TVSquad

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

• Malvin Wald: He is best known for writing the screenplay to The Naked City, which later became a TV series and pretty much spawned later police dramas such as NYPD Blue and Law and Order. He also wrote for The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Daktari, Combat, Playhouse 90, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died at age 90 in California.

• At 8, NBC has a new Dateline.
• UPN has a new Friday Night Smackdown! at 8.
• TLC has two new episodes of Take Home Chef, starting at 8, followed by a new What Not To Wear.
• "Shark Week" continues on Discovery.
• Also at 8: HBO has a mini-marathon of Entourage.
• At 9, ABC has another repeat of Kyle XY from ABC Family.
• American Life has Crime Story at 9.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate: SG-1 at 9, followed by a new Stargate Atlantis.
• More coverage of The X-Games at 9 on ESPN.
• Also at 9: USA has new eps of Monk and Psych.
• At 11, VH-1 has the 100th episode of Best Week Ever.

Reader Lisa Litts asks the following question:

I would like to find out what happened to Ray Sharky. I don't remember what show he was on a show in the 80's. I would like to know if he is still living or dead.

Sadly, Lisa, Ray Sharkey, passed away in 1993 of AIDS. However, before his untimely death (he was only forty-years-old) Sharkey did appear in a number of successful series in the 1980's. He is mainly remembered as Sonny Steelgrave, crime-boss and friend to Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl) on the CBS drama Wiseguy. While Sharkey appeared in only about a dozen episodes in the first season (which began in the fall of 1987) he made a lasting impression.  While playing Steelgrave on Wiseguy he also had an recurring role U.S. District Attorney Harry Breitel on the NBC show Crime Story.

• FOX has a repeat "two hour event" 24 at 8pm.
• ABC reveals the $100,000 grand prize winner on a two hour America's Funniest Home Videos at 8. It's followed by a new 20/20.
• CBS has repeats of Ghost Whisperer, Close To Home, and Numb3rs.
• NBC has The Olympics, starting at 8.
• UPN has a new Smackdown at 8, while The WB has new eps of What I Like About You, Living With Fran, Reba, and Twins.
• ABC Family has Home Alone 2: Lost in New York at 8, while TNT has Twister and TMC has Timeline.
• Also at 8: Sci-Fi Channel has new eps of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica. 
• At 9, HGTV has a new Double Take, followed by a new Freestyle.
• American Life has Dennis Farina in Crime Story at 9.
• Also at 9: Comedy Central has two new eps of Comedy Central Presents, while HBO2 has Stiller and Owen in Starsky and Hutch.
• At 10, Showtime has Saw.
• At 10:30, IFC has a Dinner For Five, with guest host Kevin Smith and guests Stan Lee, J.J. Abrams, Mark Hamill, and Jason Lee. 
• Also at 10:30: Noggin has a new Instant Star.
• At 11, USA has more of the Chrysler Classic golf tournament.
• At 11:15, TBS has the funny Galaxy Quest.