said. “He changed the lives of so many of us that got to align with him and live this great journey in the cable and media business.”
“Call Me Ted” was written and directed by Keith Clarke and produced by Joni Levin.
Levin told the crowd she she realized about seven years ago that nobody had ever done a definitive deep dive on Turner’s life and legacy.
She also echoed Zaslav’s praise of Turner and thanked him for “believing in me and trusting me to tell his story.”
“This is a story that every single one of us need to take a page from because Ted always believed that we, the people, the citizens of the world, the fans in the stadium, could change the momentum of a game – whether it’s climate, whether it’s the environment, whether it’s nuclear, whether it’s the preservation of our democracy – like he has done and he continues to do to this day,” she said.
Clarke grew emotional talking about Turner and paraphrased lyrics from the Andra Day hit “Rise Up,” which is played in the series.
“The last lines are ‘Yes, we’ll rise up in spite of the ache/We’ll rise/And we’ll do it a thousand times again/We’ll rise up,’” Clarke said. “That’s Ted Turner in a vision – a phoenix. He just rises and encourages us every day.”
Turner revealed in 2018 that he is living with Lewy body dementia and currently resides on his ranch property in Montana.
Legendary broadcaster and civil rights activist Xernona Clayton was also present at Tuesday’s event. She praised Turner, who in the 1980s made her the first Black woman corporate executive at TBS after he appointed her director and vice president of public affairs.
Clayton told CNN that he was invaluable when she founded the Trumpet Awards in 1993 and that Turner aired the show on his TBS network.
“I just love him,” she said. “He was always available for people in need, and he was very honest with his answers. When you went to him for questions, he would give you an honest answer, even if you didn’t like the answer.”
Viewers of the docuseries will get to witness some of that bluntness as Turner serves as both the subject and a narrator. His children and actress Jane Fonda, who was once married to Turner, also appear.
The series debuts Wednesday on Max, which like CNN is part of Warner Bros. Discovery.