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.....

THE HAT SQUAD 2016

Those whom we lost in this terrible year.....

ACTORS
Kristine Miller ('Stories Of The Century', 'Science Fiction Theater', 'The Donna Reed Show')
Maja Maranow (German actress - 'Ein Starkes Team', 'Tatort', 'Die Affare Semmeling')
Maria Garbowska (Polish actress - 'Plebania', 'W Labiryncie')
George Alexandru (Romanian actor - 'Good Guys', several TV movies)
Michel Galabru (French actor - 'Scenes de Menages', many TV movies)
Antônio Pompêo (Brazilian actor - 'Chamas da Vida', 'Prova de Amor')
Sian Blake (English actress murdered by partner - 'EastEnders')
Yves Vincent (French actor - 'Tribunal', 'La famille cigal')
Silvana Pampanini (Italian actress - "Tre Stelle")
Pat Harrington, Jr. ('One Day At A Time', 'Make Room For Daddy', Guido Panzini)
Billie Allen ('The Phil Silvers Show', 'Edge Of Night')
Richard LeParmentier ('Capital City', 'We'll Meet Again', "Star Wars: A New Hope")
Richard Libertini ('The Fannelli Boys', 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', 'Barney Miller')
Angus Scrimm ('Alias', 'Quincy, M.E.', 'FreakyLinks', 'Trapper John, M.D.', 'Coupling')
Mamdouh Abdel-Alim (Egyptian actor - 'Authentic', 'Paradise Virgin')
Michael Galeota ('Bailey Kipper's POV', 'The Jersey')
Ruth Leuwerik (German actress, 'Derrick', 'Die Buddenbrooke', 'Der Kommissar')
Robert Naegele (German actor, 'Derrick', 'The Old Fox', 'Tatort')
David Margulies ('The Sopranos', "Madoff", "Ghostbusters")
Brian Bedford ('Coronet Blue', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'The Equalizer', 'Murder, She Wrote')
Alan Rickman ('The Barchester Chronicles', "Smiley's People", "Therese Raquin")
Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams - future TVXOHOF member)
Conrad Phillips ('The Adventures Of William Tell', 'The Avengers', 'The Prisoner', 'Fawlty Towers')
Myra Carter ('Storm Of The Century', 'Frasier', 'The Nanny', "Great Performances")
Umberto Raho ('Make Room For Daddy', 'Moses The Lawgiver', 'Seagull Island')
Sheila Sim ("The Ringer" "The Queen's Husband", widow of Sir Richard Attenborough)
Lois Ramsey ('Prisoner: Cell Block H', 'The Box', 'Country Practice', 'All Saints')
Abe Vigoda ('Barney Miller', 'Fish', "The Godfather")
Meg Mundy ('All My Children', 'Loving', 'The Doctors', 'Guiding Light', 'Law & Order')
Kalpana Ranjani (Indian actress - 'Sathi Leelavathi', 'Kudumbasametham Manikutty')
Frank Finlay ('Casanova', 'Les Miserables', 'Bouquet Of Barbed Wire', 'Life Begins')
Bob Elliott (1/2 of Bob & Ray, 'Get A Life', "Between Time & Timbuktu", Piels Beer)
Mary Fiumara (Mrs. Martnetti in Prince Spaghetti Day commercial)
Joe Alaskey (new voice for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc., 'Out Of This World')
Johnny Duncan (2nd movie Boy Wonder, 'The Cisco Kid', 'The Stu Erwin Show')
George Gaynes ('Punky Brewster', 'Hearts Afire', 'General Hospital', 'Rich Man, Poor Man')
Robert Beecher ('Space Patrol', 'Murder, She Wrote', 'St. Elsewhere', 'The Young & The Restless', 'Golden Palace', 'The Untouchables')
Tony Burton ('Frank's Place', 'Twin Peaks', 'Chicago Hope')
George Kennedy ('Sarge', 'Dallas', 'The Blue Knight', 'Airport')

