106-793: Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing the TBS library for worldwide distribution. In recent years, this role has largely been limited to being the copyright holder, as it has become an in-name-only subsidiary of Warner Bros. , which currently administers their library. On March 25, 1986, Ted Turner and his Turner Broadcasting System purchased Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) from Kirk Kerkorian for $ 1.5 billion, and renamed it MGM Entertainment Company, Inc. However, due to concerns in
212-530: A "warmonger" for his support and backing of President George W. Bush 's invasion of Iraq . However, revealing in an interview with Variety in 2019, Turner said he and Murdoch have since made amends. For most of his first decade as owner of the Braves, Turner was a very hands-on owner. This peaked in 1977, his second year as owner. Turner was suspended for one year by Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn on January 3, 1977, for his actions while pursuing
318-670: A 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) plantation in Jacksonboro, South Carolina, for $ 2 million. In 1976, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves, and in 1977, he bought the Atlanta Hawks, partially to provide programming for WTCG. Using the rechristened WTBS superstation's status to broadcast Braves games into nearly every home in North America, Turner turned the Braves into a household name even before their run of success in
424-697: A 50-50 joint venture between Turner Broadcasting System and Apollo Investment Fund for $ 320 million. Turner purchased these assets to launch a then-new all-animation network aimed at children and younger audiences. Scott Sassa hired Fred Seibert to head Hanna-Barbera, who filled the gap left by Great American's crew with new animators, directors, producers and writers, including Craig McCracken , Donovan Cook , Genndy Tartakovsky , David Feiss , Seth MacFarlane , Van Partible and Butch Hartman . After being newly named as H-B Production Co. , Capitol Critters and Fish Police debuted in 1992. Cartoon Network launched on October 1 of that year, and became
530-555: A Forest ). With the majority of American television animation during the second half of the 20th century made by Hanna-Barbera and more cartoons like CB Bears , Buford and the Galloping Ghost , The All New Popeye Hour and Godzilla , major competition was coming from Filmation and DePatie–Freleng . Then-ABC president Fred Silverman gave its Saturday-morning time to them after dropping Filmation for its failure of Uncle Croc's Block . New live-action material
636-724: A billboard magnate . When he was nine, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia , and raised him as an Episcopalian . He attended The McCallie School , a private boys' preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee . Turner attended Brown University and was vice-president of the Brown Debating Union and captain of the sailing team. He became a member of Kappa Sigma . Turner initially majored in classics . His father wrote saying that this choice made him "appalled, even horrified", and that he "almost puked". Turner later changed his major to economics , but before receiving
742-546: A call from Warner Bros. to resurrect its animation department. Ruegger, along with several of his colleagues, left Hanna-Barbera at that time to develop Tiny Toon Adventures at Warner Bros. David Kirschner , known for An American Tail and Child's Play , was later appointed as the studio's new CEO. Later that year, the company had a licensing agreement with MicroIllusions, a video game publisher, to produce video games based on its properties, namely Jonny Quest , The Jetsons and others. In 1990, while Kirschner and
848-695: A colorized Casablanca , "that will be one of the saddest days in the history of the movies. It is sad because it demonstrates that there is no movie that Turner will spare, no classic however great that is safe from the vulgarity of his computerized graffiti gangs." Thanks in part to Turner's colorization, the Library of Congress established the National Film Registry with the aim to preserve American films in their original format. In 1988, Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions which he renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW) which became
954-470: A comic relief pet of some sort. Starting in 1971, many new spin-offs , such as The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show , featuring Fred and Barney's now teenaged children along with The Flintstone Comedy Hour , The Tom and Jerry Show , The New Fred and Barney Show and "all-star" shows Yogi's Gang , Laff-A-Lympics , Yogi's Space Race and Galaxy Goof-Ups came to the airwaves. Hanna-Barbera teamed up with Avco Broadcasting Corporation in 1971,
1060-713: A company that was once a rival to its owner Taft at that time, who maintains rivalry in the Columbus and Cincinnati markets, to produce two holiday specials for the syndicated market by way of its syndicated division. In 1972, H-B opened an animation studio in Australia, with the Hamlyn Group acquiring a 50% stake in 1974. Hamlyn was acquired by James Hardie Industries . Hanna-Barbera Australia bought itself out from Hardie and Taft in 1988, changing its name to Southern Star Group, since becoming Endemol Shine Australia ,
1166-596: A concept for a new animated TV program about a cat and a dog. After failing to convince the studio to back their venture, George Sidney , who had worked with Hanna and Barbera on several of his movies for MGM, offered to serve as their business partner and convinced Screen Gems to make a deal with the producers. A coin toss gave Hanna precedence in naming the new studio. Harry Cohn , president and head of Columbia Pictures, took an 18% ownership in H-B Enterprises , and provided working capital. Screen Gems became
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#17328026229361272-781: A degree, he was expelled for having a female student in his dormitory room. Turner was awarded an honorary B.A. from Brown University in November 1989 when he returned to campus to give the keynote address for the National Association of College Broadcasters second annual conference. Expelled from Brown just as tensions in Vietnam were beginning to heat up, Turner joined the United States Coast Guard Reserve in order to fill his service obligation before he ended up getting drafted . Honored by
