NEIL SEDAKA DEAD AT 86

 

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He was a musical guest on American Bandstand and wrote some songs for The Harlem Globetrotters cartoon.

ROBERT CARRADINE DEAD AT 71

 

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Best known for Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie Maguire, he appeared as Flip on an episode of Run, Joe, Run.

JANE BAER DEAD AT 91

 

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She was the story director for Laverne & Shirley in the Army, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang and The Smurfs (1981), and a layout artist for Hot Wheels. 

THAT'S SO RAVEN

 

THAT’S SO RAVEN
(Disney Channel, January 17, 2003-November 10, 2007)
 
It’s a Laugh Productions, Brookwell McNamara Entertainment (season 1-3), That’s So Productions (season 4), Warren & Rinsler Productions (season 4)
 
 

            Created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, That’s So Raven (originally The Future Is on Me, and later Absolutely Psychic before the lead was cast) focused on teenaged Raven Baxter (Raven-Symoné) who had something special about her: she was psychic. Raven would receive random psychic visions that she would misinterpret as bad, and tried to protect her friends and family by taking steps to ensure the vision wouldn’t come true. Pratfalls ensued, which often included costumes designed by her for herself and whatever friend she roped into helping. Her secret was shared by her best friends Chelsea Daniels (Anneliese van der Pol, after Raven originally auditioned for it), an environmentalist, and Eddie Thomas (Orlando Brown), a girl-crazy aspiring rapper, and her family that included her father Victor (Rondell Sheridan), a chef that would eventually open the teen hangout The Chill Grill, mother Tanya (T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh), a law student, and brother Cory (Kyle Massey), who had entrepreneurial ambitions.

The Baxter family.

            That’s So Raven debuted on Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, with reruns airing on Disney-owned ABC starting that fall as part of the ABC Kids programming block. Raven and Brown would perform the series’ theme, composed by John Coda. It was the network’s first multi-camera sitcom and the highest-rated original series in its history; surpassing Lizzie McGuire and earning numerous award nominations. It also became the first to break Disney’s controversial 65-episode rule, running for 100 episodes. Originally planned for only 3 seasons like other Disney shows, the series was renewed for a 4^th. That ended up costing them Keymáh, who had to leave to care for her ill grandmother. Tanya’s absence was explained by her going to England to study. Raven was promoted to a producer on the series at 19-years-old, giving her more input on casting, scripts and special effects; although she declined an offer to direct an episode. During this season, the series took part in a crossover with fellow Disney shows The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana called That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana.

Raven with her besties Eddie and Chelsea.

            Ultimately Disney decided to end the show as the actors were aging out of their roles, and a companion film slated for 2007 never saw production due to Raven’s busy schedule. Instead, Disney commissioned its first Disney Channel spin-off series Cory in the House, which would follow Cory and Victor to Washington, D.C. where Victor served as the White House executive chef. It lasted two seasons. An Indian version, Palak Pe Jhalak, debuted on Disney Channel India in 2015 and ran for a single season. 2017 saw the return of Raven and van der Pol in Raven’s Home, which initially followed the now adult friends that were both divorced single mothers before a soft reboot sent Raven back to San Francisco to care for her ailing father. Her son, Booker (Isaac Ryan Brown) inherited his mother’s powers, creating a whole new generation of mishaps. It lasted longer than the original series, running 6 seasons and 122 episodes.

ERIC DANE DEAD AT 53

 

You can read the full story here.

He appeared as Tad Pogue on an episode of Saved by the Bell (1989). 

JESSE JACKSON DEAD AT 84

 

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He appeared on a 1971 episode of Sesame Street where he recited some of his poetry.

LITLE BILL

 

LITTLE BILL
(Nickelodeon, November 28, 1999-February 6, 2004)
 
Nickelodeon Animation Studio (as Nick Jr. Productions)
 
 
 

            Little Bill was a series of children’s books written by Bill Cosby with collage-style art from Varnette Honeywood, whose work was collected by Cosby and his wife and were featured on the sets of his programs. The titular character was based on Cosby and his then recently-deceased son, Ennis, for which the books were dedicated and from where the character’s catchphrase—“Hello, friend!”—originated. The books were told in the first-person as Little Bill dealt with things like bullying, honesty, family, friends, boredom and more. 12 books were published by Scholastic between 1997 and 1999 and received critical acclaim for their realism and accessibility. In late 1997, Nickelodeon entered into discussions to adapt the books into three specials, with a potential series to follow.

The cover to one of the original books.

