Ted Dabney that "I'm sure [Bushnell] had no desire to even acknowledge that I ever existed" and "He wouldn't give me any credit even while I was still there". Dabney was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late 2017, and opted against treatment. He died on May 26, 2018 in his Clearlake home from complications from the cancer. Ted Dabney Samuel Frederick "Ted" Dabney Jr. (May 2, 1937 – May 26, 2018) was an American electrical engineer, and the co-founder, alongside Nolan Bushnell, of Atari, Inc. He is recognized as developing the basics of video circuitry principles that were used for "Computer Space"
Ted Dabney studied trade drafting, which led to him getting a job with the California Department of Transportation while still a teenager. He eventually got his high school diploma from San Mateo High School; Dabney credited a math teacher named Walker there that got him interested in the electronics and computing areas. He then had a summer position with a local surveyor company, but when the work dried up by the winter, he was let go, and he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Within his three years of the Corps he took courses on electronics, giving him an interest in