TVSquad

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

• Don S. Davis: The veteran actor appeared on numerous TV shows over the past 25 years, including Stargate SG-1 (he played Major General George Hammond), Twin Peaks, The X-Files, The Dead Zone, Psych, Highlander, Supernatural, Flash Gordon, The West Wing, NCIS, The Chris Isaak Show, Profit, M.A.N.T.I.S., MacGyver (also serving as Dana Elcar's body double), L.A. Law, Joanie Loves Chachi, and many others. He also appeared in dozens of movies, including A League of Their Own, Con Air, Miracle, The 6th Day, Hook, The Fan, and Best In Show. He died this week at age 65.

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

• Malvin Wald: He is best known for writing the screenplay to The Naked City, which later became a TV series and pretty much spawned later police dramas such as NYPD Blue and Law and Order. He also wrote for The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Daktari, Combat, Playhouse 90, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He died at age 90 in California.

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

• Dennis Letts: He was a teacher who taught at universities for 30 years and then decided to get into acting. He appeared in several TV shows, including Walker, Texas Ranger, Once and Again, and The CBS Summer Playhouse, as well as the TV movies Dallas: The Early Years, Challenger, and The Last Prostitute. On the big screen he was in Cast Away, Infamous, Passenger 57, A Perfect World, and many others. He died of cancer at age 73.

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

• William F. Buckley, Jr.: He was conservative commentator and host of the long-running political show Firing Line, which started on WOR-TV and then went to public television, lasting 33 years. He was also the editor of National Review, the author of several books, and even ran for mayor of New York City once. Buckley was found dead in his home in Stamford, CT. He was 82.

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

• Robert DoQui: He was a veteran character actor who appeared in a ton of TV shows over the years, including ER, The Outer Limits, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Party of Five, The Practice, NYPD Blue, Picket Fences, Happy Days, I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, Cagney and Lacey, Hill Street Blues, Knot's Landing, and others. He was also in three of the Robocop movies and also the films Nashville, Short Cuts, and Cloak and Dagger. He died at age 74 in Los Angeles.

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

• John McWethy: He was a veteran journalist who was the chief national security and Pentagon reporter for ABC News from 1979 to 2004. He reported on everything from foreign affairs, the military, and the Oklahoma bombing to 9/11. He died while skiing in Keystone, CO. He was 60. ABC News President David Westin released this statement.

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

• Barry Morse: He's probably best known has the relentless Lt. Gerard on the classic series The Fugitive. He also appeared in many other series, including The Twilight Zone, Playhouse 90, Naked City, The Untouchables, The Outer Limits, The Invaders, Space 1999, Sirens, La Femme Nikita, and many more. He died at age 89 in London.

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

• Lois Nettleton: She was a veteran TV, film, and stage actress who appeared in a number of TV shows, including The Twilight Zone, Seinfeld (she played the mother of the woman George was dating when he ate out of her garbage), Crossing Jordan, Babylon 5, Coach, Murder, She Wrote, The Flash, Full House, In The Heat of the Night, The Facts of Life, The Golden Girls, Love Boat, Medical Center, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and dozens of others. She was also in the films Come Fly with Me, A Face in the Crowd, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and The Bamboo Saucer, and the plays A Streetcar Named Desire and The Biggest Thief in Town. She died of lung cancer at age 80.

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

• John McPherson: He was an Emmy-winning cinematographer, having worked on such shows as Amazing Stories, Baywatch, St. Elsewhere, Voyagers, The Incredible Hulk, Kojak, and movies such as Jaws: The Revenge, batteries not included, and Fletch Lives. He was also a director, on such shows as Babylon 5, JAG, Nash Bridges, Beverly Hills, 90210, Sliders, Strange Luck, Alien Nation, and The Incredible Hulk. He died last month at age 65.

Each year in our "Top TV Stories" posts we look back at the number of celebrities and behind the scenes people that have passed away during the year. This is always a hard list to put together, so if I've missed anyone, please let me know in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

This year we also lost someone very close to us.

Merv Griffin
Tom Snyder
Joel Siegel
Anna Nicole Smith
Robert Goulet
Joey Bishop

Gallery: People we lost in 2007

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

• Max Hodge: He was a writer who worked on several TV shows over the years, including Mission: Impossible, Wild Wild West, CHiPs, Ironside, Alias Smith and Jones, The Waltons, Eight is Enough, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Cannon, Marcus Welby, M.D., and many others. He was also a writer for Batman and created the Mr. Freeze character. He died at age 91 in Woodland Hills, CA.

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

• Hal Fishman: He was the longest-running anchor in TV history. He did the news on L.A.'s KTLA non-stop since 1975. He started in news in 1960. He not only won several journalism and TV awards, he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992. He died of colon cancer at the age of 75.

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

• Bill Flemming: He was a sportscaster for ABC who covered everything from the Olympics to golf to chess championships. He worked in broadcasting for 60 years (including a stint on NBC's Today) and was a fixture on Wide World of Sports for years. He died of cancer at age 80.

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

• Shirl Conway: She was one of the leads in the 60s series The Nurses (she played head nurse Liz Thorpe). She also appeared in episodes of Route 66, Caesar's Hour, The Defenders, and other shows and movies. She died earlier this month at age 90. (That's her on the right in the pic.)

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

• Lois Gibson: She was a writer and story editor for such shows as The Fugitive, The Invaders, Quincy, M.E., and The Untouchables. She was also the wife of actor/comic Henry Gibson. She died in Malibu, CA at age 77.