2014 deaths in American television

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The following deaths of notable individuals related to American television occurred in 2014.

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Jan. 3 George Goodman 83 Economics journalist/author (writing as "Adam Smith") and host of PBS' Adam Smith's Money World [1]
Jan. 5 Carmen Zapata 86 Actress (TV roles including Viva Valdez, Villa Alegre, and Santa Barbara) [2]
Jan. 6 Mónica Spear 29 Actress/model and former Miss Venezuela (TV roles including the Telemundo-produced telenovelas Flor Salvaje, La Mujer Perfecta, Mi Prima Ciela and Pasión Prohibida) [3]
Larry D. Mann 91 Canadian actor (best known as voice of Yukon Cornelius in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; other roles included Gunsmoke, Bewitched, Hogan's Heroes, Green Acres and Hill Street Blues) [4]
Jan. 10 Eric Lawson 72 Actor and model best known as the Marlboro Man in the late 1970s (TV work includes guest roles on Baretta, The Streets of San Francisco, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty, and Baywatch) [5]
Jan. 12 Frank Marth 91 Actor (Guest spots on The Honeymooners, The Fugitive, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., M*A*S*H, and The Young and the Restless) [6]
Jan. 14 Mae Young 90 Professional Wrestling Hall of Famer (First person to wrestle in nine decades; NWA Florida Women's Champion, NWA United States Women's Champion, NWA Women's Tag Team Champion) [7]
Jan. 16 Russell Johnson 89 Actor (Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island) [8]
Dave Madden 82 Actor (Mr. Kincaid on The Partridge Family) [9]
Jan. 17 Roy Garber 49 Businessman and reality television participant (Shipping Wars) [10]
Jan. 18 Sarah Marshall 80 Actress (Credits include a regular role in Miss Winslow & Son, and guest roles in The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Cheers, Get Smart, Three's Company and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) [11]
Jan. 19 Ben Starr 92 Screenwriter (most notably as co-creator of The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons) [12]
Jan. 22 Luis Ávalos 67 Cuban-born American actor (The Electric Company) [13]
Chet Curtis 74 News anchor (notable for anchoring at WCVB-TV/Boston from 1972 to 2004, and serving as host of The Chet Curtis Report on New England Cable News from 2004 to 2014) [14]
Jan. 30 Arthur Rankin, Jr. 89 Animator/director and co-founder of Rankin/Bass Productions (producer of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, ThunderCats and other animated TV series and specials) [15]
Jan. 31 Christopher Jones 72 Actor (Jesse James in The Legend of Jesse James) [16]
Judy Martin 49 Television news anchor on News 12 Long Island from 1998 to 2014, as well as CNBC. [17]

February

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Feb. 2 Philip Seymour Hoffman 46 Actor (The Yearling, the mini-series Empire Falls and Liberty! The American Revolution) [18]
Feb. 3 Richard Bull 89 Actor (Nels Oleson on Little House on the Prairie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) [19]
Feb. 6 Ralph Kiner 91 Major League Baseball player and TV/radio broadcaster for the New York Mets [20]
Feb. 9 Eric Bercovici 80 Writer/producer (series work including I Spy and Hawaii Five-O, miniseries/movies including Shōgun and Noble House) [21]
Feb. 10 Doppler the Weathercat 18 In-house cat at WSTM-TV/Syracuse, New York [22]
Shirley Temple 85 Actress (TV work includes Shirley Temple's Storybook) [23]
Feb. 12 Sid Caesar 91 Comedic actor (Your Show of Shows, Caesar's Hour, guest appearances on Saturday Night Live and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) [24]
Feb. 13 Ralph Waite 85 Actor (John Walton, Sr. on The Waltons; the miniseries Roots; recurring roles on NCIS, Kickin' It and Bones) [25]
Feb. 14 John Henson 48 Puppeteer and actor (CityKids, Muppets Tonight, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz)
Feb. 15 Jamie Coots 42 Preacher/faith healer and reality television personality (National Geographic Channel's Snake Salvation) [26]
Feb 17 Mary Grace Canfield 89 Actress (best known as Ralph Monroe on Green Acres; guest appearances on General Hospital, The Hathaways, and Bewitched) [27]
Feb. 18 Nelson Frazier, Jr. 43 Professional wrestler, known by the ring names Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V (WWF Hardcore Champion and WWF World Tag Team Champion) [28]
Feb. 20 Garrick Utley 74 TV journalist (worked with NBC News, ABC News and CNN) [29]
Feb. 24 Harold Ramis 69 Writer/actor/director (TV work including writer/performer for SCTV and director on The Office) [30]
Feb. 25 Jim Lange 81 Game show host (several shows, most notably The Dating Game) and announcer (The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show) [31]
Feb. 26 Roger Hill 65 Actor (One Life to Live) [32]

