Ted Turner Looks Back

Media Mogul Talks About His Life, Loves, Personal Struggles And Business

(CBS)  If his kids are his greatest achievement, what is his biggest disappointment?

"I've heard him say his failure of his marriages," Jennie says.

He's been married three times, most famously to actress Jane Fonda, a union that lasted 10 years.

Turner says he and Fonda were happy together for a long time.

Asked what went wrong, Turner says, "It's hard to tell. It obviously was a combination of things."

Asked if he wished that the marriage had managed to survive, Turner tells Safer, "Well it didn't. I mean, there's no point in sittin' around and cryin' about spilt milk. Gotta move on."

Moving on is Turner's mantra. It also put a hex on his marriage to Jane Fonda.

"It's impossible to really be with Ted the way he needs someone to be with him and have any kind of life of your own," Fonda says.

"He's perfectly aware of it. He said to me, 'I hate being alone,'" Safer says.

"He's aware that it makes it hard for the person who's, you know, trying to love him," Fonda says.

"But what's interesting is the moment he's in one place for a couple of days, he's got to move on to somewhere else," Safer remarks.

"Yeah, when you're chased by demons, you have to keep moving," Fonda says.

Though they've been divorced for eight years, they've been in some way inseparable. "You know, if Ted really needed me, I would be there in a blue minute," Fonda says.

"Yeah, I think he misses you a lot," Safer says.

"I think he does," Fonda says, with tears welling up. "I'm not getting emotional because I wish I was still living with him. But, he touches me deeply, deeply. The contradictions that make up Ted Turner."

"They had so much in common. They were like two peas in a pod. You know, they both had their parents commit suicide. They were both overachievers, perfectionists. And I think that they were both at the top of their game when they were together," Turner's daughter Laura says.

Asked if he thinks there's any chance of a reconciliation, Teddy Turner says, "I don't think there'd be any family argument with Jane coming back home. But, you know, but it's not really our choice."

[larsand1]

Ted Turner is a charming idiot. Fuuny how when he said that George Bush was the most dangerous man on the planet Morley Safer just chuckled in approval. So much for unbiased journalism. Let''s send them both to North Korea with a one-way ticket.

[fjconley]

After viewing the 60-Minutes piece on Ted Turner immediately following your story on toxic e-waste, I had to ask myself, "Who is going to clean-up the hazardous waste Turner left behind?" Is it possible to have Jane Fonda shipped to China and dismantled?

[obsnewscom]

Ted Turner we want your advice at www.obsnetwork.com so send the message out to him!

[acara-2009]

Great human interest story! Ted Turner nor his ex wife sat on the side lines of life and cheered. Isn''t that rugged individualism what we so admire? I enjoyed this inside peek at a very real encounter with this man and his family.

[vd1946]

What?? Are you all simply jealous of a successful businessman who had the smarts & foresight to set a new standard for televised news which had never been imagined? Turner''s vision even set the world up for this incredible forum: the blog!
He owns more land than anyone else, but guess what...he''ll donate it back to "we, the people" when he''s gone, so what''s to hate there?!?
Okay, so Jane Fonda made some BAAAD choices way back when, but isn''t that exactly what we Americans have always fought for...freedom of expression?? Of course, she was dead-wrong, but she was, I''m convinced, working from a peace-maker''s point of view, but just went about it badly. We''re now in an even worse "bad war," but few seem to protest, except recently at the ballot box. At least now we "hail" returning troops, so perhaps actions like JF''s taught us all a good lesson!

[skeezix06]

I tried to imagine what it would be like to be as driven with a need to succeed as he seems to be. I don''t think the continual fight to stay ahead of everyone else in an effort to succeed would make me very happy.

Money isn''t everything. It helps smooth out some of the bumps but it isn''t everything.