Martha Wright ('Bell Telephone Hour', 'Celebrity Time')
Richard Davalos ('The Americans' (1), 'Bonanza', 'The Rockford Files', 'Murder, She Wrote')
Robert Horton ('Wagon Train', 'A Man Called Shenandoah' - same character)
Sylvia Anderson (Lady Penelope, 'Thunderbirds')
Robert Carrickford ('The Irish R.M.', 'Glenroe')
Riccardo Garrone ('Ann e i cinque', 'Amica Mio', 'Il Vigile Urbano')
Larry Drake ('L.A. Law', 'Tales From The Crypt',)
Joe Santos ('The Rockford Files', 'The Sopranos')
James Douglas ('Peyton Place', 'One Life To Live', 'As The World Turns')
Peter Brown ('Lawman', 'Laredo', 'Days Of Our Lives', 'The Young & The Restless', 'Bold & The Beautiful', future member of the TVXOHOF)
Rita Gam ('Romance Theatre', 'The Rockford Files', 'Mannix', 'MacMillan & Wife', 'Edge Of Night')
David Smyrl ('Sesame Street')
Richard Bradford ('Man In A Suitcase', 'Cagney & Lacey', 'Amerika')
Patty Duke ('The Patty Duke Show', 'Hail To The Chief', 'It Takes Two', "The Miracle Worker", "Call Me Anna", 'Amazing Grace', 'Captains & The Kings', Oscar winner)
James Noble ('Benson')
Adrienne Corri ('Sword Of Freedom', 'Paris 1900', 'You're Only Young Twice')
Shannon Bolin Kaye ('The Patty Duke Show', 'Circle Armstrong Theatre')
Dr. Fredric Cook ('Father Murphy', 'The Blue & The Gray', 'True Grit' [TV])
Douglas Wilmer ('Sherlock Holmes', 'The Diary Of Samuel Pepys', 'The Black Tulip', 'Sherlock', 'Nickolas Nickleby')
Ronnie Corbett ('The Two Ronnies', 'The David Frost Report', 'Sorry!', 'Extras')
Don Francks ('La Femme Nikita', 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood', 'Jericho', 'RCMP', 'Police Academy: The Series')
Frankie Michaels ('As The World Turns', 'Our Private World', youngest Tony winner at 11)
Gareth Thomas ('Blake's 7', 'London's Burning', 'Chelworth', 'Knights of God')
Anne Jackson ('Everything's Relative', 'Law & Order', 'Rhoda', 'Gunsmoke')
Doris Roberts ('Everybody Loves Raymond', 'Remington Steele', 'Angie', 'Soap')
Arthur Anderson (Voice of the Lucky Charms leprechaun)
Madeline Sherwood ('The Flying Nun', 'One Life To Live', 'As The World Turns')
William Schallert ('The Patty Duke Show', 'Get Smart', 'Nancy Drew', 'Dobie Gillis')
Madeleine Lebeau ('Allo Police', last surviving member of top cast of "Casablanca")
Alan Young ('Mr. Ed', 'The Alan Young Show')
Burt Kwouk ('Last Of The Summer Wine', Cato in the "Pink Panther" movies)
Irv Benson (Milton Berle's heckler, career dating back to vaudeville.  died at 102)
Theresa Saldana ('Commish')
Janet Waldo (notable voice actress - Judy Jetson, Penelope Pitstop, Josie of the Pussycats)
Ann Morgan Guilbert ('The Dick Van Dyke Show', 'The Nanny')
Anton Yelchin ('Huff', 'Taken', 'The Practice', 'NYPD Blue', 'L&O: CI', Reboot Chekov)
Ruben Aguirre ('El Chavo Del Ocho')
Bud Spencer (spaghetti western star: 'We Are Angels', 'Recipe For Crime', "Extralarge")
James Victor ('Zorro' TV remake, 'Condo', 'Viva Valdez', 'I Married Dora')
Teddy Rooney ('McHale's Navy', 'Wagon Train', 'The Rifleman', 'Lassie', Mickey's son)
Lisa Gaye ('Love That Bob!', 'How To Marry A Millionaire', 'Perry Mason', ''Hawaiian Eye', 'Death Valley Days', '77 Sunset Strip')
Gloria DeHaven ('Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', 'Nakia', 'As The World Turns', 'Ryan's Hope')
David Huddleston ('Hizzoner', 'Petrocelli', 'The Macahans', 'The Wonder Years', 'The West Wing' and for cinephiles: "The Big Lebowski" & "Blazing Saddles")
Ann Smyrner ('It Takes A Thief')
Youree Dell Harris (Miss Cleo of the Psychic phone line)
Barry Jenner ('Somerset', 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine')
Sagan Lewis ('St. Elsewhere', 'Homicide: Life On The Street')
W. Carter Merbreier ('Captain Noah and His Magical Ark')
Kenny Baker (R2-D2)
Fyvush Finkel ('Picket Fences', 'Boston Public', 'Fantasy Island')
Stephen HIll ('Law & Order', 'Mission: Impossible', 'Law & Order: SVU')
Marvin Kaplan ('Top Cat', 'Alice', 'On The Air', 'Meet Millie', 'The Chicago Teddy Bears')
