Jane Fonda and Ted Turner were a 1990s power couple, having gotten together months after she and prominent California politician Tom Hayden ended their 17-year marriage. The two-time Oscar winner has yet to weigh in publicity about Turner’s death Wednesday at 87, but she talked about his movie legacy during an event in Hollywood last week.
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“My favorite ex-husband created Turner Classic Movies — that was Ted Turner,” Fonda said at the event. “On our very first date, he talked to me all about Turner Classic Movies, and I do think it was one of the great things he did.”
Mankiewicz then asked the two-time Oscar winner, “In this world we live in today, why do we need TCM now?”
Fonda thought for a long moment before replying, “We need to know what it used to be like. We need to know what the greats were like — the great directors, the great actresses, the great actors. We want to see how people used to behave.”
She added: “I know a young girl who came from a very, very disadvantaged background, and she learned manners and how to behave from TCM.”
Fonda and Turner were married from 1991-2001 but remained friends in the ensuing years.
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