WILV’s Mark Sullivan dies
Sad news to report: WILV-FM (Love FM) nighttime DJ Mark Sullivan has passed away at the too-young age of 40 from a heart condition. An obituary has been posted on Love FM’s website.
Roger King laid to rest
Now on to a class act. Syndication veteran Roger King’s funeral service was held yesterday in Palm Beach at Donald Trump’s Mar-a Lago resort. King suffered a stroke on Friday at his home in Boca Raton, Fla. and died the next day. King will be buried on Saturday. Among those who paid their last respects included Oprah Winfrey and Phil […]
Remembering Roger King
Tributes are pouring in from all over the industry, from television executives to television personalities, on Roger King and what he meant to the business.
Roger King dies
The television community is mourning the death of Roger King, a television legend who helped bring the once-dormant syndication business into profitability and stability. King suffered a stroke Friday at his Boca Raton, Fla. home and died on Saturday at the age of 63. King World was founded by his father, Charles King in the 1960’s, which one of its […]
John Drury dies
A melancholy happy trails to John Drury. The former WBBM-TV, WLS-TV and WGN-TV news anchor who retired in 2002, lost his battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He died last night at the age of 80. Drury got his started in television at Milwaukee’s WTMJ, where he was a staff announcer. He began anchoring the news at the station […]
Happy Trails
My apologies for just getting around to these stories, but a belated happy trails to two notable Chicagoans: Jimmy P. Stagg, a discjockey who worked at the old WCFL in the 1960’s and 1970’s, who helped shape Chicago’s Top 40 wars with WLS back in the day. He passed away last week from cancer at the age of 72. He […]
Merv Griffin dies
The legendary former talk-show host and producer, who basically put first-run syndication on the map with Dance Fever, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!, has died at the age of 82, due to a bout with prostate cancer. Mr. Griffin was a bandleader, singer, TV star, and a performer at KFRC-AM San Francisco before he became involved in the backside of […]
Tom Snyder dies
Host of NBC’s Tomorrow show, a local KABC-TV(Los Angeles) talk show, and a late night show for CBS, dies at the age of 71.
Charles Nelson Reilly passes
Best known for his long-running stint on The Match Game, Mr. Reilly passes at 76.
Milt Grant dies
The bold station owner, who purchased WGBO-TV in 1985, passed away Saturday at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the 1980’s, he founded stations in Dallas (KTXA) and Houston (KTXH), and purchased WDCA in Washington, D.C., but sold them all to Gulf Broadcasting. In 1984, he founded WBFS-TV in Miami, and a year later, he purchased WGBO and WGBS-TV […]
Tom Poston dies
Best known for roles in Mork & Mindy, Newhart, and Family Matters, Mr. Poston dies at the age of 85.
Calvert DeForest dies
Best known to fans of Late Night With David Letterman as Larry “Bud” Melman, Calvert DeForest passed away Monday in a Long Island hospital after a long illness. He was 85. Because his character’s name was NBC’s intellectual property, his appeared on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman under his real name, when the show switched networks in 1993. Mr. […]
Anna Nicole Smith Dies
The former model and Playboy Playmate and reality TV star (E!’s The Anna Nicole Smith Show, 2002-04) was found dead in a hotel room in Hollywood, Fla. this afternoon. She was 39. Link: Chicago Tribune Link: Entertainment Tonight
Allan Stagg Dies
The first post of the new year, and sadly, like much of the posts I wrote last year (particularly last month)…. an obituary. Allan Stagg (1951-2007) A true Chicago radio legend.
CBS co-founder dies
It’s been a rough December in the entertainment business, where it seems like legends are dying every few days. Now, another death – this time the person who co-founded CBS with William Paley, Frank Stanton, dies at 98.