Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Bob LeMond | 94 | Radio and TV announcer (Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver) |
| January 16 | Allan Melvin | 84 | Actor (Magilla Gorilla, The Brady Bunch, All in the Family) |
| January 18 | Lois Nettleton | 80 | Actress (In the Heat of the Night) |
| January 19 | Suzanne Pleshette | 70 | Actress (The Bob Newhart Show) |
| January 25 | Jahna Steele | 49 | Transgendered entertainer (Was "outed" on A Current Affair in 1992 and made a guest starring role on NYPD Blue in 1995) |
| February 1 | Shell Kepler | 49 | Actress and presenter (General Hospital, HSN host) |
| February 4 | Augusta Dabney | 89 | Actress (Another World, A World Apart, Loving) |
| February 7 | John McWethy | 61 | News reporter/journalist (ABC News correspondent from 1979 to 2006; Was inside the Pentagon when it was struck by the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 during the September 11, 2001 attacks) |
| February 10 | Ron Leavitt | 60 | writer and producer (Happy Days, Married with Children) |
| February 10 | Roy Scheider | 75 | Actor (seaQuest) |
| February 12 | David Groh | 68 | Actor (Rhoda) |
| February 14 | Bill Currie | 85 | Sportscaster/commentator for KDKA-TV/Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1981 |
| February 16 | Steve Gerber | 60 | Illustrator/animator (Thundarr The Barbarian) |
| February 16 | Perry Lopez | 78 | Character actor (Star Trek) |
| February 19 | Claude "Grits" Gresham | 85 | Outdoor sportscaster (The American Sportsman) |
| February 27 | William F. Buckley, Jr. | 82 | Host and commentator (Firing Line) |
| February 27 | Myron Cope | 79 | Sportscaster at WTAE/Pittsburgh and color commentator for the Pittsburgh Steelers broadcasts |
| February 28 | Dick Fletcher | 66 | Weathercaster/meteorologist at WTSP/St. Petersburg-Tampa, Florida |
| March 16 | Ivan Dixon | 76 | Actor, producer and director (Hogan's Heroes) |
| April 5 | Charlton Heston | 84 | Actor (The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, The Colbys) |
| April 8 | Stanley Kamel | 65 | Actor (Monk) |
| May 1 | Jim Hager | 66 | One half of the Hager Twins and a regular on Hee Haw |
| May 3 | Beverlee McKinsey | 67 | Soap opera actress (Another World, Texas, Guiding Light) |
| May 11 | Richard Towne "Dick" Sutcliffe | 90 | Christian children's' TV producer/animator (Davey and Goliath) |
| May 15 | Alexander Courage | 88 | Composer (Star Trek theme song) |
| May 18 | Joseph Pevney | 96 | Actor (Bonanza) |
| May 24 | Dick Martin | 86 | Comedian and director (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) |
| May 25 | Earle Hagen | 88 | Music composer/musician (The Andy Griffith Show) |
| May 25 | Mitch Mullany | 39 | Actor (Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher) |
| May 27 | Sydney Pollack | 73 | Producer/director and actor (The Fugitive, Will & Grace, The Sopranos and host of The Essentials on Turner Classic Movies) |
| May 29 | Harvey Korman | 81 | Actor/comedian (The Carol Burnett Show, The Flintstones) |
| June 2 | Mel Ferrer | 90 | Actor, producer and director (Falcon Crest, Return of the Saint) |
| June 7 | Jim McKay | 87 | Sportscaster, journalist, narrator, and commentator for ABC, CBS and NBC Sports |
| June 13 | Tim Russert | 58 | Journalist for NBC News and host of Meet the Press from 1991 to 2008 |
| June 13 | Charlie Jones | 77 | Sportscaster for NBC and ABC Sports; Play-by-play TV announcer for AFL and NFL games |
| June 14 | Neil MacNeil | 85 | Journalist (Washington Week in Review) |
| June 16 | Tony Schwartz | 85 | Sound archivist/ad executive and creator of Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 "Daisy" political ad |
| June 17 | Cyd Charisse | 86 | Actress, singer and dancer (The Love Boat, Frasier, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law) |
