The internet is filled with things. Here is one of them.
Letter to Ted Turner from his father [PDF]2026 May 7bu.edu
In light of Ted Turner's passing, the linked letter is making the rounds. Undated but likely circa 1956, it's from Ted's father, Robert, owner of a billboard company, and is chastising Ted's decision to study classics at Brown University. The quick and entertaining three-page read starts by saying that he "almost puked" before describing the works of Plato and Aristotle as "useless deliberation," and concludes with "I think you are rapidly becoming a jackass" (a sentence I could use in my personal repertoire). "You are in the hands of the Philistines, and dammit, I sent you there. I am sorry. Devotedly, DAD". Nothing like a father's love, is there?
The letter may have struck a nerve, as Ted would switch his major to Economics prior to his expulsion for fraternizing with a woman. And Robert, sadly, would commit suicide a few short years later, effectively making Ted president of the family business at just 24 years old.
In light of Ted Turner's passing, the linked letter is making the rounds. Undated but likely circa 1956, it's from Ted's father, Robert, owner of a billboard company, and is chastising Ted's decision to study classics at Brown University. The quick and entertaining three-page read starts by saying that he "almost puked" before describing the works of Plato and Aristotle as "useless deliberation," and concludes with "I think you are rapidly becoming a jackass" (a sentence I could use in my personal repertoire). "You are in the hands of the Philistines, and dammit, I sent you there. I am sorry. Devotedly, DAD". Nothing like a father's love, is there?
The letter may have struck a nerve, as Ted would switch his major to Economics prior to his expulsion for fraternizing with a woman. And Robert, sadly, would commit suicide a few short years later, effectively making Ted president of the family business at just 24 years old.