1378-559: A division of Banijay . Super Friends , an action-adventure show adapted from DC Comics ' Justice League of America and the first of many iterations of the Super Friends series, premiered on ABC on September 8, 1973. It returned to production in 1976, remaining on ABC through 1985 with The All-New Super Friends Hour , Challenge of the Superfriends and The World's Greatest Super Friends . While Help!... It's
1484-419: A dog solving supernatural mysteries, and became one of Hanna-Barbera's most successful creations, spawning several new spin-offs, such as The New Scooby-Doo Movies , Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and many others, which were regularly in production at Hanna-Barbera into the 1990s. Referred to as "The General Motors of animation", Hanna-Barbera produced nearly two-thirds of all Saturday-morning cartoons in
1590-476: A first for the Soviet home video market, where officials indicate that there are 660,000 VCR recordings, and films include Zabriskie Point , and other titles, none of them were colorized. From early 1995 to early 1997, THE also distributed home video releases from New Line Home Video , taking over from Columbia TriStar Home Video as well as distributing PBS programs on home video the year before (taking over from
1696-486: A formula for an original series was deemed successful, the studio reused it in subsequent series. Besides copying their own works, Hanna-Barbera drew inspiration from the works of other people and studios. Lehman considers that the studio served as the main example of how animation studios that focused on TV animation differed from those that focused on theatrical animation. Theatrical animation studios tried to maintain full and fluid animation and consequently struggled with
1802-564: A major part in film preservation and restoration. By broadcasting such classic films as King Kong , The Wizard of Oz , Gone with the Wind , Citizen Kane , Casablanca , Meet Me in St. Louis , Singin' in the Rain and the original The Jazz Singer , on numerous Turner affiliated cable channels, as well as in showing them in revival movie houses and home video worldwide, Turner introduced
1908-511: A new generation to these films. On November 29, 1989, Turner made another attempt to buy MGM/UA, but the deal failed, and they formed Turner Pictures and Turner Pictures Worldwide instead. On October 29, 1991, Turner acquired Hanna-Barbera Productions and most of the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears Productions library from Great American Broadcasting for $ 320 million. Shortly after the acquisition, on October 1, 1992, Turner Broadcasting System launched Cartoon Network , and later Boomerang , to serve as
2014-407: A partnership with Columbia Pictures. Character designs were simplified, and backgrounds and animation cycles (walks, runs, etc.) were regularly re-purposed. Characters were often broken up into a handful of levels so that only the parts of the body that needed to be moved at a given time (i.e. a mouth, an arm, a head) were animated. The rest of the figure remained on a held animation cel. This allowed
2120-470: A policy that they would pass on making sequels to now-Turner-owned properties in favor of colorization of old black-and-white movies. On December 2, 1987, Turner Entertainment had entered into an agreement with American Film Technologies to computer-colorize three films from the MGM library that were originally in black-and-white: Boom Town , They Were Expendable and Catered Affair , and Turner would have
2226-414: A production company, Turner Entertainment also created original in-house programming, such as documentaries about the films it owns, new animated material based on Tom & Jerry and other related cartoon properties, and once produced made-for-television films, miniseries, and theatrical films such as Gettysburg , Tom and Jerry: The Movie , Fallen , The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance under
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#17328026229362332-618: A ratings and merchandising success and the top-ranking animated program in syndication history. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, but its reputation eventually improved and it is now considered a classic. The Yogi Bear Show , Top Cat , The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series (consisting of Wally Gator , Touché Turtle and Dum Dum and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har ) and The Jetsons soon followed in 1961 and 1962. Several animated television commercials were produced as well, often starring their own characters (including
2438-408: A result, Turner Entertainment is now an in-name-only subsidiary of Warner Bros., serving merely as a copyright holder for a portion of their library. Hanna-Barbera's current purpose as the in-name only unit of Warner Bros. Animation is to serve as the copyright holder for its creations such as The Flintstones , Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear while Warner Bros. handles sales and merchandising. As
2544-408: A sculpted latticework exterior, moat, fountains, and a Jetsons -like tower. The Magilla Gorilla Show , Jonny Quest , The Peter Potamus Show , Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel followed in 1964 and 1965. The partnership with Screen Gems would last until 1965 when Hanna and Barbera announced the sale of their studio to Taft Broadcasting . Taft's acquisition of Hanna-Barbera was delayed for
2650-461: A shirt and tie while eating a peanut butter sandwich. Rex appeared only on one episode, but a myth grew where many people thought the dog was a nightly guest. By 1972, WTCG had acquired the rights to telecast Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games. Turner would go on to purchase UHF Channel 36 WRET (now WCNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina , and ran it with a format similar to WTCG. In 1976,
2756-516: A significant ratings success, the top-rated program in eight years and the highest for an NBC show since 1970. The Gary Coleman Show , Shirt Tales , Pac-Man , The Little Rascals , The Dukes , Monchhichis , The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show and The Biskitts followed in 1982 and 1983. Following a 1982 strike , more cartoons were outsourced to Cuckoo's Nest Studios , Mr. Big Cartoons , Toei Animation and Fil-Cartoons in Australia and Asia, which provided production services to
2862-799: A single year. Josie and the Pussycats , The Funky Phantom , The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan , Speed Buggy , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids , Goober and the Ghost Chasers , Inch High, Private Eye , Clue Club , Jabberjaw , Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and The New Shmoo built upon the mystery-solving template set by Scooby-Doo , with further shows built around teenagers solving mysteries with
