THE TELEVISION CROSSOVER HALL OF FAME, CLASS OF 2016

2016 has been cruel and unmerciful this year, to me personally (although it was my fault), as well as to the famous people we've lost since last January.  I would not put it past 2016 to find a way to screw over this pronouncement of the 2016 Class for the Television Crossover Hall of Fame as we've still got several hours to go.....

But to hell with you, 2016.  I'm sharing the new members now.

There was no problem with the planned inductions for the year.  The overall theme was going to be the League of Themselves in which people played their fictional televersions in three or more different TV shows.  And there were enough candidates to cover the traditional themes for individual months - January/Classic TV, February/Black History, May/May Queens, etc.

It was the Memorial/Tribute section that became more depressing as Prime-Time marched on.  There were some planned tributes to members of the League of Themselves who were still alive - Jerry Lewis, Kirk Douglas, Tony Bennett.  And two who had already passed away, but who would be noted for the 100th anniversary of their own births - Jackie Gleason & Dinah Shore.

I just never expected that so many celebrities with well-represented televersions would be passing away this year, almost to the very end.  (There I go, tempting Fate again.)  Fourteen out of the twenty tributes died in 2016.

Here is the class of 2016:

REGULARLY SCHEDULED:

JAN - Danny Thomas

FEB - B.B. King

MAR - Art Linkletter

APR - Jack Carter

MAY - Raquel Welch

JUNE - Ryan & Trista Rehn Sutter

B'DAY HONORS  - Conan O’Brien (Tooniverse)

JULY - Mickey Mantle

AUG - John Hart

SEPT - Sheldon Leonard

OCT - Wes Craven

NOV - Michelle Obama

DEC - Dean Martin

XMAS HONORS - Queen Elizabeth II

THE TRIBUTES:

David Bowie
Jackie Gleason (100th anniversary of birth)
Dinah Shore (100th anniversary of birth)
Jerry Lewis (turned 90)
Frank Sinatra Jr. (Tooniverse & Live Action)
Willie Mays (turned 85)
Muhammad Ali
George Kennedy
Gordie Howe
Garry Marshall

Tony Bennett (turned 90)
Dick Cavett (turned 80)
Florence Henderson

Grant Tinker
Senator John Glenn  
Kirk Douglas (turned 100!)

Alan Thicke
Zsa Zsa Gabor
George Michael

Carrie Fisher
Debbie Reynolds

Let's hope we don't have so many new members next year.....