March

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Mar. 1 Jim Boyle 66 News Director for KSAT-TV [33]
Mar. 2 Ted Bergmann 93 Writer/producer (various shows/specials including Three's Company and Grammy Award telecasts) and executive with DuMont Television Network [34]
Mar. 5 Geoff Edwards 83 Game show host (Starcade, Treasure Hunt, Play the Percentages, Chain Reaction, Jackpot!) and actor (Petticoat Junction) [35]
Scott Kalvert 49 TV, film, and music video producer/director (executive producer on Nickelodeon's 2009 TV movie School Gyrls) [36]
Hank Rieger 95 Publicist (work with NBC and his own firm) and former president of Academy of Television Arts & Sciences [37]
Mar. 6 Sheila MacRae 92 English actress, best known as Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners and Madelyn Richmond on General Hospital [38]
Mar. 7 Hal Douglas 89 Voice actor (among television network and commercial clients include The WB, A&E and History) [39]
Mar. 9 William Guarnere 90 World War II hero and author who was portrayed by Frank John Hughes in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers [40]
Mar. 10 Cynthia Lynn 77 Actress, probably best known for her role as Colonel Klink's secretary Helga in Hogan's Heroes [41]
Mike Manhatton 56 News anchor at WTOC-TV in Savannah, GA from 1981 to 2014 [42]
Mar. 12 Richard Coogan 99 Actor (Captain Video and His Video Rangers, The Californians) [43]
Mar. 13 Abby Singer 96 TV/film unit production manager and director, who created the penultimate shot (the next to last shot of the day before the last shot) called "The Abby Singer Shot" or "Martini Shot" [44]
Debra Steele 49 News anchor on WJRT-TV/Flint/Tri-Cities, Michigan from 2003 to 2006 [45]
Mar. 14 John Agoglia 76 TV executive (notably as head of business affairs with NBC and president of subsidiary NBC Enterprises) [46]
Mar. 15 David Brenner 78 Comedian and actor (over 200 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as a guest and guest host) [47]
Mar. 19 Fred Phelps 84 Pastor, lawyer and politician (founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, whose homophobic remarks about the LGBT community, as well as those afflicted with AIDS, earned him a guest spot on Ricki Lake in 1993 (and caused the host to order him and his family to leave the studio) [48][49]
Mar. 21 Adrian Taylor 60 News producer (60 Minutes, The Early Show), winner of the Peabody Award (2012) [50]
Mar. 22 Patrice Wymore 87 Actress (The Errol Flynn Theatre, Perry Mason); wife of Errol Flynn [51]
Mar. 23 James Rebhorn 65 Actor (Credits include As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Homeland, White Collar and as the district attorney who sent the primary characters in Seinfeld to jail in the 1998 series finale) [52]
Mar. 24 Dave Brockie 50 Canadian musician, best known as "Oderus Urungus", lead singer of metal band Gwar (frequent guest appearances on Red Eye w/Greg Gutfeld and numerous tabloid talk shows) [53]
Mar. 25 Ralph Wilson 95 Businessman, founder of the NFL's Buffalo Bills; owned WWTV (1978–88) and KICU-TV (1981–2000) [54]
Mar. 28 Lorenzo Semple, Jr. 91 Screenwriter (Batman, The Green Hornet) [55]
Mar. 29 Dane Witherspoon 56 Actor (Santa Barbara, Capitol) [56]
Mar. 30 Kate O'Mara 74 British actress, best known for her role on the U.S. drama Dynasty [57]
Mar. 31 Frankie Knuckles 59 DJ and record producer (TV appearances include Unsung, Pump Up the Volume, Rock & Roll, Ibiza: Barefoot in the Med, The 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Yo Gabba Gabba!) [58]