2968-516: A story published by The Saturday Evening Post in 1961, critics stated that Hanna-Barbera was taking on more work than it could handle and was resorting to shortcuts only a television audience would tolerate. An executive who worked for Walt Disney Productions said, "We don't even consider [them] competition". Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman argues that Hanna-Barbera attempted to maximize their bottom line by recycling story formulas and characterization instead of introducing new ones. Once
3074-523: A televised fistfight in Las Vegas . Murdoch's Fox News , established in 1996, became a rival to Turner's CNN, a channel that Murdoch regarded with disdain for its "liberal slant" in news coverage. Time Warner declined to carry it on their New York City cable network in response, who in the midst of a merger, Turner said would "squash Rupert Murdoch like a bug." In 2003, Turner challenged Murdoch to another fistfight, and later on accused Murdoch of being
3180-464: A typical seven-minute short to be done with only nearly 2,000 drawings instead of the usual 14,000. Dialogue, music, and sound effects were emphasized over action, leading Chuck Jones —a contemporary who worked for Warner Bros. Cartoons and whose short The Dover Boys practically invented many of the concepts in limited animation—to disparagingly refer to the limited television cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and others as "illustrated radio". In
3286-723: A year by a lawsuit from Cohn's family, wife Joan Perry and sons John and Harrison Cohn, who felt the studio undervalued the Cohns' 18% share in when it was sold a few years previously. In 1966, Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles and Space Ghost debuted, and by December of that year the litigation had been settled, Taft finally acquired Hanna-Barbera for $ 12 million and folded the studio into its corporate structure in 1967 and 1968, becoming its distributor. Hanna and Barbera stayed on while Screen Gems retained licensing and distribution rights to their previous produced cartoons and trademarks to
Turner Entertainment - Misplaced Pages Continue
3392-574: Is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor , and philanthropist . He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS , which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television , which later became TBS . As a philanthropist, he gave $ 1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation , a public charity to broaden U.S. support for
3498-489: Is loosely based on The Honeymooners and is set in a fictionalized Stone Age of cavemen and dinosaurs. Jackie Gleason considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copyright infringement , but decided not to because he did not want to be known as "the man who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air". For six seasons, it became the longest-running animated show in American prime time at the time (until The Simpsons beat it in 1997),
3604-674: The 1996 Summer Olympics as Centennial Olympic Stadium and then converted into a baseball-only facility for the Braves, was named after him. In 1978, he contacted media executive Reese Schonfeld with his plans to launch a 24-hour news channel (Schonfeld had previously approached Turner with the same proposition in 1977 but was rebuffed). Schonfeld responded that it could be done with a staff of 300 if they used an all electronic newsroom and satellites for all transmissions. It would require an initial investment of $ 15 million–$ 20 million and several million dollars per month to operate. In 1979, Turner sold his North Carolina station, WRET , to fund
3710-501: The American Financial Corporation acquired Taft in 1987 and renamed it Great American Broadcasting. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo , The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley , new episodes of Yogi Bear , Fantastic Max , The Further Adventures of SuperTed and Paddington Bear followed in 1988 and 1989. Hanna-Barbera Poland, a Polish branch of the American studio, opened up and dealt with
3816-636: The Federal Communications Commission allowed WTCG to use a satellite to transmit content to local cable TV providers around the nation. On December 17, 1976, the rechristened WTCG-TV Super-Station began to broadcast old movies, situation comedy reruns, cartoons, and sports nationwide to cable-TV subscribers. As cable systems developed, many carried his station to free their schedules, which increased his viewers and advertising. The number of subscribers eventually reached 2 million and Turner's net worth rose to $ 100 million. He bought
3922-820: The Fleischer Studios / Famous Studios Popeye cartoons originally released by Paramount Pictures , the US/Canadian/Latin American/Australian distribution rights to the RKO Radio Pictures library (not including any films produced by Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn ), and most of the Gilligan's Island television franchise (not counting the TV movie sequels owned by other companies), all of which were owned by United Artists . In order to save funds, Turner instituted
4028-650: The Pebbles cereal commercials for Post ) and the opening credits for Bewitched , in which animated caricatures of Samantha and Darrin appeared. These characterizations were reused in The Flintstones' sixth season episode "Samantha". In 1963, Hanna-Barbera's operations moved to 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard West in Hollywood Hills / Studio City . This contemporary office building was designed by architect Arthur Froehlich . Its ultra-modern design included
4134-502: The Pittsburgh Pirates ) before National League president Chub Feeney ordered him to stop running the team. Feeney cited major league rules which bar managers and players from owning stock in their clubs. Turner appealed to Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn , and showed up to manage the Braves when they returned home. However, Kuhn turned down the appeal, citing Turner's "lack of familiarity with game operations." In
4240-749: The Turner Pictures banner. In 1995, the Turner Pictures production company developed a film slate. Turner also had an international distribution sales unit, accordingly named Turner Pictures Worldwide Distribution, Inc. Turner Pictures was folded into Warner Bros. after the Turner-Time Warner merger, and currently holds the distribution rights to the films made by the production division. Time Warner transferred some of Turner's leftover projects like City of Angels and You've Got Mail into Warner Bros. Turner Feature Animation