Jack Riley ('The Bob Newhart Show', 'Rugrats')
Gene Wilder ('Something Wilder', "Thursday's Game", 'Will & Grace', "The Scarecrow", "Murder In A Small Town" & "The Lady In Question", Alka-Seltzer Commercial, "Death Of A Salesman", "Annie And The Hoods", "Acts Of Love And Other Comedies" - you may have noticed he meant a lot to me....)
Jon Polito ('Homicide: Life On The Street', 'The Chronicle', 'Ohara', 'Crime Story'')
Hugh O'Brian ('The Life And Legend of Wyatt Earp', 'Probe'/'Search', TVXOHOF member)
John Hostetter ('Murphy Brown', 'Matlock', 'Who's The Boss?', 'MacGyver', 'Knots Landing')
Kim McGuire ('On The Air', 'Dream On', 'New York Undercover'
James Stacy ('Lancer', 'Wiseguy')
Hagan Beggs ('Danger Bay;  'Bordertown', first three 'Star Trek' episodes)
Paul Comi ('General Hospital', 'Capitol', 'The Twilight Zone')
Charmian Carr ("Evening Primrose", Liesl in "The Sound Of Music")
Freda Rosen ("The Honeymooners", 
Bill Nunn ("Sirens")
Bobby Breen ('The Ken Dodds Show', 'The Jack Hylton Show')
Gary Dubin ('The Partridge Family', 'Family Affair', 'Bracken's World')
Patricia Barry ('Days Of Our Lives', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Thriller', 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hour', 'The Rifleman')
Kathleen Miller ('Columbo', 'Kojak', 'Sirota's Court')
Tommy Ford ('Martin')
Jean Alexander ('Coronation Street', 'Last of the Summer Wine')
Eddie Applegate ('The Patty Duke Show')
Ann Emery ('Rent-a-Ghost', 'The Dick Emery Show')
Michael Gleason ('Remington Steele', 'Peyton Place', 'Sword of Justice', 'McCloud')
Michael Massee ('FlashForward ', 'Interventions', 'Rizzoli & Isles', '24', 'Carnivale')
Tammy Grimes ('The Tammy Grimes Show', "The Borrowers", "The Spy Who Returned From The Dead", 'St. Elsewhere')
Don Marshall ('The Land Of The Giants', 'Julia', 'Daktari', 'Star Trek')
Robert Vaughn ('The Man From UNCLE', 'Hustle', 'The Protectors', 'Centennial')
Lupita Tovar ('Invitation Playhouse: Mind Over Murder - Winner Take Nothing')
Lisa Lynn Masters ('Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt', 'Gossip Girl', 'Ugly Betty')
Florence Henderson ('The Brady Bunch' franchise, Wessonality Lady)
Ron Glass ('Barney Miller', 'Firefly', 'The New Odd Couple')
Fritz Weaver ('Holocaust', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Law & Order', 'Martian Chronicles')
Keo Wooford ('Hawaii Five-O')
Andrew Sachs ('Fawlty Towers', 'The Saint')
Milt Moss (Alka-Seltzer commercial, 'The Merry Mailman', 'Patty Duke Show')
Don Calfa ('Barney Miller', 'Columbo', 'Doogie Howser, MD', 'Beverly Hills 90210')
Alice Drummond ('Dark Shadows', 'Park Place', 'Ryan's Hope', 'Lenny', 'Franny's Turn')
Billy Chapin ('Dragnet', 'Waterfront', 'Leave It To Beaver', 'Fury')
Van Williams ('Green Hornet', 'The Tycoon', 'Surfside 6', 'Bourbon Street Beat')
Margaret Whitton ('Hometown', 'Cutters', 'Good VS. Evil',
Peter Vaughan ('Game Of Thrones', 'Rivals of Sherlock Holmes')
Bernard Fox ('Bewitched', 'Hogan's Heroes', 'The Andy Griffith Show', 'Make Room For Daddy', 'Three Live Wires')
Joseph Mascolo ('Days Of Our Lives', 'The Bold & The Beautiful', 'General Hospital')
Zsa Zsa Gabor ('As The World Turns', 'Batman', 'Hollywood Squares', many shows as herself)
Gordie Tapp ('Hee Haw', 'Country Hoedown', Ultramatic commercials)
Dick Latessa ('True Blue', 'The Black Donnellys', 'Law & Order', Tony winner "Hairspray")
Michele Morgan ('Studio One', 'The Secret Drawer')
Carrie Fisher ('30 Rock', forever Princess Leia)
George S. Irving ('GoGo Gophers', 'The Dumplings', 'Ryan's Hope')
Liz Smith ('The Royle Family', 'Vicar of Dibley')
Ricky Harris ('Everybody Hates Chris', 'Moesha', 'Def Comedy Jam')
Carrie Fisher ('30 Rock', 'Family Guy', 'Catastrophe', Princess Leia!)
Debbie Reynolds ('The Debbie Reynolds Show', 'Aloha, Paradise', 'Will & Grace'}
Barbara Tarbuck ('General Hospital', 'American Horror Story - Asylum')
William Christopher ('M*A*S*H', 'AfterM*A*S*H', 'The Andy Griffith Show', 'Murder, She Wrote')

