TVSquad

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

• Jeanne Bates: She was best known as Nurse Wills on the 1950s medical series Ben Casey. She appeared on many TV shows over the years, including That 70's Show, Wings, The Young and the Restless, Dallas, Three's Company, Quincy, M.E., Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, Cannon, The Saint, Hawaii Five-O, The Twilight Zone, and many others. She also appeared in several movies such as Die Hard 2, Grand Canyon, Eraserhead, the 1943 The Phantom serial, and the 1951 version of Death of a Salesman. She died of cancer at age 89.

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

• Chef Tell (Paul Erhardt): He was better known to TV viewers as Chef Tell, who cooked on several shows over the years, including his PBS series In The Kitchen With Chef Tell, Regis & Kathie Lee, Evening Magazine, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. According to some, the "Swedish Chef" character on The Muppet Show was based on Erhardt. He died of heart failure at age 63.

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

• Carol Bruce: She was well-known to TV audiences from a number of roles, including the mother of WKRP in Cincinnati's Mr. Carlson, as well as several appearances on Knot's Landing. She also appeared on The Twilight Zone (80s version), Studio One, Party of Five, Profiler, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Diff'rent Strokes, Perfect Strangers, General Hospital, as well as the movies Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, American Gigolo, and the Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying. She died of pulmonary disease at age 87 in Woodland Hills, CA.

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

• Alice Ghostley: She was best known for her role as bumbling witch Esmerelda on Bewitched. She was also a regular on Designing Women and Evening Shade and made appearances on many shows over the years, including The Golden Girls, Passions, Simon & Simon, Maude, Good Times, Love, American Style, Family, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Odd Couple, It Taks A Thief, Get Smart, and many others. She died in Studio City, CA at age 81 of complications from cancer and strokes.

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

• Nancy Littlefield: Littlefield was not only the director of New York's Film Office, overseeing the filming of several movies including Fame, Kramer vs. Kramer, and All That Jazz, she was also one of the first women in the Director's Guild of America, having helmed episodes of The Defenders and The Naked City. She died of cancer in Florida at age 77.

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

• Roy Gerber: Gerber was not only a veteran talent manager and agent who worked with several celebs, including The Beatles, The Rat Pack, Vic Damone, Shirley Jones, Sid Caesar, Arsenio Hall, and Tom Jones, he was also the model for the Oscar Madison character in The Odd Couple. He was the roommate of Neil Simon's brother Danny in the 1960s after he separated from his wife. He died of a brain tumor in Beverly Hills at age 82.

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

• Jack B. Sowards: He was a television and film writer who wrote for Bonanza, Peyton Place, Daniel Boone, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Hagen, The Bold Ones, B.L. Stryker, and Star Trek: TNG. He also wrote the big screen movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. He died in Valley Village, CA at age 78.