In American television in 2005, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel initiations.
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January
More information Date, Event ...
Date |
Event |
1 |
The U.S. channel package PT East, originally created by the New York, New York, company PrimeTime 24, and used by satellite TV viewers where over-the-air TV is unavailable, changes its ABC affiliate from WKRN-TV (Nashville, Tennessee) to flagship station WABC-TV (New York City). |
DirecTV removed Trio from its EPG lineup. The network loses two-thirds of its 20 million viewers, putting in doubt the future of the NBCUniversal-owned channel. |
2 |
Fox cancels the reality show Who's Your Daddy? after only one episode. |
3 |
Craig Ferguson replaces Craig Kilborn as the host of The Late Late Show on CBS, becoming the first foreign-born host to have his own late-night talk show. |
5 |
The 35th anniversary episode of the series All My Children is broadcast by ABC. The special episode, which used former characters Mark Dalton (Mark LaMura) and Nick Davis (Larry Keith), was also unique in that it was the last appearance of ailing actress Ruth Warrick. She died less than two weeks after the episode was broadcast. |
7 |
Tamala Edwards resigns as co-anchor of ABC's World News Now and heads to the network's O&O WPVI/Philadelphia. |
8 |
CBS airs the first episode of the reality series The Will. Ratings for the show are so low, it is canceled after only one episode, following Fox's Who's Your Daddy? which was cancelled six days ago. |
Cartoon Network airs Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers: Ignition, the first of four computer-animated films of Hot Wheels: AcceleRacers, as part of the channel's Toonami block. |
17 |
After over 6 years, Big Tigger hosts Rap City: Tha Bassment for the last time on BET. He reveals that his mother has sold the basement and forced him out to live with his father. The following day, the show is retitled as Rap City with Mad Linx taking over as the new host. |
Heather Cabot becomes the new co-anchor of ABC's World News Now. |
22 |
FoxBox, Fox's Saturday morning programming block owned by 4Kids Entertainment, is rebranded as 4Kids TV. |
29 |
Nickelodeon's successful Saturday night block, SNICK, is discontinued after 12 years. It would then be revamped as a Saturday night edition of TEENick for the 2004–05 television season and onward until the TEENick name was dropped in February 2009 and shifted into a 24-hour channel (rebranding The N) months later. |
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February
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Date |
Event |
2 |
Paramount Television and UPN announce the cancellation of the series Star Trek: Enterprise. Soon afterward, fan efforts begin to save the show, climaxing in a campaign that raises more than $3 million (US) towards funding further production, an offer Paramount ultimately rejects. |
6 |
Super Bowl XXXIX is telecast by Fox. Following the game, Fox airs The Simpsons episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", followed by the pilot of American Dad!. |
7 |
MTV2 revamps the two-headed dog symbol. |
9 |
Jeopardy! held its Ultimate Tournament of Champions and concluded on May 25; Brad Rutter emerged as the champion of the tournament and won the grand prize of $2,000,000; with his career winnings of $3,270,102 (which include another $15,000 for winning a match), Rutter surpassed Ken Jennings's $3,022,700 as the new largest winner in the show's program, as well as the all-time biggest game show winner in the history of American and international television, a title which Rutter held on until October 10, 2008, where Jennings regained the status (Rutter would later top Jennings' record on May 16, 2014, after winning another Jeopardy! tournament, Battle of the Decades; Rutter would later lose the record to Jennings on January 14, 2020, after losing to another Jeopardy! tournament, The Greatest of All Time). |
21 |
Avatar: The Last Airbender airs its hour-long series premiere on Nickelodeon. |
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March
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April
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Date |
Event |
1 |
ABC news anchorman Peter Jennings anchors what will turn out to be his final World News Tonight telecast. Four days later, Jennings informs viewers of World News Tonight, via a taped segment, that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and beginning of chemotherapy. He dies four months later at the age of 67. |
15 |
PBS Kids Go! celebrates Tax Day with the first two-hour Cyberchase special "Know Your Dough". |
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May
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Date |
Event |
1 |
Family Guy begins airing new episodes on Fox with "North by North Quahog". Initially cancelled by Fox in 2002, the unexpected popularity of the show's reruns on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block and DVD releases, as well as letters addressed to Fox, forces the network to renew the show. Fox's revival of Family Guy coincides with the launch of the network's Animation Domination block, which also debuts on this night and pairs Family Guy with King of the Hill, The Simpsons, and the official series premiere of American Dad!. |