NEWS & SPORTS
Jim Simpson (NBC Sports)
Bud Collins (NBC Sports - tennis)
Bob McIntyre (CTV weatherman)
Eric Engberg ("Reality Check" segment on CBS Evening News)
Cliff Michelmore (BBC's 'Tonight')
Morley Safer ('60 Minutes', "Zippo Lighter" story on Cam Ne)
Tom Kelly (called USC games for KCBS, worked for ESPN, voice of the Trojans)
David Schwartz (Weather Channel meteorologist)
John Saunders (ESPN host for nearly 30 years)
John McLaughlin ('The McLaughlin Group')
Gwen Ifill ('PBS News Hour')
Dick Oliver ('Good Day New York')
Ian McCaskill (BBC weather presenter)
Craig Sager (TNT basketball reporter on the sidelines)

PERSONALITIES
Sir Terry Wogan (British talk show host & presenter)
Michel Delpech (French singer & actor, many variety programs)
Royal Parker (Baltimore TV pioneer, worked four decades until the 1990s)
German Moreno (Phillipine TV host, 'That's Entertainment', 'Good Morning, Showbiz')
Ed "Stewpot" Stewart ('Crackerjack')
Antonio Carizzo (Argentine TV host)
David Bowie ('Extras', 'The Rutles 2', 'Nathan Barley')
Monty Brinson ('Real Housewives of Beverly Hills')
Msgr. Thomas Hartman ('The God Squad')
Angela "Big Ange" Raiola ('Mob Wives')
Rod Durham ('Extreme Weight Loss')
Andre Montgomery ('Welcome To Sweetie Pie's')
Frank Sinatra Jr. ('The Defenders', 'Family Guy', 'The Sopranos')
Erin Storm ('The Bachelor')
Coca Crystal (host, "If I Can't Dance, You Can Keep Your Revolution")
Ashley Sawyer ('Catfish')
Julia La Rosa (singer, fired on air for "Lack of humility" by Arthur Godfrey)
Muhammad Ali (THE GREATEST!  'Diff'rent Strokes', 'Vega$', 'Touched By An Angel')
Kimbo Slice (MMA street fighter, actor in "Merry Christmas, Josh & Drake")
Christina Grimmie (Third place contestant in Season Six of 'The Voice')
Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey - 'E.N.G.', 'Yes, Dear')
C.D. Brooks (televangelist for the Breath of Life ministry)
Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille (host of 'Chiller Theater')
Fred Schwartz (furrier, pitchman for the Fur Vault)
Darrell Ward ('Ice Road Truckers')
Dr. Joy Browne (radio and TV psychologist)
Alexis Arquette (transgender actress, part of the Arquette acting family, 'The Surreal Life')
Gabe Rygaard ('Axe Men')
Arnold Palmer (Golf champion of the 60s)
John Zacherle ('Shock Theater', 'Chiller Theater', 'Disc-O-Teen')
Ralph Branca (pitched the "shot heard round the world", 'Concentration' champ)
Senator John Glenn ('Frasier', 'Name That Tune', played by George Stumpf & Sam Reid)
Father Michael Manning (fronted an evangelical TV ministry)

DIRECTORS
Gert Winkler (Australian commercials)
James Sheldon (spanned the TV timeline with sitcoms, Westerns, cop shows, prime time soaps, etc)
Harry G. Falk ('Centennial', 'The Rockford Files', 'Get Smart', married to Patty Duke for 5 years)
Norman Abbott ('Get Smart', 'The Brady Bunch', 'The Thin Man', 'The Jack Benny Program', 'Leave It To Beaver', 'McHale's Navy', 'Adam-12', Bud Abbott's nephew)
Leslie Martinson ('Maverick', 'No Time For Sergeants', 'Small Wonder', 'The Mickey Rooney Show', 'Run For Your Life', '77 Sunset Strip', 'Cheyenne', "Batman: The Movie")
Jack Hofsiss ('The Elephant Man', 'Cat On A Hot Tin Roof', 'The Oldest Living Graduate'')
Curtis Hanson ('Greg The Bunny', "The Children Of Times Square")
Howard Davies ("Armadillo", "Piaf", "Cophenhagen")
Gordon Hunt (Hanna-Barbera Voice Director, father of Helen)

WRITERS
Robert Banks Stewart ('Bergerac', 'Shoestring', 'Doctor Who' stories - created Zygons)
Daniel Gerson ('Something So Right', 'Duckman', 'The New Addams Family'
Pat Conroy ("Unconquered", "The Water Is Wide")
Earl Hamner, Jr. ('The Waltons', 8 episodes of 'The Twilight Zone')
Carla Lane ('The Liver Birds', 'Solo', 'Bread', 'Butterflies', 'Bless This House')
Sir Peter Shaffer (Oscar for 'Amadeus', Tony Awards for "Amadeus" & "Equus", several of his plays adapted for TV)
Edward Albee (several plays adapted for TV)
W.P. Kinsella (baseball fantasist, 'The Rez')
Gloria Naylor (writer of 'The Women Of Brewster Place')
Austin Kalish ('All In The Family', 'Maude', 'Family Affair', 'Gilligan's Island')
Steve Dillon (artist, co-creator of 'Preacher')
Jimmy Perry (Created 'Dad's Army', 'Ain't Half Hot Mum', 'Hi-de-Hi', and 'You Rang M'Lord?')
Kevin Curran ('The Simpsons', 'Married... With Children', 'Late Night With David Letterman', provided the voice of Buck the Dog)
Claire Labine ('General Hospital', 'One Life To Live', 'Ryan's Hope', 'Captain Kangaroo')
Michael John Abbensetts ("Empire Road", "Black Christmas", "Little Napoleons")
ER Braithwaite ('To Sir, With Love' - TV adaptaion & TV sequel to first movie)
Richard Adams ("Watership Down" - two TV adaptations)

