TVSquad

New York, New York -- a place so big that had to name it twice. Isn't that what they say about the Big Apple? Recently, movie critic Leonard Maltin, host of the ReelzChannel original series Secret's Out named his picks for the 15 greatest New York scenes in movie history. That got me thinking about the television shows that are intimately tied to New York, series that are inextricably New York shows. Whether they are -- or were -- filmed in the city, here's 15 absolutely, positively New York TV shows (in the order in which they debuted!). You don't have to agree with me -- and I may have overlooked one or two (which I urge you to comment and let me know) -- but I have good reasons for every one of my choices!

I remember when I was a kid and I saw a bald man I always thought, "He must be old." As I've become an adult, I have been lucky enough to keep my thick head of hair but it's clear that baldness is no longer something to be embarrassed about. In fact, there are a number of bald men on television who are quite adept at getting things done. Here are my top ten toughest bald guys on television.

10. Chris Turk (Scrubs)
While Turk wouldn't be considered a tough guy by most standards, I think he deserved to be on this list for a couple of reasons. First, Turk chooses to be bald. Sure, his hair is thin but at some point he decided to shave his head and I applaud his choice. More importantly, Turk is a surgeon, a father and the husband of a very hot lady. If that isn't an example of how to get it done, I don't know what is.

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

• Richard Widmark: He was best known to TV viewers as the star of the NBC detective series Madigan in the 1970s. It was a spinoff of a movie of the same name. He also appeared in the miniseries Benjamin Franklin and in several TV movies, including Cold Sassy Tree, A Gathering of Old Men, Brock's Last Case, and Vanished, and also made a guest appearance as himself in one of the classic I Love Lucy episodes set in Hollywood. He made his debut on the big screen in the film noir classic Kiss of Death and went on to star in dozens of other films, including Night and the City, No Way Out, Don't Bother To Knock, Warlock, The Alamo, The Bedford Incident, Broken Lance, Murder on the Orient Express, Twilight's Last Gleaming, Coma, Against All Odds, and many more. He got an Oscar nomination for his role in Kiss of Death.He died in Connecticut at age 93 after a long illness.

If you're really into watching classic TV on the web, like AOL's fare at In2TV, you're going to be thrilled to hear that NBC today unfurled a line-up of oldies-but-goodies to stream on their entertainment sites -- NBC.com, SCIFI.com, ChillerTV.com and SleuthChannel.com. NBC is providing full episodes, people, streaming and waiting to be viewed, beginning this month. It's quite a variety of shows too (including some crossovers from one site to the other). "These are the kinds of titles we get requests for all the time at the network, and now we're able to give our viewers a new way to watch their favorite classic shows and share them with their friends," said Craig Engler, Senior Vice President, SCIFI.com.

A new weekly feature here at TV Squad, as we list some recent deaths of those involved with TV, on screen and behind the scenes.

• Roscoe Lee Browne: The veteran actor appeared in a number of TV shows, including All in the Family, Benson, Columbo, Mannix, The Invaders, Will and Grace, and a voice actor in cartoons. He was a classically trained film and theater actor as well. He died April 11 in L.A. of cancer at age 81.
  
• Stan Daniels: He co-created Taxi and won several Emmys for that show and his writing on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He died of heart failure on April 6 at age 72.

Actor Pat Corley was probably best known as Phil, the gruff owner of the bar where the Murphy Brown hung out all the time. But he had a long career in TV and movies.

Besides appearances on tons of TV shows, from Kojak and Starsky and Hutch and Magnum, P.I. and Hill Street Blues, he was also in several movies, including Coming Home, The Onion Field, The Rose, and Night Shift. Corley actually started out as a ballet dancer!

Corley died earlier this week after coronary stent surgery.

Veteran actor Bruno Kirby, who viewers of Entourage saw just a couple of weeks ago on the show, has died of leukemia. He was diagnosed with the disease recently, and died on Monday.

Most people will know Kirby from his roles in When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers, playing Billy Crystal's best friend in both films, but he had a ton of film and TV roles, including Good Morning, Vietnam, Donnie Brasco, Hoffa, Sleepers, and This Is Spinal Tap. His long TV resume includes guest spots on Frasier, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Tales From The Crypt, Columbo, Homicide, Mad About You, Kojak, Emergency, Room 222, and M*A*S*H.

Chazz Palminteri, perhaps best-known for his role in The Usual Suspects, is coming to series television. He just signed on to co-star in a new cop series on ABC, called Drift. It's about a detective with insomnia. Palminteri plays the guy's boss. According to his IMDB profile, Palminteri just finished shooting three different movies, all set for release later this year. And he was seen alongside Ving Rhames on TNT last year in an modern-day version of Kojak.

Recently the Advertising Standard Authority in the UK forced the removal of some outdoor ads for USA's Kojak series starring Ving Rhames in the title role. It seems that the word "Mothersucker," complete with a lollipop in place of the "O," caused a few people to register complaints. I guess the word is a little too close to another particular word. I suppose that's true, I'm just wondering what the actual meaning of "Mothersucker" is. Is it the mother of all suckers? Like, the center of the sucker universe from which all other suckers are born? Is Kojak a TV show about a man on a quest to find this holy lollipop? Because that's a great idea for a show, and perhaps they should change the plot to make it about that.