2 |
Hunter Tylo resumes her role as Dr. Taylor Forrester on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, after the character was "killed off" three years ago. The revelation that she was alive surprises many viewers as it had not been hinted by any other sources, print or online. |
6 |
SpongeBob SquarePants debuts its fourth season on Nickelodeon after a 7-month hiatus. Originally set to end in 2004, the success of the third season forces Nickelodeon to renew the series for a fourth season before the development of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. |
13 |
The controversial final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise is broadcast in the United States on UPN, ending an 18-year, uninterrupted run of four consecutive or concurrent Star Trek series dating back to 1987. |
23 |
Tom Cruise appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show, which made several public pronouncements of his relationship with Katie Holmes, and most notably "the couch incident." |
24 |
CBS aired a special, Rob and Amber Get Married, featuring the marriage of Survivor and The Amazing Race contestants Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano, in The Bahamas. They were earlier engaged on May 9 last year on the live finale of Survivor: All-Stars, in which Brkich won the season. |
25 |
On Fox, Carrie Underwood wins season four of the popular singing competition, American Idol. |
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June
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July
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August
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September
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Date |
Event |
2 |
While presenting for the NBC telecast of A Concert for Hurricane Relief, music producer and rapper Kanye West ignores his script and addresses what he perceives as the racism of both the government and of the media, stating: George Bush doesn't care about black people, and calls for the media to stop labeling African-American families as "looters" while white families were depicted as "looking for food." |
5 |
In Champaign, Illinois, NBC affiliates WICS/WICD end their 46-year relationship with the network and swap affiliations with ABC affiliate WAND due to an affiliation deal between LIN Media, operators of WAND, and NBC. |
10 |
The Naruto franchise makes its North American television debut on Cartoon Network's Toonami block. |
18 |
The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are given at the Shrine Auditorium in a ceremony broadcast by CBS. |
19 |
Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy take over as new hosts of DaySide on Fox News Channel. |
20 |
Maggie Ausburn is the winner of the American version of Big Brother 6 on CBS, and wins the $500,000 prize. Runner-Up Ivette Corredero wins $50,000. |
23 |
Nicktoons is rebranded as Nicktoons Network (but will revert to the Nicktoons name in 2009). |
26 |
Sprout (now Universal Kids) is launched by a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, HIT Entertainment, and Sesame Workshop. The new network replaces PBS Kids, allowing for an initial reach of 16.5 million subscribers. |
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October
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November
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December
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Date |
Event |
1 |
Oprah Winfrey appears on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, making her first appearance on a David Letterman-hosted show in sixteen years. |
2 |
A Knots Landing retrospective, Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, is broadcast (appropriately) by CBS. |
ABC World News Now anchor Heather Cabot leaves the program due to her pregnancy. |
5 |
Bob Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas unofficially begin anchoring duties for ABC News's World News Tonight, replacing Peter Jennings, who died of cancer almost four months ago. |
6 |
The 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is broadcast on CBS. 8.9 million people tune in.[1][2][3][4][5][6] |
24 |
TBN's kid-aimed, faith-based channel Smile of a Child is launched. |
26 |
The first episode of My Gym Partner's a Monkey airs as a sneak peek before officially premiering on February 24, 2006. |
ABC broadcasts its 555th and final telecast of Monday Night Football, a game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets. |
31 |
The original Viacom officially divides into two companies, with the CBS television network and Showtime Networks becoming part of CBS Corporation, and the MTV Networks group of channels (which includes MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central) and BET (Black Entertainment Television) becoming part of the new Viacom. Eventually, the greatest casualty of the division was that Paramount Television, which became part of CBS Corporation, would cease to exist after 38 years of television production, as it was rebranded as CBS Paramount Television in January 2006, using that name until it became CBS Television Studios three years later. |
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Debuts
More information Date, Show ...
