You’ve definitely heard of CNN. You probably know Ted Turner, the "Mouth of the South" who sailed yachts and bought the Atlanta Braves. But most people haven't a clue about the man who actually started it all—Robert Edward Turner II.
He wasn't a media mogul. He wasn't a celebrity. Honestly, he was a billboard guy from Mississippi who lived a life that was equal parts grit, success, and deep, dark tragedy. If you want to understand why Ted Turner became the relentless, world-changing force he is, you have to look at his father, Ed Turner.
Who Was Robert Edward Turner II?
Born in 1910 in the tiny town of Sumner, Mississippi, Ed Turner didn't start with a silver spoon. He came up during a time when you either worked or you didn't eat. Simple as that. By the time the late 1930s rolled around, he was living in Cincinnati, Ohio, and working for a company called General Outdoor Advertising.
It was a tough business. You’re basically selling space on the side of the road. But Ed was good at it. Like, really good. He eventually moved his family—including his son, Robert Edward Turner III (the future Ted Turner)—down to Savannah, Georgia.
Savannah was different. It was the South in the 1940s. Ed bought a small, struggling billboard company and renamed it Turner Advertising. This was the seed.
The Brutal Relationship with Ted
Here’s where it gets complicated. Ed Turner wasn't exactly "Father of the Year" by modern standards. He was a strict disciplinarian. Some would say he was flat-out harsh.
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He didn't just want his son to succeed; he wanted to toughen him up for a world he viewed as a battlefield. There’s a famous story—vouched for by biographers like Porter Bibb—where Ed actually made Ted pay him "rent" and for his own meals starting at age twelve. Ed would beat the boy with a wire coat hanger and then, in a bizarre twist of logic, command Ted to beat him back to teach him about the unfairness of power.
It’s heavy stuff.
But Ed also pushed Ted to read. He demanded his son read two books a week. He forced him to learn the classics, even though he later famously mocked Ted for majoring in Classics at Brown University. He wrote Ted a letter saying the choice made him "almost puke."
The Rise of Turner Advertising
While the family life was a storm, the business was a rocket ship. Robert Edward Turner II was an absolute shark in the billboard industry. By the early 1960s, Turner Advertising was expanding across Georgia and South Carolina.
He wasn't just selling signs. He was buying up competitors. He was taking on massive amounts of debt to scale the company. Basically, he was playing a high-stakes game of Monopoly with real money.
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In 1962, he pulled off a massive merger that made his company one of the largest outdoor advertising firms in the Southeast. But the stress was immense. The debt was suffocating. And Ed’s mental health was starting to fray at the edges.
What Really Happened in 1963
The end came suddenly. On March 5, 1963, at the age of 52, Robert Edward Turner II took his own life.
It shocked the business community. It shattered his family. He left behind a 24-year-old son and a company that was technically successful but drowning in $6 million of debt. Most people thought the Turner legacy was over. They expected the banks to swoop in and pick the bones clean.
They were wrong.
Ted Turner didn't sell. He didn't quit. He took everything his father taught him—the discipline, the ruthlessness, the salesmanship—and he doubled down. He saved the billboard business, moved into radio, bought a failing UHF TV station in Atlanta, and eventually built the global empire we know today.
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The Legacy Nobody Talks About
We often credit Ted Turner for "inventing" the 24-hour news cycle or the superstation. But the foundation was laid by Ed. The aggressive expansion, the use of leverage, and the sheer "never say die" attitude were all traits Robert Edward Turner II passed down.
It’s a classic American story, but it’s a dark one. It shows that great empires often come from a place of immense personal pressure.
Key Takeaways for Business Leaders:
- Sales is the bedrock: Ed Turner proved that if you can sell, you can survive almost any market shift.
- Leverage is a double-edged sword: The same debt that built the empire nearly destroyed it.
- Mentorship matters (even when it's flawed): While his methods were extreme, Ed’s insistence on literacy and work ethic gave his son the tools to build a multibillion-dollar legacy.
To understand the history of modern media, you have to look past the bright lights of CNN and see the man standing in the Georgia heat, selling one billboard at a time. That was the real Robert Edward Turner II.
Next Steps for Research:
If you want to get deeper into this history, check out Ted Turner’s autobiography Call Me Ted or the biography It Ain't As Easy As It Looks by Porter Bibb. These sources provide the most accurate, first-hand accounts of the complex relationship between these two men and the birth of the Turner empire.