TVSquad

Businessman and talk show host Merv Griffin died last night of prostate cancer. He was 82. Rich had told you the other day, there were rumors floating around that Griffin was very ill and that it didn't look good. Those reports turned out to be true.

Griffin started as a singer in San Francisco and had roles on TV shows and movies, though he went on to greater fame as host of The Merv Griffin Show, the daytime talk show that lasted several years.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Hal Fishman: He was the longest-running anchor in TV history. He did the news on L.A.'s KTLA non-stop since 1975. He started in news in 1960. He not only won several journalism and TV awards, he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992. He died of colon cancer at the age of 75.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Bill Flemming: He was a sportscaster for ABC who covered everything from the Olympics to golf to chess championships. He worked in broadcasting for 60 years (including a stint on NBC's Today) and was a fixture on Wide World of Sports for years. He died of cancer at age 80.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Pete Wilson: He was a veteran, award-winning news anchor and talk show host for California TV station KGO-TV. Over the years he also worked for KRON-TV and KTXL-TV. He died in Palo Alto from a heart attack during surgery. He was 62.

Tammy Faye Messner, who was just interviewed by Larry King a few days ago, has died of cancer.

She actually died yesterday, and the news was announced on CNN tonight. Larry King had a special tribute show for Messner on Saturday's show (though I'm wondering why he's calling her "great" and an old interview he conducted with her and Jim Bakker as "historic"). She died at home, and a ceremony was already held and her ashes were interred in a private ceremony.

Messner is probably best known for marrying Jim Bakker in 1961. In the 70s they started the Trinity Broadcasting Company. In 1974 they started the PTL Club and a television network. Bakker later had an affair with Jessica Hahn and was convicted of fraud (he used millions of dollars he had raised from followers) and conspiracy. He spent six years in jail. The couple divorced in 1992. Tammy Faye married Ron Messner in 1993. Tammy Faye appeared on VH-1's The Surreal Life and there was a documentary about her, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Jack B. Sowards: He was a television and film writer who wrote for Bonanza, Peyton Place, Daniel Boone, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Hagen, The Bold Ones, B.L. Stryker, and Star Trek: TNG. He also wrote the big screen movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He died in Valley Village, CA at age 78.

The thing about the cable and PBS portion of the TCA tour is that it's a lot like your first two years of college. Remember when you had to take all those science and literature required classes before you could sink your teeth into your major?

Don't get me wrong there's a lot of great programming that's not on the major networks. But attending panels on Discovery Channel's Ocean of Fear: The Worst Shark Attack Ever, CNN's Planet in Peril, and The History Channel's 1968 with Tom Brokaw kind of feels like going to school.

NBC starts today and it's one of the most anticpated days of the tour.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Will Schaefer: He wrote background music for a number of TV shows over the years, including The Flintstones, I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, The Jetsons, The Tonight Show, Disneyland, The Super Friends, The Phil Silvers Show, Barnaby Jones, and The Flying Nun. He also did music for over 700 commercials (!). He died of cancer near Palm Springs, CA at age 78.

I think most readers are going to be stunned that this guy was still alive in 2007.

Lane was one of the most famous character actors in TV history, appearing on such programs as Petticoat Junction (where he was a regular), I Love Lucy, Dark Shadows, L.A. Law, St. Elsewhere, Little House on the Prairie, The Odd Couple, and...oh, way too many to list here. He was also in the films It's A Wonderful Life, The Road To Singapore, 42nd Street, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and many others. His career spanned over 60 years, his last role as the narrator in the short film The Night Before Christmas in 2006.

Lane passed away quietly on Tuesday in Santa Monica, CA.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Boots Randolph: He was a renowned sax player best known for his early 60s hit "Yakety Sax," which was later used as the theme song on Benny Hill. Randolph recorded dozens of albums and played in many bands, and was part of the Million Dollar Band on Hee-Haw for many years. He died after suffering a brain aneurysm and falling into a coma two weeks ago. He was 80.

This is rather stunning news.

ABC movie critic and entertainment editor Joel Siegel has died at the age of 63. He had been battling colon cancer for a very long time, since discovering he had it at age 57. His family and friends were with him when he died.

Siegel started at WABC-TV and then reviewed movies on Good Morning America He also authored the book Lessons For Dylan, a guidebook for his unborn son on how to live life. He was also one of the cofounders of Gilda's Club, along with Gene Wilder, who lost wife Gilda Radner to cancer.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Donna King Conkling: She was one of the original members of the King Sisters singing group and one of the stars of the ABC show The King Family in the 60s. She also appeared in several movies, including Meet The People, Cuban Pete, and Sing Your Worries Away. She died in Texas at age 88.

• Claudia Cohen: She was one of the more famous gossip columnists, and had a regular spot on both Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and Live with Regis and Kelly, as well guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm and ESPN. She got her start writing for The New York Post also wrote the "I, Claudia" column for The New York Daily News. Cohen died last Saturday of complications from stomach cancer that was first diagnosed six years ago.