Date | Show |
Network |
January 3 |
Who's Your Daddy? |
Fox |
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
Medium |
NBC |
January 4 |
Committed |
January 5 |
The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott |
UPN |
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search |
NBC |
January 8 |
The Will |
CBS |
January 9 |
Strange Love |
VH1 |
Zoey 101 |
Nickelodeon |
January 11 |
Queer Eye for the Straight Girl |
Bravo |
January 13 |
Jonny Zero |
Fox |
January 14 |
Tilt |
ESPN |
January 17 |
Supernanny |
ABC |
Auto-B-Good |
Syndication |
January 19 |
Point Pleasant |
Fox |
January 21 |
American Dragon: Jake Long |
Disney Channel |
January 22 |
D.I.C.E. |
Cartoon Network |
January 23 |
Numbers |
CBS |
Pet Alien |
Cartoon Network |
Young Blades |
PAX TV |
January 24 |
Digging for the Truth |
History |
February 2 |
It Takes a Thief |
Discovery Channel |
February 5 |
Power Rangers S.P.D. |
ABC Family (Jetix) |
February 6 |
American Dad! |
Fox |
February 8 |
Most Outrageous Moments |
NBC |
February 14 |
Kudlow & Company |
CNBC |
Cuts |
UPN |
February 20 |
Robot Chicken |
Adult Swim |
February 21 |
Avatar: The Last Airbender |
Nickelodeon |
February 23 |
Unique Whips |
Speed |
March 3 |
Law & Order: Trial By Jury |
NBC |
The Contender |
March 6 |
Damage Control |
MTV |
Iron Chef America |
Food Network |
The Starlet |
The WB |
March 7 |
Fat Actress |
Showtime |
March 8 |
Blind Justice |
ABC |
Lie Detector |
PAX TV |
March 11 |
Wonder Showzen |
MTV2 |
March 13 |
Jake in Progress |
ABC |
March 14 |
Mad Money |
CNBC |
March 18 |
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody |
Disney Channel |
March 24 |
The Office |
NBC |
Life on a Stick |
Fox |
March 25 |
Kojak |
USA Network |
Krypto the Superdog |
Cartoon Network |
March 27 |
Grey's Anatomy |
ABC |
March 28 |
Attack of the Show! |
G4 |
March 30 |
Eyes |
ABC |
April 1 |
The Eyes of Nye |
PBS |
April 4 |
Lost Worlds |
History |
Next |
MTV |
April 5 |
Pinky Dinky Doo |
Noggin |
April 6 |
Con |
Comedy Central |
Meet the Barkers |
MTV |
April 8 |
Living with Fran |
The WB |
April 12 |
Deadliest Catch |
Discovery Channel |
April 13 |
Revelations |
NBC |
Stacked |
Fox |
April 24 |
Strip Search |
VH1 |
April 30 |
Showdog Moms & Dads |
Bravo |
May 3 |
The Search for the Funniest Mom in America |
Nick at Nite |
May 9 |
Xtreme Fakeovers |
PAX TV |
May 14 |
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas |
VH1 |
May 17 |
Britney and Kevin: Chaotic |
UPN |
May 24 |
The Bad Girl's Guide |
May 26 |
Kept |
VH1 |
May 30 |
Hell's Kitchen |
Fox |
The Life and Times of Juniper Lee |
Cartoon Network |
June 1 |
Dancing with the Stars |
ABC |
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time |
NBC |
Sports Kids Moms & Dads |
Bravo |
June 2 |
Beauty and the Geek |
The WB |
June 6 |
Fire Me...Please |
CBS |
June 7 |
The Scholar |
ABC |
June 8 |
The Inside |
Fox |
June 9 |
The Cut |
CBS |
June 17 |
The Buzz on Maggie |
Disney Channel |
June 19 |
12 oz. Mouse |
Adult Swim |
June 20 |
Wildfire |
ABC Family |
June 21 |
I Want To Be a Hilton |
NBC |
June 26 |
The Andy Milonakis Show |
MTV |
June 29 |
Stella |
Comedy Central |
June 30 |
Being Bobby Brown |
Bravo |
July 6 |
Mind of Mencia |
Comedy Central |
July 8 |
Camp Lazlo |
Cartoon Network |
Stankervision |
MTV2 |
July 9 |
Catscratch |
Nickelodeon |
Time Warp Trio |
Discovery Kids |
July 10 |
Hogan Knows Best |
VH1 |
The Princes of Malibu |
Fox |
July 11 |
Rock Star |
CBS |
July 15 |
Ooh, Aah & You |
Playhouse Disney |
July 20 |
Criss Angel Mindfreak |
A&E |
So You Think You Can Dance |
Fox |
July 27 |
R U the Girl |
UPN |
July 28 |
The Law Firm |
NBC |
August 2 |
Hi-Jinks |
Nick at Nite |
August 3 |
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List |
Bravo |
August 4 |
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia |
FX |
August 7 |
American Princess |
We TV |
Carl² |
Cartoon Network |
The Girls Next Door |
E! |
Man, Moment, Machine |
The History Channel |
August 8 |
Beautiful People |
ABC Family |
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer |
CNN |
Weeds |
Showtime |
August 14 |
Barbershop |
