TVSquad

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

• Warren Cowan: He was a veteran publicist who had an incredible list of clients over the years, including Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Tony Curtis, Steve McQueen, Natalie Wood, and Joan Crawford. He was the father of journalist Claudia Cowan and stepfather to Melissa and Sara Gilbert. He died of cancer in Los Angeles at age 87.

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• FOX has new episodes of 'Til Death, Back To You, and American Idol.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by a new Law and Order.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then a new Farmer Wants A Wife.
• There's a new Secrets of the Dead on PBS at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has Frank Sinatra movies, including The Tender Trap and Marriage on the Rocks.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• At 11, TV Land has a new Big 4-0.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Besides being the day that the series finale of Seinfeld aired, May 14, 1998 was also the day that legendary singer and actor Frank Sinatra died at the age of 82. I remember spending an entire week listening to nothing but Sinatra songs, watching all the specials that aired that week, reading all of the obituaries and tributes. And now TCM is going to honor the man by airing a month long tribute starting today. In fact, they've launched a special web site for the event, Frank Sinatra: The Man and His Movies.

Ah, Christmas music. A lot of people hate it. Those people are called "Scrooges."

I love Christmas music. The classic stuff, that is. Sinatra, Clooney, Como, instrumental music. If I hear Bruce Spingsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" or anything by Mariah Carey or U2 or McCartney or any rock band (though I love "Jingle Bell Rock," "Christmas Wrapping," and Darlene Love, which are all great), I'll strangle an elf, I swear.

After the jump I've posted many classic moments from TV specials and Christmas episodes of shows. You'll find everything from Dean Martin to a classic soda commercial and even a part of the male anatomy, placed in a square receptacle.

It must have been hard to put a set together for a show like The Tonight Show. It's not the type of show you can do by season (way too many episodes), and Johnny Carson was host for 30 years (1962-92). A set like this is bound to disappoint some fans. But you know what? The set is just individual DVDs that have already been released in another form, and now they're packaging them under the Definitive DVD Collection title. That might tick off some fans who already bought the discs, but the set is well-done and has a variety of material to recommend it.

The last of the Rat Pack is dead.

Joey Bishop, who along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford comprised the Rat Pack in the late 50s and early 60s, died of multiple causes in Newport Beach this morning.

Besides several movies, including the original Ocean's Eleven and The Naked and the Dead, Bishop starred in two different TV series titled The Joey Bishop Show.