Season 12 Batty Awards: In Memoriam

As is our tradition, we present here the list of names of those we lost over the course of the most recent season of the podcast. 

 

Peter Marshall

Phil Donahue

James Darren

James Earl Jones

Ron Ely

Terri Garr

Alan Rachins

Quincy Jones

Earl Holliman

Chuck Woolery

Thom Christopher

The Amazing Kreskin

Michael Cole

Greg Gumbel

Linda Lavin

Wayne Osmond

David Duclon

David Lynch

Bob Uecker

Rudy Martzke

John Erwin

Dick Button

Bob Uecker

John Amos

Batty Awards Season 11: In Memoriam

As is tradition, we publish the list of those we lost during Season 11. Please note this is not intended to be a comprehensive list and that we honor all of those 1970s and 1980s TV figures who died over the course of our recent season.

Michael Lerner

Billy Seluga

Newton Minnow

Tina Turner

George Maharis

The Iron Sheik

Barry Newman

Tony Bennett

Inga Swenson

Terry Funk

Arlene Sorkin

Bob Barker

Paul Reubens

David McCallum

Michael Gambon

Dick Butkus

Lara Parker

Suzanne Somers

Richard Roundtree

Burt Young

Peter S. Fischer

Richard Moll

Marty Krofft

Norman Lear

Collectibles Corner: The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff

In honor of the recent passing of former World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight champ Iron Sheik, I want to share this picture of two action figures from my collection:

I got the Sheik loose last year, and his tag team partner Nikolai Volkoff (also deceased) is a recent find. Laurie got this one for me. It was packaged and beat up but still less than many similar loose figures go for these days (probably because the box was so dinged). The Shiek and Volkoff were the big heel tag team when I first started watching the WWF, so iconic (and, well, cartoony)  that they earned spots on the Hulk Hogan's Rock and Wrestling cartoon on CBS.

These are both good figures, but the headgear really makes them, huh? Both now reside on my Eighties shelf of decade-related memorabilia and toys.

Season 10 Battys: In Memoriam

Here is the list of names we read in the In Memoriam segment on the Season 10 Batty Awards show. No disrespect is intended to any of the TV personalities we lost but did not recognize in this segment. R.I.P. to all as we pay tribute one last time by listing them here:

Clu Gulager
Roger E. Mosely
Olivia Newton John
Nichelle Nichols
Burt Metcalfe

Tony Dow
Taurean Blacque
Pat John
Larry Storch
David Birney

Philip Baker Hall
Charles Siebert
Bo Hopkins
Robert Morse
Liz Sheridan

Gilbert Gottfried
Barrie Youngfellow
Nehemiah Persoff
Scoey Mitchell
Emilio Delgado

Conrad Janis
Johnny Brown
Howard Hesseman
Ralph Emery
Bob Saget

Dwayne Hickman
Marilyn Bregman
John Madden
Betty White
Bernard Shaw

In Memoriam: Vin Scully

Somehow I left Vin Scully out of the top ten list on Sunday, but I intended no slight. I think I planned to do a separate post last week. At this point I don't have a lot to add, but I want to share a clip of one of my all-time favorite TV sports moments, something that still gives me chills:

This clip begins a little too late. My favorite part is not the climactic homer, but actually the build to the at-bat--specifically the very beginning, when Scully says, "And look who's coming up," and then lays out a bit. I was rooting for Oakland in that Series and could not stand that Dodger team. Yet today I appreciate the moment and the spectacle and treasure this as one of baseball's most amazing finales.

One thing that amazes me is that Scully's stint as a national TV voice of the game was basically one decade. In fact, it was less than that. He took over as main man on NBC's Game of the Week in 1983, and the network lost that MLB package after the 1989 season. 

Of course, if you're on this site, you will understand that with my Eighties-centric viewpoint, I always thought of Vin as THE voice of baseball. I grew up on him, and so there you go. Makes sense, right?

R.I.P., Vin Scully!

Season 9 Batty Awards: In Memoriam

Here for the record and also as one more tribute to some of those in the TV world we lost is the list of names we read in the Batty Awards show for Season 9. Rest in Peace.

Bruce Kirby
Cloris Leachman
Cicely Tyson
Allan Burns
Frank Lupo
Irv Cross
Jim Crockett Jr.
Roger Mudd
Henry Darrow
Jessica Walter
Larry McMurtry

Walter Olkewicz
James Hampton
Felix Silla
Billie Hayes
Norman Lloyd
Charles Grodin
Paul Soles
Arlene Golonka
Douglas Cramer
Clarence Williams III
Ned Beatty
Larry Gelman

Gavin McLeod
Frank Bonner
Anne Beatts
Herb Schlosser
Ed Asner
Willard Scott
Markie Post
Jane Withers
William Smith
Charlie Robinson
Paul Orndorff
Jackie Mason

Ron Popeil
Bobby Eaton
Art Metrano
Michael Constantine
Irma Kalish
Jay Sandrich
David DePatie
Alan Kalter
Val Bisoglio
William Lucking
Joanna Cameron
Peter Scolari
Dean Stockwell

BOTNS remembers Ed Asner

Mike and I extend our condolences to the fans, friends, and especially the family of Ed Asner, the TV icon who died Sunday at the age of 91 after a remarkable career. He was one of our favorite performers, and our enjoyment of his work should be apparent in these episodes we did featuring him (click to access the podcast):

*The Mary Tyler Moore Show

*Lou Grant

*PSAs (In our episode earlier this season devoted to public service announcements, we discussed Asner's spots for Reading Is Fundamental, one of which is below along with a few other clips.