4346-611: The Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for fiction offering positive solutions to global problems. The winner, from 2500 entries worldwide, was Daniel Quinn 's Ishmael . In 1990, he created the Turner Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic grants concerning issues pertaining to the environment and overpopulation. In the same year he created Captain Planet , an environmental superhero . Turner produced
Turner Entertainment - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-746: The United States Navy Memorial with its Lone Sailor Award in 2013, Turner told The Washington Post , "I liked boats", and ended up getting "deployed to some pretty sweet places – Charleston and Fort Lauderdale." After leaving Brown University, Turner returned to the South in late 1960 to become general manager of the Macon, Georgia , branch of his father's business. Following his father's suicide in March 1963, Turner became president and chief executive of Turner Advertising Company when he
4558-514: The call sign to WTCG, erroneously claimed to have stood for " W atch T his C hannel G row" but in actuality stood for T urner C ommunications G roup. Initially, the station ran old movies from prior decades, along with theatrical cartoons and bygone sitcoms and drama programs. As a better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would acquire it for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand programming of
4664-509: The "largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast", according to It Ain't as Easy as It Looks . The book observed that Turner "discovered his father had sheltered a substantial amount of taxable income over the years by personally lending it back to the company" and "discovered that the billboard business could be a gold mine, a tax-depreciable revenue stream that threw off enormous amounts of cash with almost no capital investment". In
4770-404: The 1980s, however, the studio's fortunes were in decline, as the profitability of Saturday-morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication . Taft Broadcasting acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and retained ownership until 1991. It was in this year when Turner Broadcasting System acquired the studio, using the back catalog to establish Cartoon Network the following year. By
4876-454: The 1990s and early 2000s. At one point, he suggested to pitcher Andy Messersmith , who wore number 17, that he change his surname to "Channel" to promote the television station. In 1978, Turner struck a deal with a student-operated radio station at MIT , Technology Broadcasting System (now WMBR), to obtain the rights to the WTBS call sign for $ 50,000. Such a move allowed Turner to strengthen
4982-655: The 1996 Time Warner merger, the channel's archives gained the later Warner Bros. cartoon library as well as other Time Warner-owned cartoons. In 1993, Turner and Russian journalist Eduard Sagalajev founded the Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation (MIBC). This corporation operated the sixth frequency in Russian television and founded the Russian channel TV-6 . The company was later purchased by Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky and an unknown group of private persons. In 2007
5088-527: The Hair Bear Bunch! , Sealab 2020 , Wait Till Your Father Gets Home and Hong Kong Phooey aired, Charlotte's Web , an adaptation of the novel of the same name , was released on March 1, 1973 by Paramount Pictures , to moderate critical and commercial success, and was the first of only four Hanna-Barbera films not to be based upon one of their famous television cartoons (the other three being C.H.O.M.P.S. , Heidi's Song and Once Upon
5194-517: The Hanna-Barbera properties since then. Cartoon Network Studios Europe was rebranded as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe paying tribute to the studio in April 2021. The small budgets that television animation producers had to work within prevented Hanna-Barbera from working with the full theatrical-quality animation that Hanna and Barbera had been known for at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While
5300-549: The Hanna-Barbera studio faced demolition after many of its staff vacated the facilities in 1997, despite the efforts of preserving it. In 1998, following The Powerpuff Girls , Hanna-Barbera moved from Cahuenga Blvd. to Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, California in 1998, where Warner Bros. Animation was located. I Am Weasel would be its final show in 1999. After the studio's absorption into Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna died of throat cancer on March 22, 2001, at
5406-851: The Happy Days Gang , Richie Rich , The Flintstone Comedy Show , Space Stars , The Kwicky Koala Show , Trollkins and Laverne and Shirley in the Army debuted in 1980 and 1981, while Taft purchased Ruby-Spears from Filmways (which was eventually absorbed into Orion Pictures the following year), making it a sister studio to Hanna-Barbera and as a result, several early-1980s series were shared between both studios. While Filmation, Sunbow Productions , Marvel Productions , Rankin/Bass , DIC , Saban Entertainment and other Hollywood animation factories introduced successful animated series syndicated , including some based on licensed properties, Hanna-Barbera fell behind, as it no longer dominated
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#17328026229365512-584: The MGM and Warner Bros. film libraries which Turner owned were still distributed by MGM/UA Home Video along with THE until their rights expired in 1999, while THE handled the home video distribution of titles from the RKO library. THE released films produced by Turner Pictures on home video with their distributors and independently released the Hanna-Barbera cartoon library on home video. THE also released World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pay-per-view (PPV) events, wrestler profiles, and "Best Of" packages on video until
5618-480: The National Anthem only one time, on the 1st of June [the network's debut on June 1, 1980], and when the end of the world comes, we'll play ' Nearer, My God, to Thee ' before we sign off." Reportedly, Turner plans to make good on that promise. He commissioned a video recording of a military marching band playing the hymn. Turner has sometimes played the tape for reporters, noting the reason he made it. In 2015,