            The animated version of Little Bill, Cosby’s second after Fat Albert, debuted on Nickelodeon on November 28, 1999, as part of its Nick Jr. programming block (although the first 8 episodes originally aired on Sunday nights). Little Bill Glover Jr. (Xavier Pritchett) was an inquisitive 5-year-old boy with a knack for storytelling and daydreaming that learned about everyday life through his family, friends and imagination. He lived in Philadelphia with his father Big Bill (Gregory Hines), a building inspector; mother Brenda (Phylicia Rashad, who played Cosby’s wife on both The Cosby Show and Cosby); sister April (Monique Beasley), who was 10-years-old and tended to be competitive and played sports; brother Robert (Devon Malik Beckford & Tyler James Williams), an 8-year-old violin player and member of the Boy Scouts; and great-grandmother Alice Kendall (Ruby Dee). Elephant was the family’s pet hamster, named for Little Bill’s favorite animal, and tended to roll around the apartment in his plastic hamster ball. Cosby would appear in live-action during the show’s opening sequence, composed part of the theme song with Don Braden and Jon Faddis, and portrayed Little Bill’s favorite superhero, Captain Brainstorm.

The series' characters: Little Bill, teacher Miss Murray, sister April Glover, friend Kiku Wong, April again, brother Bobby Glover, cousin Fuchsia Glover, Bill again, Kiku again, Bill once more, Bobby again, best friend Andrew Mulligan, grandmother Alice the Great, mother Brenda Glover, father Big Bill, and Elephant.

            The series ran for two seasons, being nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards and winning one and spawning a book series of its own. Nick Jr. would continue to air episodes through 2006, while it also aired concurrently on CBS Saturday mornings as part of the Nick on CBS programming block. In 2007, the series moved to the Noggin channel and then to the channel version of Nick Jr. in 2009. Reruns would continue to air until 2014. When allegations against Cosby came to light, networks and studios began to distance themselves from the comedian; with his shows and specials—including Little Bill—being pulled from schedules. The books themselves had also been targeted for removal from school libraries. Since then, Nickelodeon has largely scrubbed Little Bill from its history; excluding it from a 2022 illustrated timeline of its programs and not offering it up for streaming. However, episodes were still available to purchase through Prime Video.

BUD CORT DEAD AT 77

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Josiah Wormwood in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series; Tempest/Fritz Drizzle in The Mask: The Animated Series; Toyman/Winslow Schott in Superman: The Animated Series and Static Shock; Flint Northwood in an episode of The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries; and provided voices for Tom & Jerry Kids.

RICARDO SCHNETZER DEAD AT 72

 

You can read the announcement here.

He provided the Brazilian dubs for Captain Marvel Jr./Freddy Freeman in Shazam! (1981); Hank the Ranger in Dungeons & Dragons; Dorin in Wildfire (1986); Captain Planet in Captain Planet and the Planeteers;  Bane and Jonah Hex in Batman: The Animated Series; Putty Thing/Dak in The Mask: The Animated Series;  Daedalus in Hercules: The Animated Series; Captain Rex, Commander Cody and the Clone Troopers in Star Wars: The Clone Wars; Maurice in The Penguins of Madagascar; and Deathstroke/Slade Wilson in Young Justice.

YOGI'S TREASURE HUNT

 

YOGI’S TREASURE HUNT
(Syndication, September 6, 1985-March 25, 1988)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions

  

For the history of Yogi Bear, check out the post here.

        Yogi’s Treasure Hunt was the fifth entry in the Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Bear franchise, and his third headlining an ensemble program. As with his previous series, Yogi’s Gang, Yogi (Daws Butler) and his friends—Ranger Smith, Boo-Boo Bear (both Don Messick), Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Snooper, Blabber, Augie Doggie (all Butler) and Doggie Daddy (John Stephenson)—were once again on a flying ship, the S.S. Jelly Roger (a Jellystone-inspired play on Jolly Roger), travelling around the world. This time, however, they were sent on treasure hunts by Top Cat (Arnold Stang) who provided them riddles and cryptic clues to lead the way. However, they were often in an unknown race against Dick Dastardly (Paul Winchell) and Muttley (Messick) using their usual dirty tricks to try and get the treasure first on their own ship, the S.S. Dirty Tricks. This premise was similar to the Popeye’s Treasure Hunt segments of Hanna-Barbera’s earlier The All-New Popeye Hour.

Top Cat giving Yogi and his gang their next clue.

          Yogi’s Treasure Hunt debuted on September 6, 1985, running as part of the syndicated programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbra. In fact, its working title was The Funtastic Treasure Hunt as an extension of Hanna-Barbera’s “fantastic” branding, and remained the title of the series’ theme performed by Jon “Bowzer” Bauman from Sha-Na-Na and the “Funtastic Singers”. This would be Butler’s final show voicing his characters for the studio as he would die in May of 1988 (the television films The Good, the Bad and Huckleberry Hound would air that month and Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears later that year). Reruns of the series would air on USA Cartoon Express before moving to Cartoon Network from 1993-99. In 2024, it would join the rotating line-up of Yogi cartoon on retro animation network MeTV Toons.