R.I.P., Ed Asner. 

In Memoriam (from the Season 8 Batty Awards)

Here in print is our In Memoriam list from the Season 8 Battys honoring notables from the BOTNS era we lost. You can check out our video playlist, featuring commercials, promos, and more, by clicking right here!

Joe Ruby
Tom Seaver
Kevin Dobson
Diana Rigg
Road Warrior Animal
Jay Johnstone
Mac Davis
Tom Kennedy
The Amazing Randi
Alex Trebek
Paul Hornung
Herb Solow
Abby Dalton
David Proswe
Warren Berlinger
Pat Patterson
David Lander
Charley Pride
Rod Perry
William Link
Dawn Wells
Tanya Roberts
John Reilly
Tommy Lasorda
Don Robertson
Peter Mark Richman
Gregory Sierra
Larry King

Batty Awards Season 7 In Memoriam: Video Playlist

In this week's Batty Awards episode, we delivered our traditional tribute to those we've lost since the last time (roughly November 2019-early August 2020).  Remember, this is not comprehensive, and we intend no slight to anyone not on the list.

Here is a video playlist celebrating the work of the names we read on the podcast (and included below). You will see commercials, music, clips, and more! Rest in peace!

D.C. Fontana

Ron Liebman

Rene Auberjonois

Carroll Spinney

Phillip Mckeon

Lee Mendelson

Jack Sheldon

Edd Byrnes

Buck henry

John Karlen

Jim Lehrer

Fred Silverman

Gene Reynolds

Orson Bean

Robert Conrad

Ja'Net DuBois

Earl Pomerantz

Stuart Whitman

Lyle Waggoner

Kenny Rogers

James Drury

Saul Turtletaub

Brian Dennehy

Howard Finkel

Phyllis George

Fred Willard

 Richard Herd

Carl Reiner

Regis Philbin

John Saxon

Wilfred Brimley

Summer Redstone

Raymond Allen

Batty Awards Season 6 In Memoriam Video Playlist

As a tribute to the many notable personalities we mentioned in our In Memoriam segment on this year's Battys, we put together the following YouTube playlist spotlighting some of their work. Click below to see (almost) all of the names listed below as read on the podcast. You'll also see Harrison Ford, Lucille Ball, David Letterman, wookies, Wonder Woman, the Heat Miser (!), and many more!




*Kristoff St. John

*Jan-Michael Vincent

*Morgan Woodward

*Katherine Helmond

*King Kong Bundy

*Sid Sheinberg

*Maury Laws

*Peter Mayhew

*Jim Bouton

*Peggy Lipton

*Doris Day

*Tim Conway

*Max Wright

*Arte Johnson

*Harley Race

*Jack Whitaker

*Valerie Harper

R.I.P. Jed Allan

We at BOTNS hoist a Lowenbrau for the late Jed Allan, who passed away last weekend at the age of 84. A lot of the coverage mentioned his role on Santa Barbara, and this warm tribute by Ian Ziering centered around his playing Steve Sanders' father on the original Beverly Hills 90210.

We salute him for his role as emcee of that classic example of 1970s pop culture, Celebrity Bowling. As we discussed in a season 3 episode, Allan brought a certain charm to the series with his easygoing yet confident manner on the set, his snazzy dressing, and his--well, his attempts to explain that cursed "best ball" format (Hey, that was a tough task for anyone).

Let's all fire up our Amana ranges and cook up a memorial feast for Mr. Allan!

BOTNS salutes the late Ken Berry

We salute Ken Berry, who died this weekend at 85. His breakthrough hits, F Troop and Mayberry R.F.D., may be a little before our time period, but he was a fixture of 1970s and 1980s TV nonetheless. Remember when you were sitting down to watch a rerun of The Brady Bunch and that weird episode with the new family popped up? That Kelly's Kids episode was maybe the first "backdoor pilot" I ever saw, way before I understood the concept.




He was the lead in Mama's Family, but I remember him more for just...turning up everywhere. The Cat from Outer Space seemed to be on cable TV all the time.




 Plus there were the Kinney shoe ads:



Plus he was one of those guys who always turned up on the shows that kept TV going in those days--the daytime talk shows, the game shows, the "these shows are more TV than anything else" shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

R.I.P. to one of the more versatile performers of the era, a reliable actor whose amiable screen persona always brightened up my TV set...even if I never did understand each time The Brady Bunch was hijacked by that Kellys Kids episode.