TVSquad

I didn't know Tim Russert on a personal level. I rarely even saw him in his own element as host of NBC's Meet the Press. However, when he suddenly died last Friday, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the fact that he was a huge presence on television, particularly during this year's Presidential election. It made Russert feel like he was a part of the family.

So it has been with many television personalities that have left this earth before their time. It's the intimacy of the industry and the fact that this person has come into our homes night after night, week after week, that the unexpected death of these personalities hits us much harder than, say, movie stars. Unfortunately, there have been a number of these surprising deaths over the last few decades. Here are 12 such deaths that affected millions of television viewers.

Let me start this story by saying that I'm really hoping and praying that Patrick Swayze staves off the cancer that's trying to kill him and lives for many more years. The powers that be at A&E Network are hoping and praying, too. A&E has given the greenlight to The Beast, a cop drama that will star Patrick Swayze. Co-starring with Patrick in the 13 one-hour episodes is actor (and former Calvin Klein underwear model) Travis Fimmel. According the the doctors caring for Patrick, he is well enough to do the shows and, presumably, continue with the series if it's a success.

The premise for The Beast isn't a typical law and order type. It's like Training Day meets Internal Affairs, only without Denzel Washington and Richard Gere, respectively. Patrick plays an FBI agent who does things his own unique way. He's very good at his job, but rubs people the wrong way. He's asked to train a younger agent, Fimmel, at the same time that Swayze's being dogged by a secret internal affairs team.

Patrick has said this role was a long time coming for him. "I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this muti-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining as well as a project this current and cutting-edged."

Little House on the Prairie confounded my young mind on many levels: first of all, I thought the series was an adaptation of the Michael Landon vehicle I Was a Teenage Werewolf, which led me to the erroneous conclusion that all werewolves are farmers. This is not true: most werewolves, like zombies, work in the service industry.

Also, because the show took place in the latter half of the 19th century, I assumed that's when it was filmed, too. It never occurred to me --keep in mind the show began two years before I was born-- that it was a modern show set in the past. I assumed it was a really old show and that anyone involved with it was probably long dead.

I love the artist Brandon Bird. Bird's illustrations, which appear regularly in The Believer magazine, and paintings are heavy on the pop culture influence. If you've visited his Webby Award-winning site, than you've probably seen his rendition of Bea Arthur wrestling an underwater dinosaur and his Cubist take on the cast of Family Ties.

Bird has used his artist's eye to interpret Seinfeld, Star Trek, Magnum P.I. and even Little House's Michael Landon. His work is always witty, but depending on the piece, it also manages to meld the contents of our mediated brains with Greek mythology, cave paintings and a Hopper-like realism.