PRODUCERS
Bridget Hedison (associate producer - 'Dynasty' & 'The Colbys', wife of David Hedison)
James D. Travis ("Morning In America" commercial helped re-elect Reagan)
Ian Sander ('Ghost Whisperer')
Gary Glasberg ('NCIS')
Morton Silverstein (Emmy-winning documentarian for 'NET Journal')
Sophia Cranshaw (MTV producer for social campaigns)
Al Brodax ('The Beatles', 'Blondie', 'Popeye', 'Krazy Kat')

MUSIC
Ray Colcord, ('The Simpsons', 'Boy Meets World', 'Girl Meets World')
Fred Tomlinson (singer and arranger for 'Monty Python's Flying Circus')
Richard D. Trentlage (wrote the Oscar Meyer jingle)
Al Caiola (guitarist on 'Bonanza' & 'Magnificent Seven')

ANIMATION
Robert Baiser ('Jackson 5ive', "Yellow Submarine")
Gordon Murray ('Trumptonshire Trilogy' creator, three stop-motion series)
Bill Etra (video animation pioneer)
Clay Martin Croker (Cartoon Network animator, voice of Zorak on 'Space Ghost: Coast To Coast')

HYPHENATES
Douglas Dick (actor - 'Waterfront', 'Perry Mason', 'Mannix', writer - 'Bewitched', 'I Dream Of Jeannie')
Leonard White (actor - 'Armchair Theatre', 'Television Playwright', producer - 'Armchair Theatre', 'The Avengers')
Glenn Frey (singer/songwriter, The Eagles, actor - 'Wiseguy', 'South Of Sunset', music video for "Smuggler's Blues")
Vanity (singer, actress - 'Miami Vice', 'Highlander', 'Tales From The Crypt', 'Booker')
Nancy Reagan (former First Lady, as herself - 'Diff'rent Strokes', as seen on TV - 'Saturday Night Live', as an actress - 'Wagon Train', 'The Tall Man', '87th Precinct')
Sai Prashanth (actor - 'Krishna Cottage', host - 'Dhil Dhil Manadhil')
Garry Shandling (stand-up comedian, guest host for 'Tonight', 'It's Garry Shandling's Show', 'The Larry Sanders Show')
Mother Angelica (founder and a host on EWTN)
Barbara Turner (actress - 'The Virginian', 'Ben Casey', writer - "The War Between The Tates", "Hemingway & Gellhorn", mother of Jennifer Jason Leigh)
Merle Haggard (singer/songwriter, actor - 'Centennial', 'The Waltons', 'Doc Elliott')
David Gest (music producer, producer of Michael Jackson documentaries, appeared on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here', 'This Is David Gest')
Victoria Wood (writer, comedienne, actress - 'Dinnerladies', "Acorn Antiques", "Eric & Ernie")
Joanne Laurer "Chyna" (WWF wrestler, actress - '3rd Rock From The Sun', 'Tracker')
Prince (singer/songwriter, appeared as himself 'New Girl', 'Muppets Tonite', 'SNL', Super Bowl halftime show 2007)
Julia Meade (commercial spokeswoman for Lincoln & Kodak, actress - Ryan's Hope, Playhouse 90')
Garry Marshall (writer - 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', producer - 'Happy Days', 'Laverne & Shirley', 'Mork & Mindy', director - "Pretty Woman", actor - 'Murphy Brown')
Patrice Munsel (opera singer: 'The Patrice Munsel Show', 'The Voice Of Firestone', 'The Red Skelton Show', actress: 'The Wild, Wild West', 'Checkmate')
Antony Jay (producer/writer - 'Yes, Minister')
Jaime Davidovitch (video artist, created 'The Live! Show')
Agnes Nixon (writer-producer of soap operas)
Kevin Meaney (actor/comedian - 'Uncle Buck', 'Tonight', HBO specials)
Nicole Haran (theater founder, co-producer of 'Ocean Parkway' web series)
Leonard Cohen (singer/songwriter, actor - 'Miami Vice')
Aileen Mehle (gossip columnist known as Suzy, 'What's My Line?' panelist)
Alan Thicke ('Growing Pains', 'Hope & Gloria', 'Thicke Of The Night')
George Michael (singer/songwriter, played himself in 'Extras', 'Eli Stone')
Jeffrey Hayden (writer/director/producer - 'Peyton Place' 'Alias Smith And Jones', 'The Donna Reed Show')