Showtime |
Delilah and Julius |
Cartoon Network |
My Kind of Town |
ABC |
August 16 |
Tommy Lee Goes to College |
NBC |
August 22 |
Tickle-U |
Cartoon Network |
Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! |
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs |
Peppa Pig |
Firehouse Tales |
Gerald McBoing-Boing |
Little Robots |
Gordon the Garden Gnome |
August 27 |
A.T.O.M. |
Jetix |
August 28 |
Palmetto Pointe |
PAX TV |
August 29 |
Prison Break |
Fox |
September 3 |
Danger Rangers |
Syndicated through PBS Kids |
September 4 |
The Zula Patrol |
September 6 |
Go, Diego, Go! |
Nick Jr. |
September 8 |
Reunion |
Fox |
September 10 |
Bratz |
4Kids TV |
G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 |
September 11 |
Breaking Bonaduce |
VH1 |
My Fair Brady |
The War at Home |
Fox |
September 12 |
Judge Alex |
Syndication |
Jack's Big Music Show |
Noggin |
Meerkat Manor |
Animal Planet |
The Tyra Banks Show |
Syndication |
The Martha Stewart Show |
September 13 |
Bones |
Fox |
Supernatural |
The WB |
Engineering an Empire |
The History Channel |
September 14 |
Head Cases |
Fox |
September 16 |
Twins |
The WB |
Threshold |
CBS |
September 17 |
Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island |
Kids' WB |
Loonatics Unleashed |
Johnny Test |
The Showbiz Show with David Spade |
Comedy Central |
September 18 |
Life with Derek |
Disney Channel |
September 19 |
How I Met Your Mother |
CBS |
Out of Practice |
Just Legal |
The WB |
Surface |
NBC |
Kitchen Confidential |
Fox |
September 20 |
My Name Is Earl |
NBC |
September 21 |
E-Ring |
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart |
Invasion |
ABC |
September 22 |
Everybody Hates Chris |
UPN |
Love, Inc. |
Criminal Minds |
CBS |
September 23 |
Ghost Whisperer |
Inconceivable |
NBC |
Killer Instinct |
Fox |
Three Wishes |
NBC |
September 24 |
Get Ed |
Jetix |
America's Heartland |
Syndication |
September 27 |
Commander in Chief |
ABC |
Sex, Love & Secrets |
UPN |
September 29 |
Night Stalker |
ABC |
October 1 |
Flight 29 Down |
Discovery Kids |
October 2 |
Sunday Pants |
Cartoon Network |
October 3 |
The Road Show |
BET |
October 4 |
Close to Home |
CBS |
October 5 |
The Adam Carolla Project |
TLC |
Related |
The WB |
Freddie |
ABC |
October 7 |
Hot Properties |
October 9 |
Little Einsteins |
Playhouse Disney |
Johnny and the Sprites |
October 13 |
Run's House |
MTV |
October 16 |
Squidbillies |
Adult Swim |
October 17 |
The Colbert Report |
Comedy Central |
Pokémon: Advanced Challenge |
Miss Seventeen |
MTV |
October 28 |
I Shouldn't Be Alive |
Discovery Channel |
Masters of Horror |
Showtime |
October 30 |
But Can They Sing? |
VH1 |
Homewrecker |
MTV |
Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil |
Adult Swim |
November 4 |
South of Nowhere |
Noggin (during "The N" block) |
November 5 |
IGPX |
Toonami |
November 6 |
The Boondocks |
Adult Swim |
Minoriteam |
November 7 |
Charlie and Lola |
Playhouse Disney |
November 25 |
The X's |
Nickelodeon |
December 4 |
Sleeper Cell |
Showtime |
December 6 |
Madden Nation |
ESPN2 |
Party/Party |
Bravo |
December 15 |
Celebrity Eye Candy |
VH1 |
December 18 |
Moral Orel |
Adult Swim |
December 19 |
Deal or No Deal |
NBC |
December 26 |
My Gym Partner's a Monkey |
Cartoon Network |
December 27 |
Ben 10 |
December 30 |
Mr. Meaty |
Nickelodeon |
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Returning this year
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Ending this year
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Entering syndication this year
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Changes of network affiliation
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Television films
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Miniseries
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Launches
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Conversions and rebrandings
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Closures
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Station launches
More information Date, City of License/Market ...