5724-498: The National Catholic Office for Radio and Television to produce 26 half-hour animated films in 1970, which never materialized. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! debuted on CBS on September 13, 1969; created by Ruby and Spears, it is a mystery-based program which blended comedy, action, and elements from I Love a Mystery and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis . For two seasons, it centered on four teenagers and
5830-482: The TV animation market as it did years earlier and lost control over children's programming, going down from 80% to 20%. The Smurfs , adapted from the Belgian comic by Peyo and centering on a group of tiny blue creatures led by Papa Smurf , debuted on NBC on September 12, 1981 and aired for nine seasons until December 2, 1989, becoming so the longest-running Saturday-morning cartoon series in broadcast history,
5936-858: The UK by First Independent Films ). Upon the Turner-Time Warner merger, THE was absorbed into Warner Home Video as an in-name-only unit in December 1996. However, Turner Classic Movies does release special edition DVD boxsets of films from both the Turner and Warner catalogs under the TCM label. (Some magazines, most notably Starlog , when listing upcoming releases from Warner related to Cartoon Network programming listed it as being released by THE, likely to differentiate it from other, adult-oriented titles.) Turner Entertainment's current library includes: Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938)
6042-785: The UN. Turner serves as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors . Additionally, in 2001, Turner co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with US Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). NTI is a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing global reliance on, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He currently serves as co-chairman of the board of directors. Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, which he took over in March 1963 after his father's suicide. It
6148-622: The United States until John C. Malone surpassed him in 2011. He uses much of his land for ranches to re-popularize bison meat (for his Ted's Montana Grill chain) and has amassed the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers . Turner was born on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati , Ohio , the son of Florence (née Rooney) and Robert Edward Turner II,
6254-518: The acquisition, Turner had amassed enormous debt and sold parts of the acquisition; Kerkorian bought back MGM/UA Entertainment. The MGM/UA Studio lot in Culver City was sold to Lorimar / Telepictures . Turner kept MGM's pre-May 1986 and pre-merger film and television library. Turner Entertainment was established in August 1986 to oversee film and television properties owned by Turner thanks to
6360-605: The age of 90 years old. While Cartoon Network Studios took over production of programming, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to preserve the Cahuenga Blvd. headquarters in May 2004, while allowing retail and residential development on the site. Barbera died of natural causes on December 18, 2006, at the age of 95 years old. Warner Bros. Animation continues to produce new productions based on
6466-417: The box-office during its initial theatrical run, with many of them moving to Hanna-Barbera shortly afterwards. In August 1960, it moved into a window-less, cinder block building at 3501 Cahuenga Boulevard West. Though too small to house the staff, some of its employees worked at home. The Flintstones premiered on ABC on September 30 1960, becoming so the first animated series airing in prime time. It
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#17328026229366572-506: The branding of his "Super-Station" using the initials TBS. Turner Communications Group was renamed Turner Broadcasting System and WTCG was renamed WTBS . In 1986, Turner founded the Goodwill Games with the goal of easing tensions between capitalist and communist countries. Broadcasting the events of these games also provided his superstation the ability to provide Olympic-style sports programming. Turner Field , first used for
6678-496: The budget for MGM's seven-minute Tom and Jerry shorts was about $ 35,000, the Hanna-Barbera studios were required to produce five-minute Ruff and Reddy episodes for no more than $ 3,000 apiece. To keep within these tighter budgets, Hanna-Barbera furthered the concept of limited animation (also called "planned animation") practiced and popularized by the United Productions of America (UPA) studio, which also once had
6784-761: The burst of the dot-com bubble hurt the growth and profitability of the AOL division, which in turn dragged down the combined company's performance and stock price. At a board meeting in fall 2001, Turner's outburst against AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin eventually led to Levin's announced resignation effective in early 2002, being replaced by Richard Parsons . In contrast to Levin, who as CEO isolated Turner from important company matters, Parsons invited Turner back to provide strategic advice, although Turner never received an operational role that he sought. The company dropped "AOL" from its name in October 2003. In December 2009, AOL
6890-552: The characters into the 1970s and 1980s. Shazzan , The Banana Splits , Wacky Races and its spin-offs ( Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop ) and Cattanooga Cats followed from 1967 to 1969. The studio's record and music label, Hanna-Barbera Records, was headed by Danny Hutton and distributed by Columbia . Children's records featuring its characters were released by Colpix . Hanna-Barbera teamed up with
6996-478: The charitable Goodwill Games . He helped revive interest in professional wrestling by purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions which was then rebranded as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". Turner has also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in
7102-411: The core of Cartoon Network . A year before, Turner's companies purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions (whose longtime parent, Taft/Great American Broadcasting , had been headquartered in Turner's original hometown of Cincinnati), beating out several other bidders including MCA Inc. (whose subsidiaries included Universal Pictures and Universal Destinations & Experiences ) and Hallmark Cards . With