OTHERS
Ida Gaskin (first woman to win 'Mastermind' in New Zealand, 1983)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (portrayed in 'Picket Fences', 'Boston Legal', "Recount", 'Futurama')
William H. Tankersley (CBS censor from mid-1950s to early 1970s)
Alisa Bennettini (created MTV's 'House of Style')
Eddie Einhorn (created the TVS Network to broadcast college basketball games)
Ralph Baruch (made Viacom the syndication powerhouse it is today)
Doug Kaner (production designer - 'Gotham', 'Tomorrow People', 'Devious Maids')
Philip Kives (mastermind behind the infomercial and K-Tel Records)
Ret Turner (costume designer, 'Dolly', 'The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour', 'Jennier Slept Here', 'Mama's Family')
Bill Backer (created the Coca-Cola commercial "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing")
Michael Dann (CBS programmer okayed 'The Defenders', 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', 'The Beverly Hillbillies', and 'The Smothers Brothers')
Janice Crouch (founding televangelist on Trinity Broadcasting Network)
Desmond Heeley (costume & production designer, 'The Metropolitan Opera Presents', 'ITV Play Of The Week')
Elie Wiesel (Holocaust author, portrayed in "The Reagans", mentioned in "Madoff")
Victor Barrio (Spanish matador gored to death on live TV during bullfight)
David Horowitz (publicist for Bill Clinton, Academy Awards, former TV vice president at Warner Brothers)
Jack Davis (caricaturist known for MAD Magazine parodies & TV Guide covers)
James Houghton (founder and director of the Signature Theatre Company, appeared in documentary series 'Working In The Theater')
Robert Rosencrans (one of the founders of C-Span)
Dick Assman (from Saskatchewan, made famous by David Letterman because of the name)
Eddie Antar (founder of the Crazy Eddie franchise of discount electronics made famous in TV comercials)
Shimon Peres (Prime Minister of Israel, portrayed by Burt Lancaster & Tige Andrews)
John Vulich (make-up designer - 'Babylon 5', 'The X-Files', 'Angel')
Tom Hayden (activist, politician, played by Brian Benben and Reg Rogers)
Janet Patterson (costume designer - 'Sweet And Sour')
Norman Brokaw (Chairman of the William Morris Agency)
Fred Wostbrock (agent for game show hosts and aging actors)
Janet Reno (former Attorney General, portrayed by Will Ferrell)
George Ortiz ('Project Runway' hair stylist)
Fidel Castro (revolutionary leader of Cuba, portrayed several times on TV)
Robert Bennett (Metromedia, sold to Murdoch to become FOX)
F. Ross Johnson (RJR Nabisco chairman, portrayed by James Garner)

HOPEFULLY THE LAST HAT SQUAD TVXOHOF FOR 2016: REMEMBERING DEBBIE REYNOLDS

Brick Heck: 

I need to find out how it all pans out 

between Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. 

And also who Eddie Fisher is.

'The Middle'

From the New York Daily News:

Silver screen icon Debbie Reynolds died Wednesday after reportedly suffering a stroke — just a day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. She was 84.

Reynolds was at the Beverly Hills home of her son, Todd Fisher, discussing funeral plans for her daughter when she suffered the medical emergency around 1 p.m.

“My mom is with my sister,” Todd Fisher told the Daily News Wednesday evening, breaking down in tears.

Debbie Reynolds' entry into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame is not just an honorary tribute.  While she will always be revered for her movies, especially "Singing In The Rain", and she appeared in dozens of TV shows (including two series she headlined), Debbie just barely met the requirements for membership in the Hall as her fictional televersion.  Holding her own against Tracy Ullman's gossipy makeup artist Ruby Romaine, a cameo in an episode of 'Bracken's World', and as the featured guest of the puppet Madame at 'Madame's Place'.

"Tracy Ullman in Trailer Tales" brought her character of Ruby Romaine out of Skitlandia into Earth Prime-Time with the special.

However, there was also that reference to her by Brick Heck in 'The Middle' as seen above.  And that establishes that she did indeed exist in the TV Universe.

Besides, she wanted to be with her daughter in the afterlife.  I don't feel right in keeping them separated when it comes to Toobworld....

And so Debbie Reynolds is beamed into the immortality - such as it is - of the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.

Bracken's World
- It's the Power Structure, Baby (1969)

Madame's Place
- Episode #1.7 (1982)

Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales (2003)

The Middle
 - The War Of The Hecks (2014)

If I was feeling charitable, I suppose I would add her appearances on certain programs that have confirmed presences in the TV Universe - 'Tonight' ('Cheers'), 'The Merv Griffin Show' ('Seinfeld'), 'Hollywood Squares' ('The Nanny').  But I'm not going to push it.  She made the cut.

Good night and may God bless......

