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.

Sad news to report on an actor who graced our television screens for many years. Peter Boyle, who played Frank Barone on the CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond, died last night at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He was 71-years-old. According to his publicist Boyle was suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease.

For many people he was known as the grumpy, obnoxious father of Ray Barone on Everybody Love Raymond. However, before that role he had a successful movie career starring in such films as Taxi Driver and The Candidate. His biggest role came in 1974 when he portrayed Frankenstein in Mel Brooks' comedy Young Frankenstein. The actors last appearance was as Father Time in Santa Claus 3.

This September, Turner Classic Movies will air a one-time, one-hour Dick Cavett Show special in which the famous TV talker will sit down with filmmaker and comedy legend Mel Brooks. The special will be filmed before a live audience on an updated version of the set of the original series. In addition to the new interview with Brooks, who is currently adapting his movie Young Frankenstein into a musical, TCM has also secured the rights to Cavett's "classic" interviews with the likes of Robert Mitchum, Bette Davis, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen, Groucho Marx, and Katharine Hepburn. Those interviews will also air during the month of September. Now I just have to remind myself to remind my Tivo to record the Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Groucho Marx episodes.

Cloris Leachman has agreed to step into the middle of an untitled NBC sitcom about two brothers "on opposite sides of the law", who live next door to each other. She'll play the mother of the law man and the con man. The brothers will be played by Eddie McClintock (Crumbs) and Craig Bierko.

Leachman recently won an Emmy in 2002 as Grandma Ida on Malcolm in the Middle. And, in my humble opinion, she played a marvelous wine-soaked, ex-jazz singer in Spanglish. And, who can forget Young Frankenstein? Or Phyllis? Let's hope this new comedy gives her some good material. This lady is a comedic genius.