7208-423: The deal with Kerkorian. Having now acquired MGM's library of 2,200 films made before 1986, Turner had them syndicated on his nationwide television stations. When broadcasting their older films, he aired colorized versions of ones originally shot in black-and-white. Opposition arose from cinephiles, actors, and directors to Turner's colorization efforts. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote on Turner's broadcasting of
7314-518: The defunct Pacific Arts). NLHE distributed New Line films on video by itself from 1997 until New Line Cinema merged with Warner Bros. in 2008. PBS shows are now distributed on video and DVD by PBS's own distribution company, PBS Distribution . In 1995, THE entered a distribution deal with Columbia TriStar Home Video in France, Britain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the deal expired in 1997 (although some films released on VHS by THE are distributed in
7420-675: The demise of WCW in 2001; the WCW video library, along with the rights to the WCW name and certain talent contracts, were sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in March 2001. In 1987, THE had signed a distribution deal with the Video Institute of the Soviet Union to release 10 titles from the pre-May 1986 MGM library in Russian videocassette rental shops, and the deal with Turner would be
7526-528: The early 1930s, they solidified a six decade working partnership, leading to their very first collaborative success, Tom and Jerry , centering on the madcap comical adventures of a cat and a mouse. Hanna supervised the animation, while Barbera did the stories and pre-production. Seven of the 114 cartoons won seven Oscars for "Best Short Subject (Cartoons)" between 1943 and 1953, and five additional shorts were nominated for twelve awards during this period. However, they were awarded to producer Fred Quimby , who
7632-551: The financial community over the debt-load of his companies, on August 26, 1986, he was forced to sell the MGM name, all of United Artists (UA), and the MGM Culver City studio lot back to Kerkorian for approximately $ 300 million after months of ownership. But in order to still go about his plans to broadcast the MGM/UA assets as "originals" on his TBS and upcoming TNT channels, Turner struck a deal with Kerkorian; Turner kept
7738-652: The first 24-hour all-animation channel, to air its library of cartoon classics, of which Hanna-Barbera was the core contributor. In 1993, the studio again renamed itself to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. (though the Hanna-Barbera Productions name was still used in regards to the pre-1992 properties) and, while Turner acquired its remaining interests from Apollo Investment Fund for $ 255 million, 2 Stupid Dogs , Droopy, Master Detective , The New Adventures of Captain Planet and SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron emerged that year. Turner refocused
7844-486: The former MGM animation staff—including animators Carlo Vinci , Kenneth Muse , Lewis Marshall, Michael Lah and Ed Barge and layout artists Ed Benedict and Richard Bickenbach —became the new production staff while Hoyt Curtin was in charge of providing the music. The Ruff and Reddy Show , the company's first television series, premiered on NBC on December 14, 1957, then The Huckleberry Hound Show debuted one year later, in 1958, airing in most markets, and
7950-590: The last seven shorts of Tex Avery 's Droopy series and produced and directed the short-lived Spike and Tyke , which ran for two entries. In addition to their work on the cartoons, the two men moonlighted on outside projects, including title sequences and commercials for I Love Lucy . MGM decided in mid-1957 to close its cartoon studio, as it felt it had acquired a reasonable backlog of shorts for re-release. While contemplating their future, Hanna and Barbera began producing additional animated television commercials. During their last year at MGM, they had developed
8056-585: The late 1960s Turner began buying several Southern radio stations. In 1969, he sold his radio stations to buy a struggling television station in Atlanta, UHF Channel 17 WJRJ (now WPCH). At the time, UHF stations did well only in markets without VHF stations, like Fresno, California , or in markets with only one station on VHF. Independent UHF stations were not ratings winners or that profitable even in larger markets, but Turner concluded that this would change as people wanted more than several choices. He changed
8162-489: The license for TV-6 had expired and there was no application for renewal. Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, with Turner as vice chairman and head of Time Warner Entertainment and Turner's cable networks division. Turner was dropped as head of cable networks by CEO Gerald Levin but remained as Vice Chairman of Time Warner Entertainment. He would be succeeded in March 2001 as head of Turner Broadcasting by Jamie Kellner , who
8268-768: The main competitor to Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). This rivalry became known as the Monday Night War , and would last throughout the 1990s. In 2001, under AOL Time Warner , WCW was sold to the WWF . Also in 1988, he introduced Turner Network Television (TNT) with Gone with the Wind . TNT, initially showing older movies and television shows, added original programs and newer reruns. Turner would later create Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1994, airing Turner's pre-1986 MGM library of films alongside those of Warner Bros. made before 1950, though it has expanded its library since. In 1989, Turner created
8374-597: The mid-1980s Turner began leaving day-to-day operations to the baseball operations staff, and the team (still under Turner's ownership) won the 1995 World Series . The Atlanta Braves were sold by Time Warner (which had assumed control after the merger with Turner Broadcasting System) to Liberty Media in 2007. Emmy Awards Sports Media Halls of Fame Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( / b ɑːr ˈ b ɛər ə / bar- BAIR -ə ) (founded and formerly known as H-B Enterprises , Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co. )
8480-413: The network. In 1982, Schonfeld was succeeded as CEO by Turner after a dispute over Schonfeld's firing of Sandi Freeman ; and was succeeded as president by CNN's executive vice president, Burt Reinhardt . Turner famously stated before the network debuted: "We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... we'll play