"THE JOSHUA PEABODY SHOW"

Over the dozen seasons when 'Murder, She Wrote' was on the air, there was one character associated with Cabot Cover, Maine, who was never seen on the show - Joshua Peabody.

Maybe it had something to do with him dying nearly 200 years before....

"JOSHUA PEABODY DIED HERE... POSSIBLY"

Plans for a new hotel in Cabot Cove are interrupted when a skeleton is discovered in a grave on the construction site. Sheriff Tupper calls in Jessica for help, all the while having an adamant belief that the skeleton in the grave is the remains of famous Revolutionary war-hero Joshua Peabody. However, Dr. Hazlitt argues that the existence of Joshua Peabody is nothing but an old wives' tale. Despite her friends' bickering, Jessica decides to get to the bottom of things, but things get more complicated when a second body turns up at the construction site, and this one is much more recent.

"KEEP THE HOME FRIES BURNING"

All Cabot Cove is obsessed with the Joshua Peabody Inn, a new dining spot big on homemade preserves and cheesy Cabot memorabilia.  (And once again, Sheriff Tupper touts Peabody as a great hero during the Revolutionary War while Dr. Hazlett sticks to his guns that Joshua Peabody is fictional.

I checked a few genealogy sites and found a Joshua Peabody here in the real world but who was born in the 1780s, not in time to partake in the American Revolution, let alone be at least alive during it.

"Joshua Peabody" will be an alias which I plan to use for one of my characters in the final Toobworld adventure.  And I also think that he would make for an excellent character in some fanfic which doesn't even have to have any connection to 'Murder, She Wrote'.  But history mysteries are always popular in literature, why not on TV?

Toobworld in the American Revolution....

I can easily think of a Super Six List of TV characters and real historical figures who could cross paths with Joshua Peabody:

1] John Adams of 'John Adams'

I doubt Giammatti would have interest in recreating the role, however.  If only my friend John O'Creagh was still alive.  He played Stephen Hopkins in that mini-series and might have been amenable to the idea

2] The Yankee Doodle Society of 'The Young Rebels'

This TV show aired in 1970, so if we wanted to have the same actors playing the leads, the timeline would now be 1822!  But they were only part of this rebel cell in Chester, Pennsylvania, so we could have new characters during the Revolution who team up with Joshua Peabody when he goes on a mission to reach the Continental Congress.

3]

The Collins Family ancestors of Collinsport, Maine from 'Dark Shadows'

It might be fun to get some of the few remaining cast members from that gothic soap opera for cameos as their ancestors.  But again we'd have to depend on new actors playing new roles.  However....  Toobworld Central gives a lot of leeway toward recasting when it comes to the aging of characters.  So how about Lucas Haas as future vampire Barnabas Collins as a young man during the Revolutionary War?

4]  Kunte Kinte (Toby) from 'Roots'

Neither John Amos nor LeVar Burton are at an age where they could play the slave in the same time period as Joshua Peabody.  But on paper it could still work.  The life of Kunta Kinte was probably more fiction than fact, so where's the harm in mixing it up with a totally fictional character?

5)  Abraham Woodhull, 'Turn: Washington's Spies'

I wonder if some writer would have the musket balls to insert Joshua Peabody into the action for one episode, and see how long before somebody noticed?

6]  The Doctor, 'Doctor Who'

Well, of course it's obvious to bring the Doctor in; he's a time traveler!

And that gives me the opportunity for a little self-promotion.  At midnight on New Year's Eve leading all the way through New Year's Day, we'll have the annual "Who's On First" blogathon.  Every hour there will be a new blog post about 'Doctor Who'.  

Tune in, won't you?

HAT SQUAD TVXOHOF: REMEMBERING CARRIE FISHER

“I quote fictional characters, 

because I'm a fictional character myself!”

Carrie Fisher

I had written an entirely different post this afternoon while at the doctor's office.  I so wish I could have used that one.....

From NPR:

Carrie Fisher, the actress who became a pop culture icon for her performance as Princess Leia in "Star Wars", has died at age 60.

Fisher had suffered a massive heart attack last week on a flight from London to Los Angeles. On Sunday, her family said she was in stable condition.

A representative of Fisher's daughter, Bille Lourd, confirmed that Fisher died on Tuesday morning.

Fisher shot to fame at the age of 19, when she took on her instantly iconic role in "Star Wars".

I was really hoping to post this as a celebration of her life with a renewed hope that she could pull out of this.  

Bleep you, 2016. 

So let's take a look at the tele-fictional life of Carrie Fisher.  I just really wish it could have been for a more uplifting reason.....

'Captain Kangaroo '
- Episode dated 1 December 1977

Just months after bursting into the public consciousness as Princess Leia, Miss Fisher visited the Treasure House.....

