The Chicago journalism community is in shock after the sudden passing of WMAQ-TV sports anchor and reporter Daryl Hawks on Thursday. He was only 38 years old. Hawks was on assignment in Atlanta Thursday covering Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks when he missed a wake-up call at 9:30 a.m. in […]
Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times (Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 19, 2011 due to new information.) Chicago Sun-Times Chairman James C. Tyree, (known as Jim Tyree) passed away Wednesday night at the age of 53. On Friday, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death an accident from an air embolism after a dialysis catheter removal. […]
The industry is morning the death of prolific producer Al Masini, who passed away on Monday at his Honolulu home at the age of 80 due to cancer. Masini was instrumental in creating successful first-run syndicated programming including Solid Gold, Entertainment Tonight, Star Search, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and a spin-off, Runaway with the Rich and Famous. He […]
This past week, we saw the passing of two classic TV stars. Last Saturday, actress Barbara Billingsley passed away at the age of 94. Billingsley was best known for playing June Cleaver in Leave It To Beaver, which premiered on CBS on October 4, 1957 and moved to ABC in 1958, where it ran for five more seasons. Billingsley also […]
Writer, producer, and businessman Stephen J. Cannell, died yesterday at the age of 69 in his Pasadena, Calif. home from complications resulting from melanoma. The news came as a shock to a lot of people, since his illness wasn’t made public. Cannell wrote, created, and produced many television shows, selling his first script in 1968 to Universal for It Takes […]
Ward L. Quaal, a Chicago television and radio pioneer instrumental in laying the groundwork for WGN-AM and WGN-TV, died Friday at the age of 91. Quaal began his career in 1936 at a radio station in Marquette, Mich., and went to WGN Radio in 1941. As a staff announcer, he broke the news that Pearl Harbor was bombed, which brought […]
I guess celebrity deaths come in threes. Just a week after Gary Coleman and Dennis Hopper passed away, now comes word on the death of Rue McClanahan, who died this morning after complications from a stroke. She was 76. McClanahan’s TV credits include Maude, Apple Pie (a two-episode ABC sitcom clunker from 1978), and Mama’s Family, but McClanahan is best […]
Gary Coleman, who is best known for one of America’s most famous catch phrases, died today at the age of 42 from complications of a fall earlier in the week. Coleman was known to utter the phrase “What’cha Talking About” on Diff’rent Strokes, a sitcom he starred in and ran on NBC from 1978-85 and ABC from 1985-86. The Zion, […]
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Everyone! Terry Claus is here to deliver some goodies to the good little children… and coal to those who are not-so-good! Who won and who lost… Gifts under the tree – The Doctors. Christmas came early for the one hour medical talk show strip with seasons three and four cleared in 85 percent of the country. […]
One of journalism’s most trustworthy figures has passed away. Walter Cronkite, who was a longtime anchor of The CBS Evening News for nineteen years, died this evening at the age of 92. Cronkite was with CBS News for 31 years, when he was forced out in 1981 due to the network’s mandatory retirement of anyone who reached the age of […]
The best and worst of the last three weeks: Good. – The Michael Jackson Memorial Service. Tasteful and dignified. – America’s Got Talent. Once again, the hit of the summer season with an average of 11 million viewers. And it still hasn’t found its Susan Boyle! – Casey Kasem. Tip of the hat to the man who practically invented counting […]
A special edition of T Dog’s Four Pack this week, in honor of four individuals who passed away this week – two of these I have already written obituaries for. – Ed McMahon. Click here for the obit on the legendary pitchman and second banana. – John Callaway. Click here for the obit on the legendary interviewer. – Farrah Fawcett. […]
Sadly, the Grim Reaper has been busy. Farrah Fawcett: http://tiny.cc/mVgyv Michael Jackson: http://tiny.cc/BYJX8 With the passing of these two icons – plus the deaths of Ed McMahon and John Callaway, it’s been a very sad week. Rest in peace, all.
A day after TV legend Ed McMahon died, another media legend – this time locally – has passed on. John Callaway – a figure in Chicago media for the last four to five decades, died Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack in Racine, Wis. Callaway was known for his tough interviews with local and national politicians and other figures, […]
One of television’s most recognizable faces – and voices – has left us. Ed McMahon, best known as Johnny Carson’s sidekick for more than thirty years on The Tonight Show passed away this morning at the age of 86. McMahon’s entertainment career spanned more than fifty years, including stints as a game show host, announcer, actor, and commercial pitchman. Aside […]