8586-471: The new distributor and its licensing agent, handling merchandizing of the characters from the animated programs as the cartoon firm officially opened for business in rented offices on the lot of Kling Studios (formerly Charlie Chaplin Studios ) on July 7, 1957, one year after the MGM animation studio closed. Sidney and several Screen Gems alumni became members of the studio's board of directors and much of
8692-522: The offer and it was formally withdrawn on August 5, 2014. Turner had a long-running feud with fellow cable magnate Rupert Murdoch for years. This originated in 1983 when a Murdoch-sponsored yacht collided with the yacht skippered by Turner, Condor , during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race , causing it to run aground 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the finish line. At the post-race dinner, a drunken Turner verbally assaulted Murdoch, afterward challenging him to
8798-495: The option to have AFT colorize additional 22 films and has a second option for another 24 films by 1992. On December 10, 1987, Turner acquired the worldwide licensing rights to 800 of RKO's films from its then-parent company Wesray Capital Corporation . On October 3, 1988, Turner Broadcasting System launched the TNT network, and later Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1994 to use their former MGM/UA library. In doing so, Turner has played
8904-434: The primary broadcaster of its vast animation library. On August 17, 1993, Turner purchased Castle Rock Entertainment and New Line Cinema for over $ 650 million. Turner Entertainment self-distributed much of its library for the first decade of its existence, but on October 10, 1996, Turner Broadcasting System was purchased by Time Warner Entertainment and its distribution functions were largely absorbed into Warner Bros. As
9010-690: The promotion and distribution of animated H-B content and is most well known for releasing VHS tapes with Polish music distributor P.P. Polskie Nagrania, which mostly consisted of numbered compilation releases of Hanna-Barbera shows on one tape. This would last until 1993, when the company separated and reincorporated itself as Curtis Art Productions. Great American sold Worldvision to Aaron Spelling Productions , while Hanna-Barbera and its library remained with them. Hanna-Barbera split off from Worldvision Home Video in early 1989 to start out its own home video division, Hanna-Barbera Home Video. In January 1989, while working on A Pup Named Scooby-Doo , Tom Ruegger got
9116-592: The signing of free agent outfielder Gary Matthews from the San Francisco Giants . Matthews signed a five-year, $ 1.875 million contract with the Braves on November 18, 1976. Kuhn's actions stemmed from remarks made by Turner to then-Giants owner Bob Lurie during the 1976 World Series . In addition, the Braves were also stripped of their first-round selections in the June 1978 draft of high school and college players. Turner, however, successfully appealed
9222-865: The studio formed Bedrock Productions and Great American putting Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears up for sale, Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone , Rick Moranis in Gravedale High , Tom & Jerry Kids , Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures , The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda and Wake, Rattle, and Roll debuted that year. The Pirates of Dark Water , Yo Yogi! and Young Robin Hood would follow in 1991. Turner Broadcasting System outbid MCA (then-parent company of Universal Pictures ), Hallmark Cards and other major companies in acquiring Hanna-Barbera while also purchasing Ruby-Spears as well. The two studios were acquired in
9328-796: The studio from 1982 to the end of its existence. Challenge of the GoBots , Pink Panther and Sons , Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show , Snorks , The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible , Galtar and the Golden Lance , Yogi's Treasure Hunt , The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians , The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo and Paw Paws debuted in 1984 and 1985. Pound Puppies , The Flintstone Kids , Foofur , Wildfire , new episodes of Jonny Quest , Sky Commanders and Popeye and Son arrived in 1986 and 1987. After its financial troubles affected Hanna-Barbera,
9434-621: The studio produced include The Huckleberry Hound Show , the Flintstones franchise, the Yogi Bear franchise, the Scooby-Doo franchise (until 2001), The Smurfs , and the opening credits of Bewitched . With these productions, Hanna-Barbera may have usurped Disney as the most successful animation studio in the world, with its characters becoming ubiquitous across different types of media and myriad consumer products. By
9540-440: The studio to produce new shows exclusively for its networks. In 1995, while Bruce Johnson would leave the company, Dumb and Dumber debuted, while Seibert launched What a Cartoon! for Cartoon Network. During 1996, Dexter's Laboratory , The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and Cave Kids debuted, while Turner merged with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery ). While Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken aired,
9646-562: The studio's film, television and cartoon library as well as a small portion of the United Artists library, forming Turner Entertainment Company during the exchange. The company was headed by Roger Mayer , who was a former executive of MGM, and formed a development division with the intention of making movies and TV shows. The library also included most of the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library (including all color Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons released before August 1948),
9752-429: The suspension and Kuhn relented and reinstated the draft selections, one of which would turn out to be Bob Horner from Arizona State University . On May 11, 1977, with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent manager Dave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip" and Turner himself took over as interim manager – the first owner/manager in the majors since Connie Mack . He ran the team for one game (a loss to
9858-476: The television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers and its later sequel series with Captain Planet as the featured character. In 1992, the pre-May 1986 MGM library, which also included Warner Bros. properties including the early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies libraries and also the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons from Paramount (and then United Artists), became
