TV Obits: Haines, Stafford, Charles, Gates
Posted Jul 29th 2008 1:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Obituaries, Reality-Free
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- Larry Haines: He portrayed Stu Bergman on Search For Tomorrow for the entire series, from 1951 to 1986. He won two Emmys for the role. Haines also appeared in many other shows, including Kojak, Maude, The Defenders, The Nurses, Another World, and Loving, as well as the movies The Odd Couple (he played Speed) and The Seven-Ups. He died at age 89.
- Jo Stafford: She was a legendary singer, with many Top 10 hits, and recorded with people such as Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey. Her songs have been used in dozens of movies and TV shows over the years. She appeared in such shows as The Steve Allen Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, What's My Line?, Toast of the Town, and the special Sinatra 75. She also hosted her own variety show in the mid-50s, The Jo Stafford Show. She died of congestive heart failure in Century City at age 90.
- Keith Charles: He was another soap vet, one of the actors who played Brandon Spaulding on Guiding Light in the 1980s (he was also on almost every other soap of the past 25 years). He also appeared on Kate & Allie, Law and Order, Newhart, Dallas, Simon & Simon, Remington Steele, Barnaby Jones, and many other shows. He was also an acclaimed stage actor. He died of lung cancer at age 74.
- Jim Gates: Besides producing the 1971 Emmy Awards and directing such shows as The ABC Afterschool Specials and The Vision Awards, he worked on The George Burns and Grace Allen Show, the pilot of I Love Lucy, and was Executive VP of Programming at KTTV in Hollywood. He died of cancer at age 81.
Tags: guiding light, jim gates, jo stafford, kate and allie, keith charles, kttv, larry haines, search for tomorrow, tv deaths, vision awards
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