Date |
City of License/Market |
Station |
Channel |
Affiliation |
Notes/Ref. |
January 1 |
Columbia, South Carolina |
WZRB |
47 |
UPN |
|
March 24 |
Walsenburg, Colorado |
K28HN |
28 |
America One |
|
June 1 |
Alexandria, Louisiana |
KBCA |
41 |
The WB |
|
June 15 |
Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
WHPM-LP |
23 |
Fox |
|
July |
Boise, Idaho |
KKJB |
39 |
America One |
|
July 1 |
Great Falls, Montana |
KTGF-LP |
50 |
NBC |
Translator of KTVH/Helena |
August |
Lake Havasu City, Arizona |
KBBA-LP |
10 |
Independent |
|
October |
Holbrook, Arizona |
KNJO-LP |
6 |
America One |
|
November 29 |
Ames/Des Moines, Iowa |
KEFB |
34 |
TBN |
|
Unknown date |
Albany, Georgia |
WALB-DT2 |
10.2 |
NBC Weather Plus |
|
Charlotte, North Carolina |
WCEE-LP |
16 |
TBN |
|
Chicago, Illinois |
W55DF |
55 |
MTV Tr3s |
|
Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands |
WEON-LP |
60 |
Fox |
|
Marquette, Michigan |
WLUC-DT2 |
6.2 |
The Tube Music Network |
|
Pittsburg, Kansas (Joplin, Missouri) |
KPJO-LP |
49 |
TBN |
|
Spokane, Washington |
K09FZ |
11 |
ABC |
Translator of KXLY-TV/Spokane |
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More information Date, Name ...
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More information Date, Name ...
Date | Name | Age | Notability |
January 19 |
Lamont Bentley |
31 |
Actor (Moesha, The Parkers) and rapper |
January 23 |
Johnny Carson |
79 |
Comedian, host of The Tonight Show |
January 29 |
Bill Shadel |
96 |
News anchor (ABC News) |
February 12 |
Brian Kelly |
73 |
Actor (Straightaway, Flipper) |
March 25 |
Paul Henning |
93 |
Producer (The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres) |
March 29 |
Johnnie Cochran |
67 |
Lawyer |
April 5 |
Debralee Scott |
52 |
Actress, game show panelist (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Match Game) |
April 26 |
Mason Adams |
86 |
Actor (Charlie Hume on Lou Grant) |
May 17 |
Frank Gorshin |
72 |
Actor (The Riddler on Batman) |
May 21 |
Howard Morris |
85 |
Actor, director (Your Show of Shows, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Andy Griffith Show, The Magilla Gorilla Show, The Archie Show, DuckTales, Garfield and Friends, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel) |
May 22 |
Thurl Ravenscroft |
91 |
Actor (Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes commercials) |
May 26 |
Eddie Albert |
99 |
Actor (Oliver Wendell Douglas on Green Acres, Frank MacBride on Switch) |
June 24 |
Paul Winchell |
82 |
Ventriloquist, actor (Wacky Races, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Heathcliff, The Smurfs, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Adventures of the Gummi Bears, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) |
June 25 |
John Fiedler |
80 |
Actor (The Bob Newhart Show, Buffalo Bill, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) |
July 20 |
James Doohan |
85 |
Actor (Scotty on original Star Trek) |
August 4 |
Ileen Getz |
43 |
Actress (3rd Rock from the Sun) |
August 7 |
Peter Jennings |
67 |
ABC news anchor |
August 8 |
Barbara Bel Geddes |
82 |
Actress ("Miss Ellie" on Dallas) |
August 9 |
Matthew McGrory |
32 |
Actor |
August 23 |
Brock Peters |
78 |
Actor |
September 2 |
Bob Denver |
70 |
Actor (Gilligan on Gilligan's Island and Maynard G. Krebs on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) |
September 25 |
Don Adams |
82 |
Actor (Get Smart, Tennessee Tuxedo, Inspector Gadget, Gadget Boy & Heather, Pepper Ann) |
October 2 |
Nipsey Russell |
87 |
Actor, comedian and game-show panelist |
October 6 |
Ray Bumatai |
52 |
Actor (Tito Makani on Rocket Power) |
October 7 |
Charles Rocket |
56 |
Actor (Saturday Night Live) |
October 21 |
Tara Correa-McMullen |
16 |
Actress |
November 13 |
Eddie Guerrero |
38 |
Professional wrestler and star of WWE SmackDown |
November 24 |
Pat Morita |
73 |
Actor (Sanford and Son, Happy Days, Ohara) |
November 29 |
Wendie Jo Sperber |
47 |
Actress (Babes, Bosom Buddies) |
December 10 |
Richard Pryor |
65 |
Actor, comedian (The Richard Pryor Show) |
December 16 |
John Spencer |
58 |
Actor (Leo McGarry on The West Wing and Tommy Mullaney on L.A. Law) |
December 26 |
Vincent Schiavelli |
57 |
Actor (Hey Arnold!) |
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