Malone and Magness saw that if they didn't split TCI's cables from its content, Washington might.

FORBES: Taking Liberty

At 32 he quit to partner up with Robert Magness, a GI customer and chairman of TCI.

FORBES: Taking Liberty

It's a year for "films that were of little means with film of humongous means, " said "Precious" producer Sarah Siegel-Magness.

CNN: 'Avatar,' 'Hurt Locker' lead in Oscar nods

"I believe it brought validity to 'Precious' ' story as a universal story, because Oprah and Tyler speak to the masses, " Siegel-Magness said.

CNN: 'Avatar,' 'Hurt Locker' lead in Oscar nods

At 32 he quit to partner up with Robert Magness, a GI customer and chairman of TCI, which by then had 400, 000 cable TV subscribers.

FORBES: Taking Liberty

Magness, a sly Texan in the Ross Perot mold, had started out with 700 customers in Memphis, Tex. in 1956, back when operators pulled TV signals free from the sky and pumped them into markets too puny for broadcasters or bureaucrats to bother with.

FORBES: Taking Liberty