The following deaths of notable individuals related to American television occurred in 2016.
January Date Name Age Notability SourceJanuary 5Elizabeth Swados64American writer and composer; guest roles on ABC soap operas (Loving, All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital), NBC soap operas (Days of Our Lives, Another World, and Santa Barbara) and CBS soap operas (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light)January 6Pat Harrington, Jr.86American actor, best known for his role of building superintendent Dwayne Schneider in One Day at a Time, also voiced the "Inspector" in the animated series The Inspector (other roles include Make Room for Daddy, The Steve Allen Show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Love, American Style, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and Yo Yogi!)January 7Richard Libertini82American actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Soap, Barney Miller, Family Man, DuckTales, The Fanelli Boys, Pacific Station, Murder, She Wrote, Jenny and Law & Order)January 10David Bowie69Ground-breaking British singer, songwriter, musician, and actor (television credits include appearing on Soul Train, the second non-R&B artist to do so after Elton John; a voice over role in SpongeBob SquarePants and guest starring in Dream On; and promos for the "I Want My MTV" campaign)Michael Galeota31American actor, best known for his roles as Bailey Kipper in Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. and Nick Lighter in The JerseyJanuary 11David Margulies78American actor (Kojak, Tales from the Darkside, The Equalizer, Spenser: For Hire, Northern Exposure, Touched by an Angel, Law & Order, The Sopranos)January 13Jim Simpson88Sportscaster (most notable work with NBC Sports and ESPN as well as WRC-TV/Washington, D.C. and WMAR-TV/Baltimore)Obituary for Jim Simpson from Deadline, 1/13/2016January 14Alan Rickman69British actor (American television work includes guest spots on Fallen Angels and King of the Hill)January 15Dan Haggerty74American actor, best known for his role as James Capen "Grizzly" Adams in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams film and television seriesNoreen Corcoran72American actress, dancer and singer, best known for her role as Kelly Gregg in Bachelor FatherJanuary 17Mike Sharpe64Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as "Iron Mike"January 18Glenn Frey67American singer/songwriter (The Eagles) and actor (television credits include Miami Vice and South of Sunset) Gary Menteer76American writer, director and producer (Family Matters, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Punky Brewster)January 23J. Stewart Bryan III77American media executive (Chairman of Media General)January 24Nick Wiltgen39Meteorologist with The Weather Channel's television, radio, and digital broadcastsTed Brown36Producer for ESPNJanuary 26Abe Vigoda94Actor, best known as Detective Phil Fish on Barney Miller and its spinoff Fish, and frequent cameos on Late Night with Conan O'BrienJanuary 28Mike Minor75Actor/singer, best known as Steve Elliot on Petticoat Junction, Brandon Kingsley on All My Children, Dr. Royal Dunning on Another World and supporting roles on The Donald O'Connor Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, CHiPs, Vega$, L.A. Law, The Edge of Night, and As the World Turns
February Date Name Age Notability SourceFebruary 1William E. Mayher III77Chairman of the Board of Gray Television since 1993Gray Television chairman Dr. Billy Mayher passes away at 77 WNDU, February 2, 2016February 2Bob Elliott92Comedian (half of the Bob and Ray duo), game show host (The Name's the Same), and actor (Get a Life)Obituary for Bob Elliott from The Hollywood Reporter, 2/3/2016February 3Joe Alaskey63American comedian, actor, voice actor, and author (notable for his role as Beano Froelich on Out of This World; the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and numerous Warner Bros. Animation characters, including his Daytime Emmy Award for Duck Dodgers; an additional voice in Back to the Future; the voice of Grandpa Lou Pickles in both Rugrats and All Grown Up!; host of Couch Potatoes) "Joe Alaskey, Voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Dies at 63" from The Hollywood Reporter (February 2, 2016)Jack Eaton86Sportscaster/director at WMC-TV/Memphis from 1956 to 1991, the voice of University of Memphis' football and basketball broadcasts from 1959 to 1987, and wrestling announcer/host"Longtime voice of the Memphis Tigers, Jack Eaton, dies" from The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Journal Communications) (February 3, 2016)February 4Dave Mirra41Champion BMX cyclist and host of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge (2004–2005)Obituary for Dave Mirra from Deadline, 2/4/2016Brian Knighton44Wrestler better known by the ring name Axl Rotten, best known for his time in Extreme Championship WrestlingObituary for Axl Rotten from Fox News Channel, February 5, 2016Jim Pederson68Actor, best known throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest as the fictional face and personality of Rocky Rococo Pizza in its television commercials."Jim Pederson, the face and personality of Rocky Rococo Pizza for decades, dies" from Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin, February 8, 2016)February 5Ray Colcord66American composer (Double Trouble, The Charmings, Trial and Error, The Facts of Life, My Two Dads, Singer & Sons, Scorch, The Torkelsons, Where I Live, Dinosaurs, Maybe This Time, Hiller and Diller, You Wish, Promised Land, Boy Meets World, Family Affair, Lost at Home and Girl Meets World)Ray Colcord, ‘Boy Meets World’ and ‘Simpsons’ Composer, Dies at 66 Variety, February 7, 2016February 6Sam Spence 88American composer (in-house composer for NFL Films and NFL Network telecasts, work also heard on KaBlam!, Everybody Loves Raymond and SpongeBob SquarePants)The Man Behind The NFL Music: Sam Spence Dies At 88 NPR, February 13, 2016February 7Dave Anderson55Comedian and television personality at KATU-TV/Portland, Oregon"KPAM And KATU/Portland Host, Comedian Dave Anderson Dies At 55" from All Access (February 8, 2016)February 8 Norman Hudis93British writer (Green Acres, Garrison's Gorillas, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-O, It Takes a Thief, Marcus Welby, M.D., Switch, Paw Paws); special guest appearance in I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and Murder, She WroteNorman Hudis, scriptwriter – obituary The Daily Telegraph, February 12, 2016February 11Kevin Randleman44Wrestler and mixed martial artist (UFC, Strikeforce)February 15Denise "Vanity" Matthews57Canadian-American actress/singer and evangelist (credits include Miami Vice, Friday the 13th: The Series, and Highlander: The Series)"Prince Protégé Vanity Dead At 57" from The Wrap (February 15, 2016)George Gaynes98Actor (several television series, most notably Punky Brewster and Hearts Afire)Obituary for George Gaynes from Variety, 2/16/2016February 16Lex McAllister31Reality television participant who appeared in season 14 of The Bachelor"Bachelor Alum Lex McAllister Dead At 31 In Apparent Suicide" from TV Guide (February 16, 2016)February 18Paul Gordon52American musician and composer, was a member of The B-52's; composed the music for Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers in Space, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Action Man, Transformers: Robots in Disguise and Power Rangers Wild ForceAngela Raiola55American reality television personality (Mob Wives)"Mob Wives Star Big Ang Dies At 55" from TV Guide (February 18, 2016)February 19Charlie Tuna71Los Angeles-based radio personality, television host (Cinema, Cinema, Cinema) and announcer (Time Machine, Scrabble, Scattergories, The $25,000 Pyramid, The Quiz Kids Challenge, The New Battlestars, Mike Douglas Show, and Thicke of the Night).Obituary for Charlie Tuna from Los Angeles Times, 2/29/2016February 24Fred Lozano67Television news anchorman, reporter, and journalist, who was a fixture on San Antonio television stations KENS and WOAI-TV from 1977 to 2012"Former San Antonio Anchorman Fred Lozano Dead at 67" from San Antonio Express-News (February 24, 2016)Eddie Einhorn80Founder of TVS Television Network, executive with CBS Sports, and sports promoter; credited with introducing men's college basketball on television to a nationwide audienceFebruary 25Sam Merrill55News anchor for WNEM-TV/Saginaw/Flint, MI since 1990Obituary for Sam Merrill from MLive.com, 2/25/2016Tony Burton78American actor (television works included starring in Frank's Place and an appearance in Gibbsville)Tony Burton, Flint native and actor from 'Rocky' films, dies in California from MLive.com, (February 25, 2016)February 27Bruce Golin58Emmy Award-winning Post-production producer (notable work includes Knight Rider, Sliders, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, The Last Man on Earth, Transparent, Hindsight, and Daredevil)"Bruce Golin, Post-Production Producer, Dies at 58" from Variety (March 2, 2016)February 28George Kennedy 91American actor, (The Phil Silvers Show, The Asphalt Jungle, Have Gun - Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, Sarge, The Blue Knight, Backstairs at the White House, The Love Boat, Dallas and The Young and the Restless)George Kennedy, beefy character actor, dead at 91 CNN, February 29, 2016
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