April

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Apr. 2 Sandy Grossman 78 Sports director for CBS Sports and Fox Sports, directed 10 Super Bowls [59]
Apr. 5 John Pinette 50 Comedian (known for his appearance on the series finale of Seinfeld) [60]
Apr. 6 Mary Anderson 96 Actress (recurring role on Peyton Place in 1964) [61]
Mickey Rooney 93 Actor (TV work includes starring roles on Kleo the Misfit Unicorn, The Adventures of the Black Stallion, One of the Boys, The Red Skelton Show, Mickey, and The Mickey Rooney Show: Hey, Mulligan) [62]
Apr. 8 Jim Hellwig 54 WWE Hall of Fame wrestler, known as The Ultimate Warrior, and actor. Former 1-time WWF Champion and 2-time WWF Intercontinental Champion [63]
Apr. 11 Terry Sams 80 Local television personality from Augusta, GA known as Trooper Terry on WJBF (1962–82) [64]
Carl Zimmermann 96 Reporter/anchor/commentator for WITI/ longest serving broadcaster in Milwaukee history [65]
Apr. 20 Rubin Carter 76 Boxer who served nearly 20 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit; appeared on several talk shows [66]
Apr. 21 Craig Hill 88 Actor (P.T. Moore in Whirlybirds) [67]
Apr. 26 Lee Marshall 64 Radio and TV announcer and voice-over actor (notably as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes commercials and for his work as ring announcer/host with WCW, WWE and AWA) [68]
Apr. 28 Jack Ramsay 89 Basketball coach, later radio and television analyst (color commentary work for the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, analysis work for ESPN) [69]
Apr. 29 Bob Hoskins 71 English actor (Pennies from Heaven, Rock Follies of '77) [70]

May

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
May 1 Patrick Johnson 45 Police officers who appeared on the National Geographic Channel reality show Alaska State Troopers [71]
Gabriel Rich 26
May 2 Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. 95 Actor (77 Sunset Strip, The F.B.I., Zorro) and voice actor (The Legend of Prince Valiant and Batman: The Animated Series) [72]
May 8 Nancy Malone 79 Actress (Naked City, The Long, Hot Summer), producer (Bob Hope: The First 90 Years), director (several series, notably Sisters and The Trials of Rosie O'Neill), and TV studio executive (20th Century Fox) [73]
May 22 Matthew Cowles 69 Actor (Loving, All My Children, and As the World Turns) [74]
May 23 Mona Freeman 87 Actress (guest spots in Climax!, Playhouse 90, The United States Steel Hour and Perry Mason) [75]
May 25 Lee Chamberlin 76 Actress (The Electric Company, Paris) [76]
May 28 Maya Angelou 86 Author, poet laureate, actress, dancer, director, producer, writer, singer and Civil Rights activist (guest appearances on programs such as Touched By an Angel, and a contributor for talk shows) [77]
May 29 Bern Bennett 92 Announcer for CBS Radio and television for nearly 60 years [78]
Ken Schram 66 Reporter and commentator with KOMO-TV/Seattle since 1979 [79]
May 30 Joan Lorring 88 Actress (Norby, Studio One, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Robert Montgomery Presents, Ryan's Hope and The Love Boat) [80]
May 31 Martha Hyer 89 Actress (Lux Video Theatre, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Burke's Law) [81]

