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.

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.