9964-502: The time Hanna died in 2001, Hanna-Barbera as a standalone company was folded into Warner Bros. Animation. The name continues to be used for copyright, marketing and branding purposes for former properties now produced by Warner Bros. William Denby "Bill" Hanna and Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera met at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio in 1938, while working at its animation unit . Having worked at other studios since
10070-435: The time, including fare such as Gilligan's Island , I Love Lucy , Star Trek , Hazel , and Bugs Bunny . Other low-cost content included humorist Bill Tush reading the news at 3 a.m., prompting Turner to jokingly comment that, "we have a 100% share at this time". Tush once delivered the news with his " co-anchor " Rex, a German Shepherd . The dog (who belonged to an associate) was shown next to Tush on set, wearing
10176-482: The transaction and established its headquarters in lower-cost, non-union Atlanta . Schonfeld was appointed first president and chief executive of the then-named Cable News Network (CNN). CNN hired Jim Kitchell, former general manager of news at NBC as vice president of production and operations; Sam Zelman as vice president of news and executive producer; Bill MacPhail as head of sports, Ted Kavanau as director of personnel, and Burt Reinhardt as vice president of
10282-541: The video was found in CNN's database and leaked. The video was tagged in the database as "[Hold for release] till end of world confirmed". Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In 1981, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Brut Productions from Faberge Inc. After a failed attempt to acquire CBS , Turner purchased the film studio MGM / UA Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian in 1986 for $ 1.5 billion. Following
10388-584: Was 24 and turned the firm into a global enterprise. He joined the Young Republicans , saying he "felt at ease among these budding conservatives and was merely following in [his father]'s far-right footsteps", according to It Ain't as Easy as It Looks . During the Vietnam War era, Turner's business prospered; it had "virtual monopolies in Savannah, Macon, Columbus , and Charleston " and was
10494-531: Was Turner's animation unit headed by David Kirschner and Paul Gertz. The two animated movies The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance were produced under Turner's animation unit. Spun off from the feature film division of Hanna-Barbera Productions , Turner Feature Animation was folded into Warner Bros. Feature Animation , which was then merged into Warner Bros. Animation. In the first decade of its existence, Turner released most of its own catalogue on home video through Turner Home Entertainment (THE). However,
10600-459: Was also greatly responsible for cancelling WCW 's television contracts on networks which Turner previously ran. He resigned as AOL Time Warner vice chairman in 2003 and then from the Time Warner board of directors in 2006. On January 11, 2001, Time Warner Entertainment was purchased by America Online (AOL) to become AOL Time Warner, a merger which Turner initially supported. However,
10706-548: Was also the first cartoon to win an Emmy . Several animation alumni joined – in particular former Warner Bros. Cartoons storymen Michael Maltese and Warren Foster as head writers, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears as film editors and Iwao Takamoto as character designer. After reincorporating as Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. , The Quick Draw McGraw Show and the theatrical cartoon short series Loopy De Loop followed in 1959. Walt Disney Productions laid off several of its animators after Sleeping Beauty (1959) bombed on
10812-675: Was an American production company , which was active from 1957 until its absorption into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. Founded on July 7, 1957 by Tom and Jerry creators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera along with George Sidney , it was headquartered in Los Angeles at the Kling Studios from 1957 to 1960, then on Cahuenga Boulevard from 1960 to 1998 and subsequently at the Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks from 1998 to 2001. Notable productions that
10918-637: Was not involved in the development of the shorts. Sequences for Anchors Aweigh , Dangerous When Wet and Invitation to the Dance and shorts Gallopin' Gals , The Goose Goes South , Officer Pooch , War Dogs and Good Will to Men were also made. With Quimby's retirement in May 1955, Hanna and Barbera became the producers in charge of the MGM animation studio's output. In addition to continuing to write and direct new Tom & Jerry shorts, now in CinemaScope , Hanna and Barbera supervised
11024-865: Was produced, as well as new live-action/animated combos since the mid-1960s. In 1975, former MGM executive Herbert F. Solow joined the company to start a live-action unit, Hanna-Barbera Television, to produce prime time programming, which later spun off and became Solow Production Company in 1976. Along with the animation industry in the U.S., it moved away from producing in-house in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While The Great Grape Ape Show and The Mumbly Cartoon Show aired, Ruby and Spears worked with Hanna-Barbera in 1976 and 1977 as ABC network executives to create and develop new cartoons before leaving in 1977 to start their company, Ruby-Spears Enterprises , with Filmways as its parent division. In 1979, Taft bought Worldvision Enterprises , which became Hanna-Barbera's new distributor. Super Friends , The Fonz and
11130-459: Was spun off from the Time Warner conglomerate as a separate company. Turner was Time Warner's biggest individual shareholder. It is estimated he lost as much as $ 7 billion when the stock collapsed in the wake of the merger. When asked about buying back his former assets, he replied that he "can't afford them now". In June 2014, Rupert Murdoch 's 21st Century Fox made a bid for the company valuing it at $ 80 billion. The Time Warner board rejected
11236-685: Was worth $ 1 million. His purchase of an Atlanta UHF station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System . CNN revolutionized news media, covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 and the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves baseball team into a nationally popular franchise (including winning the 1995 World Series under his ownership), and launched
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