June

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
June 1 Ann B. Davis 88 Actress; notable roles include Charmaine Schultz on The Bob Cummings Show and Alice Nelson on The Brady Bunch [82]
June 11 Glenn Britt 65 Former vice president and CFO with Time Inc. and later Chairman/CEO of Time Warner Cable from 2001 to 2013 [83]
Ruby Dee 91 Actress (Peyton Place, Roots: The Next Generations, The Stand, Street Gear, Little Bill and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) [84]
June 14 James E. Rogers 75 Former Attorney & Entrepreneur, Owner of Intermountain West Communications Company [85]
June 15 Casey Kasem 82 Actor, musician, disc jockey, radio personality, host (America's Top 10), voice actor (Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo television series franchise, Robin in the Super Friends franchise, several characters on Transformers) [86]
June 23 Steve Viksten 54 Voice actor (best known as the voice of Oskar Kokoshka on the Nickelodeon animated series Hey Arnold!) and writer (Rugrats, Duckman, Hey Arnold!, Recess, The Off-Beats and The Simpsons) [87]
June 24 Caleb Bankston 26 Reality television show participant that appeared on season 27 of Survivor [88]
June 28 Meshach Taylor 67 Actor (Anthony Bouvier on Designing Women and Sheldon Baylor on Dave's World), game show panelist (To Tell the Truth) and host (HGTV and the Travel Channel) [89]
June 29 Don Matheson 84 Actor (Mark Wilson in Land of the Giants) [90]
June 30 Bob Hastings 89 Actor (McHale's Navy, All in the Family) and voice actor (Batman: The Animated Series) [91]

July

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
July 3 James Harness 57 Television personality (Gold Rush) [92]
July 5 Rosemary Murphy 89 Actress (Lux Video Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Lucas Tanner, All My Children, Quincy M.E., George Washington, As the World Turns, Civil Wars, In the Heat of the Night, EZ Streets and Frasier) [93]
July 7 Dick Jones 87 Actor (star of Buffalo Bill, Jr., guest/recurring roles included The Gene Autry Show, The Range Rider, Annie Oakley, Gray Ghost, The Blue Angels and Wagon Train) [94]
July 11 Tommy Ramone 65 Singer-songwriter (Ramones) [citation needed]
July 17 Elaine Stritch 89 Actress/singer (3-time Emmy-winning role on Law & Order, 2004 special Elaine Stritch at Liberty, recurring role as Colleen Dongahey on 30 Rock, the original Trixie Norton in Honeymooners sketches, Ruth Sherwood in My Sister Eileen, daytime roles on The Edge of Night and One Life to Live) [95]
July 19 James Garner 86 Emmy Award-winning actor (Bret Maverick in Maverick and its sequel spin-off, Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files and a recurring role on 8 Simple Rules; commercial pitchman for Polaroid cameras; voice of God in God, the Devil and Bob) [96]
Skye McCole Bartusiak 21 Actress (credits include playing a young Marilyn Monroe in the miniseries Blonde and Megan Matheson in 24) [97]
July 27 Lew Brown 89 Character actor (The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Death Valley Days, Dragnet, The Virginian, Adam-12, The F.B.I., Gunsmoke, Apple's Way, Emergency! and The Waltons) [98]
July 28 James Shigeta 85 Actor and singer (television credits include a recurring role on Medical Center; guest roles include Hawaii Five-0, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Ben Casey, and Murder, She Wrote) [99]
July 30 Robert Halmi, Sr. 90 TV executive (Hallmark Entertainment) and producer (several projects including the films Gypsy and The Lion in Winter and the miniseries Scarlett, Gulliver's Travels, and Merlin) [100]

August

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
August 1 Michael Johns 35 Singer who competed in the American Idol – season seven [101]
August 5 Marilyn Burns 65 Actress (Linda Kasabian in the mini-series Helter Skelter) [102]
August 11 Robin Williams 63 Actor (notable TV roles include Mork from Ork on Happy Days and Mork & Mindy, Simon Roberts on The Crazy Ones; guest appearances included The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) [103]
August 12 Lauren Bacall 89 Actress (TV work included Producers' Showcase and Mr. Broadway, among many others; voiceover for PBS identification during the 1990s) [104]
August 13 Alan Landsburg 81 TV producer/director and founder of the television studio and distribution production company that bears his namesake [105]
August 18 Don Pardo 96 TV and radio personality and announcer (notably as the announcer for Saturday Night Live and numerous game shows) [106]
August 26 Bryce Dion 38 Sound technician on Cops (killed during the taping of a segment) [107]
August 30 Victoria Mallory 65 Singer and actress (Leslie Brooks on The Young and the Restless [1977–84]) [108]

