TV production veteran Abby Singer has died.

Singer worked as production manager on such classic TV shows as The Bob Newhart Show, The Doris Day Show, It Takes A Thief, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Phyllis, Rhoda and The Virginian.

Singer had previously worked as assistant director on a number of shows including The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Jack Benny Program, Tales of Wells Fargo and Wagon Train. He is also credited with creating a time-saving production technique termed “The Abby Singer Shot”:
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The 96-year-old Singer passed away this morning in California.

Captain Video is dead.

Actor Richard Coogan starred in the early television series Captain Video and His Video Rangers. The series aired live nightly from 1949-55 on the long-defunct DuMont Network. Coogan actually quit the show at the end of 1950 and was replaced by Al Hodge, who had previously played The Green Hornet on radio.

Coogan went on to star in daytime drama Love of Life and primtetime western The Californians. He also guested on such classic shows as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Laramie and Perry Mason.

Coogan died Wednesday in California. He would have turned 100 on April 4.

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Veteran actress Sheila MacRae has died.

The UK born MacRae appeared in several 1950s films (Caged, Pretty Baby) and played Alice Kramden on The Jackie Gleason Show (1966-70). She guested on I Love Lucy and The Love Boat, and later starred in her own series: The Sheila MacRae Show (1971). MacRae also had roles on daytime dramas General Hospital and Search for Tomorrow.

MacRae was the mother of 4 children, including the late Meredith MacRae (Petticoat Junction).

Sheila MacRae passed away Thursday in New Jersey. There are conflicting reports on her age, as IMDB claims she was 89 and most news reports say she was 93.

Veteran character actress Mary Grace Canfield has died at age 89.

Canfield appeared on such classic TV shows as Adam-12, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched and Thriller. She is best known for her supporting role as inept carpenter Ralph (Howdie doodie!) Monroe on the long-running sitcom Green Acres.

Canfield passed away last Saturday in California.

Actor Ralph Waite has died at age 85.

Best known for his role as John Walton on the long-running CBS family drama The Waltons, Waite guested on such TV classics as Bonanza and N.Y.P.D. He later starred in the 1980s drama The Mississippi. Waite’s most recent roles were on Bones, NCIS and the daytime drama Days of Our Lives.

It’s been a sad week for classic TV fans, as we have lost Shirley Temple Black, Sid Caesar and now Ralph Waite. Our sympathies to their families and our thanks for bringing us such wonderful entertainment over the years.

Emmy Award winning actor-comedian Sid Caesar has passed away at age 91.

Caesar was a pioneer of early television, starring alongside Imogene Coca on the live 90-minute variety series Your Show of Shows. It aired from 1950-54 on NBC and featured many well-known and up-and-coming performers. YSOS also boasted a future all-star lineup of writers, including Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner and Neil Simon.

YSOS ended in June of 1954, but Caesar returned to TV that fall with The Caesar Hour (1954-57). He later appeared on a number of TV shows and on film, notably in Grease and Grease 2.