| June 21 | Kermit Love | 91 | Puppeteer, costume designer, and TV actor (Sesame Street) |
| June 22 | George Carlin | 71 | Actor, writer, director and comedian (The George Carlin Show, Shining Time Station) |
| June 22 | Dody Goodman | 93 | Actress (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) |
| June 29 | Don S. Davis | 65 | Actor (Stargate SG-1, Twin Peaks) |
| July 3 | Larry Harmon | 83 | Entertainer (Bozo the Clown) |
| July 4 | Jesse Helms | 86 | Congressman, senator and former television anchor/reporter/commentator for WRAL-TV/Raleigh, North Carolina |
| July 12 | Tony Snow | 53 | Commentator (Fox News Sunday) and former White House Press Secretary. |
| July 17 | Larry Haines | 89 | Actor (Search for Tomorrow) |
| July 21 | Khia "K-Swift" Edgerton | 29 | Club radio DJ, Hip-Hop producer and remixer (The Wire, BET's Rap City) |
| July 22 | Estelle Getty | 84 | Actress (The Golden Girls) |
| August 7 | Bernie Brillstein | 77 | Producer and agent (Buffalo Bill, ALF, The Larry Sanders Show, NewsRadio) |
| August 8 | John K. Cooley | 81 | Journalist and author (ABC News) |
| August 9 | Bernie Mac | 50 | Actor and comedian (The Bernie Mac Show) |
| August 10 | John Esmonde | 71 | British scriptwriter (The Good Life) |
| August 10 | Isaac Hayes | 65 | Singer/songwriter and voiceover artist (South Park) |
| August 15 | "Engineer Bill" Stulla | 97 | Children's TV show host ("Cartoon Express" on KHJ-TV/Los Angeles from 1954 to 1966) |
| August 19 | Julius Carry | 56 | Actor (Doctor, Doctor, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.) |
| September 1 | Don LaFontaine | 68 | Voiceover announcer (Entertainment Tonight) |
| September 2 | Ike Pappas | 75 | News reporter (CBS News) |
| September 2 | "Captain" Mike Ambrose | 69 | Weatherman at KGTV/San Diego |
| September 3 | Jerry Reed | 71 | Actor and singer (The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Concrete Cowboys, Hee Haw) |
| September 12 | George Putnam | 94 | News personality |
| September 28 | John Harden Norris | 88 | Former owner of WGCB-TV/Red Lion, Pennsylvania, whose former AM sister station was the center of a dispute over the Fairness Doctrine, one that he eventually lost, in 1964. |
| October 9 | Lloyd Thaxton | 81 | Host and producer (The Lloyd Thaxton Show, Fight Back! With David Horowitz) |
| October 11 | Neal Hefti | 85 | Theme music composer (Batman, The Odd Couple (Both the film) and the TV series)) |
| October 15 | Jack Narz | 85 | Game show host (Beat the Clock, Concentration) |
| October 25 | Anne Pressly | 26 | Anchorwoman and special assignment reporter for KATV/Little Rock, Arkansas |
| November 4 | Michael Crichton | 66 | Author and screenwriter (ER) |
| November 7 | Herb Score | 75 | Baseball player and TV/Radio play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians |
| December 1 | Paul Benedict | 70 | Character actor, writer and director (The Jeffersons, Sesame Street) |
| December 5 | Beverly Garland | 82 | Actress, singer and businesswoman (My Three Sons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King) |
| December 8 | Robert Prosky | 77 | Actor (Hill Street Blues) |
| December 11 | Maddie Blaustein | 48 | Voice actress (Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dinosaur King) |
| December 12 | Van Johnson | 92 | Actor and singer (Batman, Here's Lucy, The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957 television film)) |
| December 18 | Majel Barrett | 76 | Actress (Star Trek: The Original Series) |
| December 25 | Eartha Kitt | 81 | Actress, dancer and singer (Batman) |
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Read more about this topic: 2008 In American Television
Famous quotes containing the word deaths:
“On almost the incendiary eve
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