Television pioneer Ted Turner has died at 87 years old, according to CNN on Wednesday.
"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” according to Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world."
Turner's signature achievement was creating CNN, the first 24-hour, all-news television network in 1980.
He jumped at the chance to launch CNN, a network derided as the "chicken noodle network" in its early days, while living in an apartment above its Atlanta office.
CNN continued to tout Turner during Wednesday morning's broadcast, sharing stories about how he transformed the media landscape.
CNN's Brian Stelter said Turner found local stations across the nation and turned them into national networks, including CNN. Turner lived with Lewy Body dementia for decades, Stelter noted, slowing him down in his later years.
Turner's audacious personality earned him the nicknames “Captain Outrageous” and “The Mouth of the South.” Turner was also a renowned philanthropist, most notably donating a stunning $1 billion to United Nations charities.