September

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Sept. 4 Joan Rivers 81 Actress, comedian, writer, author, producer and host (Fox's The Late Show, permanent weekly guest host on The Tonight Show for four years in the 1980s, her Daytime Emmy-Award-winning syndicated talk show, E! celebrity fashion show Fashion Police and "Red Carpet" host for both E! and TV Guide Channel) [109]
Sept. 5 Bruce Morton 83 TV/radio news reporter, anchor, and commentator with CBS News and CNN [110]
Simone Battle 25 Singer, actress, reality television participant, and member of the group G.R.L. (The X Factor) [111]
Sept. 6 Molly Glynn 46 Actress (Chicago Fire, Boss) [112]
Sept. 8 Sean Haire 43 Professional wrestler, retired mixed martial arts fighter and kickboxer (3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion), known under the ring name of Sean O'Haire [113]
Sept. 12 Theodore J. Flicker 84 Screenwriter (episodes of The Mod Squad; co-creator of Barney Miller) and director (several shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show) [114]
Sept. 20 Polly Bergen 84 Emmy-award-winning television/film actress, singer, game show panelist, author, and businesswoman (credits include her own self-titled variety series, Playhouse 90, To Tell the Truth, War and Remembrance, and Desperate Housewives) [115]
Sept. 22 Max Morgan 59 Sports anchor and reporter for KDFW [116]
Sept. 26 Sam Hall 93 Screenwriter (head writer for Dark Shadows and One Life to Live) [117]
Sept. 27 Sarah Danielle Madison 40 Actress (7th Heaven, Judging Amy, 90210) [118]

October

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Oct. 3 Kevin Metheny 60 Radio and television personality, VJ, programmer, and broadcasting executive (notably as VP/Programming at MTV and VH1, the latter as an occasional VJ/host) [119]
Oct. 5 Geoffrey Holder 84 Actor and dancer (notable as the pitchman for 7 Up's "Uncola" campaign) [120]
Oct. 9 Jan Hooks 57 Actress (cast member on Saturday Night Live, recurring roles on Designing Women, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and 30 Rock) [121]
Oct. 14 Elizabeth Peña 55 American-born Cuban television, film and voice actress (credits include I Married Dora, Modern Family, Justice League and Matador) [122]
Oct. 18 Joanne Borgella 32 Singer, actress, model (competed in American Idol – season seven and Mo'Nique's Fat Chance) [123]
Oct. 20 Douglas Baker 80 Professional wrestler and actor known by his ring name Ox Baker [124]
Luther Masingill 92 TV and radio personality in the Chattanooga area, notably as a reporter and anchor at WDEF-TV and its former AM and FM sister stations [125]
Oscar de la Renta 82 Dominican fashion designer (his work was featured on numerous television shows, among them the Ugly Betty episode "Ugly Berry") [126]
Oct. 23 Terry Keenan 53 Business journalist/anchor (work with CNN, CNBC, CNNfn, and Fox News Channel) [127]
Oct. 24 Marcia Strassman 66 Actress (Nurse Margie Cutler on M*A*S*H, Julie Kotter on Welcome Back, Kotter) [128]

November

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
Nov. 3 Tom Magliozzi 77 Auto mechanic and comedian (along with brother Ray, co-starred in As the Wrench Turns and made a guest appearance on Arthur) [129]
Nov. 4 Richard Schaal 86 Character actor and comedian (Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda) [130]
Nov. 10 Jovian 20 Lemur actor (Zoboomafoo) [131]
Nov. 11 Carol Ann Susi 62 Actress (best known as the voice of the unseen Debbie Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory) [132]
Nov. 14 Diem Brown 32 Actress, singer and reality television participant (The Challenge, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat) [133]
Glen A. Larson 77 Producer and writer (Battlestar Galactica, Quincy, M.E., The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, B. J. and the Bear, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider) [134]
Nov. 19 Mike Nichols 83 Director, writer, producer and comedian (winner of four Emmy awards for his TV movies and mini-series, and one of 12 performers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award) [135]
Nov. 28 Chespirito 85 Mexican actor, comedian and playwright (his character from El Chapulín Colorado inspired Matt Groening to create The Simpsons character Bumblebee Man) [136]

December

See also

References

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