[enigmaforeve]

I will try not to sit on the fence about the viet cong hero. jane fonda, who could be stupid enough to trust the traitorous bxxxx, who sold out her country for a photo shoot with the enemy. The killer of American soldiers in Vietnam, should be put on trial and shot for treason.I would be glad be to be part of the execution squad, ay to have the hell I would privilege, and honor. Ted Turner just wanted to try pork out for a while, He didn''t need to buy the whole pig, hundred, maybe thousands of others who had her didn''t. Her father must have been a lot more rotten a person than he seemed to have spawned that piece of ***. She will always have a special place in the hearts of veterans.

[enigmaforeve]

I will try not to sit on the fence about the viet cong hero. jane fonda, who could be stupid enough to trust the traitorous bxxxx, who sold out her country for a photo shoot with the enemy. The killer of American soldiers in Vietnam, should be put on trial and shot for treason.I would be glad be to be part of the execution squad, ay to have the hell I would privilege, and honor. Ted Turner just wanted to try pork out for a while, He didn''t need to buy the whole pig, hundred, maybe thousands of others who had her didn''t. Her father must have been a lot more rotten a person than he seemed to have spawned that piece of ***. She will always have a special place in the hearts of veterans.

[dewbug2]

well, boo friggin'' hoo! lonesome my arse!
Maybe The hero of Chappaquiddick, your bosom buddy, can come out and you two can go for a drive some evening?
guns don''t kill people, oldsmobiles kill people....
Are you still thinking that people like you and the above mentioned ****** buddy of yours since you are both so wealthy?....did either of you, not to mention ex-wifey, ever have an honest job, like the people you all hosed?Suffer, ya ***!

[generey]

Jane Fonda Says If He Needs Company, She''d Be There In A "Blue Minute".

Just another booty call.

[dbl06]

I wish TT still owned the Braves. If he did they could get the players they need.

[voivod616]

"He then does a dead-on imitation of a coyote howl..."

"...he touches me deeply, deeply."

Oh yeah: the Nielsens can count me in on this one.

[voivod616]

Just what in the hell are the producers at "60 Minutes" up to now: using Morley Safer as a go-between for two of the most self-absorbed attention seekers of the 20th century?

With lines like "Come out here and spend the night by yourself some time" and "I would be there (for Ted) in a blue minute," this sounds like a tearjerker not to be missed! (Please...)

[anniep8]

Really, who cares what these two self-absorbed people have to say. Why doesn''t CBS interview someone who is inspirational via an invention or a new way of looking at things. Instead I get these two sugically enhanced pretend hippies, wealthier than all get out, who seem to think they have the right to tell me what I should do with my money and how I should live my life.

[czmdm]

Jane Fonda, American Traitor ***. She SHOULD have done hard prison time for her actions during the Vietnam war.


Maybe but the same goes for Bush who put us in an unjust war by lying over WMD''s.

[czmdm]

SocialismSux Apparently you believe in the neocon axiom that constantly repeating yourself will make people belive you.

Please stop with the Jesus stuff. It''s BS, cultish and if there was a Jesus there is probably some type of copyright infringement.

[harrymorgan1]

Ted Turner may feel better if his conscious did not bother him.
Much of the farm subsidy payout goes to individuals
and companies that clearly do not need taxpayer help. A
Washington D.C. think tank has posted individual farm
subsidy recipients on its web page at to
illustrate the unfairness of farm welfare for the well-to-do.
Farm subsidy recipients include Fortune 500 companies,
members of Congress, and millionaires such as Ted Turner
One of the reasons our Government is broke.

[clj124]

I think the government should take away a lot of his land and sell it to people at a reduced rate so we can spread his wealth around. Teddy seems to love telling everyone that they should pay their fair share. Plus he could have people building houses on his land as well so he will not be alone.

[socialismsux]

Boooohoooo for the billionaire atheist.


"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God"

-Jesus Christ

[pirmin3]

Poor baby. Take your zillions and buy some arm candy Ted. Elliot Spitzer can give you some pointers.