'Saturday Night Live'
- Carrie Fisher/The Blues Brothers (1978) ...Host
- The Rolling Stones (1978) ...(uncredited)

Like the 'Tonight' show and 'The Merv Griffin Show', 'SNL' has a Toobworld counterpart. So the televersion of Carrie Fisher hosted that show as well.

'Ellen'
- "The Movie Show" (1995)

Paige was ignoring Ellen after getting a new job.  

O'BSERVATION:

I'm assuming Paige was hired by Carrie Fisher, giving the real-life half-sisters the chance to work together.

'It's Like, You Know...'
- "Arthur 2: On the Rocks" (1999)

Arthur returns to L.A. but no one seems to notice. Robbie wants to advertise Pay-Per-Jew before the Anna Kournikova highlights. Shrug thinks his new girlfriend may be a succubus.

O'BSERVATION:

Here's another assumption: I think Ms. Fisher must have shown up as a friend of Jennifer Grey, who was a regular in this Seinfeldian sitcom and also playing herself.  But I could be wrong.

'Sex and the City'- "Sex and Another City" (2000)

Carrie meets hunky Keith Travers, who purports to be Matt Damon's agent with connections....

"The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch" (2004)

From Wikipedia:

Twenty three years after the original, documentarist Melvin Hall (Eric Idle) interviewed mainstream artists, actors, and musicians about the days of the popular band The Rutles, which mostly consisted of ending up in the wrong country. The film ends with Melvin and the interviewees laughing.

'The Big Bang Theory'- "The Convention Conundrum" (2014)

Sheldon Cooper:

I don't understand what we're doing.

James Earl Jones: 

Shhhh!

Sheldon Cooper: 

Whose house is this?

James Earl Jones: 

Carrie Fisher.  And she's a little crazy, so get ready to run.

Jones rings the doorbell, and they run for it.  Carrie Fisher storms out with a baseball bat. 

Carrie Fisher:

It's not funny anymore, James!

James Earl Jones: 

Then why am I laughing?

From the IMDb:

• Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones, who played Princess Leia and Darth Vader in Star Wars respectively, had never met in real life before this episode, even though they play major characters in the original Star Wars movies. James Earl Jones would always be in a sound booth providing the voice of Darth Vader, and Carrie Fisher would be on set with David Prowse, who provided the physical acting of Darth Vader. This is paralleled in their scene together in this episode where we see Carrie Fisher on-screen , but only hear the voice of James Earl Jones, who is off-screen.

• James Earl Jones came up with the idea of the scene where he rings Carrie Fisher's doorbell and runs away.

Just one more thing......

This is just a bit of supposition; a "What-If?" scenario.  I'm not saying this is how it really was...

'FRASIER'
"SHE'S THE BOSS"

What if that was really Carrie Fisher AS Carrie Fisher, calling in with the name "Phyllis" as an alias in hopes of finding a cure for her insomnia without the paparazzi back in Los Angeles finding out about it?

It's pozz'ble, just pozz'ble.  But I don't need wish-craft to get an extra credit for her when she already had plenty on her own to join the Hall.

However, at least twice she was mentioned by TV characters in shows where she never actually showed up.  But the acknowledgement of her existence in Toobworld is all that matters.....

Oderus Urungus:
Remember the first time you saw STAR WARS?
We were still living at your Mom's house at the time
and you came running into my closet saying "Oderus! Oderus!
I know what I want to do with the rest of my life now!"

Adam:
Finger Carrie Fisher?

'Holliston'

Peter Dragon:
[desperate to keep Cole Riccardi from coming out of the closet]
Well, Cole, the truth of the matter is, and eh...
I'm trusting you with my life here... I too, eh, am a friend of Dorothy's.

Cole Riccardi:
Peter, what do you take me for?
What about that tape of you and Sandra Bullock?

Peter Dragon:
She's the one that drove me to men!
Don't make me relive it, Cole.

Cole Riccardi:
I know, cause I've been there.
For me it was Carrie Fisher.

'Action'

We've seen it in her writings mostly, but with her fictional televersion as well - she didn't deal in bullshit and was not afraid to admit she was not perfect, but at least she was real.

Carrie Fisher:
Yeah, I.. I felt a little awkward coming out in my Princess Leia costume, 

'cause it might seem like I'm exploiting "Star Wars".. 

But, you know, I went along with it, because, uh.. if I came out as myself, 

who would recognize me? 

So, uh.. yeah, I really didn't know what to do, I felt really.. weird. 
'Saturday Night Live'

And we loved that about you.  

For her portrait in the 2016 Hall of Fame gallery, I was tempted to go with her screencap from the second Rutles special.  With its caption listing her as a Rutles fan, I thought it brought a nice bookend to the memorial section, with David Bowie kicking it off by holding up a Rutles album...

But I realized that she should go in as she looked in that SNL monologue - as herself dressed as Princess Leia.  

Good night and may God bless, Carrie Fisher.  You truly were a wonderment - as an iconic princess and a wordsmith who took no prisoners.  Not only did we know who you were, we will never forget you.....