TVSquad

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

• James Callahan: He played the grandfather on Charles In Charge. He had appearances on several shows over the years, including Medium, ER, Promised Land, Cybill, Caroline in the City, Picket Fences, Golden Girls, M*A*S*H, Adam-12, The Invanders, Route 66, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Dennis The Menace, and dozens of others. He died of cancer at age 76.

The news is not good for 82-year-old talkshow host and game show producer Merv Griffin. It is being reported that the TV legend is in grave condition after a return of prostate cancer.

Griffin was admitted to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center back in July for a recurrence of the cancer, which he first battled in 1996. Various media outlets, such as Entertainment Tonight and KNBC, are reporting that the prognosis is not good and that Griffin is currently in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Griffin's representatives have yet to reply to press inquiries.

It's pretty common knowledge that Rolling Stone, a magazine that used to be about the counter-culture and rock 'n' roll, hasn't been about either in quite a long time. From what I've heard, they've gotten back to their musical roots a little, but except for their recent 1,000 issue, I haven't read it since my subscription ran out five years ago.

That being said, they do have a very interesting profile of television legend Merv Griffin in the latest issue. The profile, written by John Colapinto, mostly examines Merv's entertainment career, discussing the various versions of The Merv Griffin Show, which ran for over twenty years. Of course, Colapinto also talks to Merv about his two creations that live on to this day, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (he wrote the famous J! theme; Merv recounts opening a big royalties check for a J! ringtone, even though he had no idea what a ringtone was). The article follows Merv around to meetings and to his sprawling house in La Quinta, CA. And Colapinto goes the extra mile, interviewing everyone from Pat Sajak to good friend Nancy Reagan.