Variety reports that Jamie Kellner, the former TV executive who served as the head of Turner Broadcasting, has passed away at 77. For wrestling fans, Kellner was in charge of Turner in 2000, taking over from Ted Turner. He was the one who made the call to cancel the TV contracts of WCW, as the company was losing money and AOL Time Warner wanted to move away from wrestling. WCW Nitro and Thunder left TNT and TBS, respectively, in 2001, and the company was bought out by WWE.
Outside of wrestling, he helped launch both the FOX network and the WB, helping both become profitable. He was around during the heyday of the latter, when shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 7th Heaven were big. With FOX, he was around for the early days, with Married with Children, In Living Color and more. He’s also behind the launch of Fox Kids, which spawned popular kids shows like Power Rangers, Animaniacs and X-Men, among others.
411 would like to give our condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Kellner.
