2010 in American television
Deaths -- April
Table:
Date
Name
Age
Notability
Ref.

April 1

John Forsythe

92

Actor (Blake Carrington on Dynasty, voice of Charlie on Charlie's Angels, and starred in Bachelor Father)

[422]

April 9

Meinhardt Raabe

94

Actor (Played Munchkin who declares "the witch is dead" in The Wizard of Oz)

[423]

April 10

Dixie Carter

70

Actress (Designing Women, Diff'rent Strokes, Out of the Blue, The Edge of Night, Family Law)

[424]

April 12

Peter Haskell

75

Actor (Bracken's World, Ryan's Hope)

[425]

April 15

Benjamin Hooks

85

Former executive director of NAACP, first African- commissioner on the FCC

[426]

April 18

Allen Swift

86

Voice actor (The Howdy Doody Show, Mighty Mouse, Underdog)

[427]

April 20

Myles Wilder

77

Screenwriter (McHale's Navy, The Dukes of Hazzard)

[citation needed]

April 27

Dorothy Provine

75

Actress, comedian, dancer and singer (The Roaring 20s, The Alaskans, Man Without a Gun)

[428]

Consulting the provided table and the passages listed.

Answer the following question: Who did the first actor to reach the age of 90 certify as dead in his most notable film role ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

John Forsythe ( January 29 , 1918 - April 1 , 2010 ) was an American stage , film/television actor , producer , narrator , drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades . He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows and as a panelist on numerous game shows . His 60-year acting career began in films in 1943 . He signed up with Warner Bros. at age 25 as a minor contract player , but he later starred in films like The Captive City ( 1952 ) . He co-starred opposite Loretta Young in It Happens Every Thursday ( 1953 ) , Edmund Gwenn and Shirley MacLaine in The Trouble With Harry ( 1955 ) , and Olivia De Havilland in The Ambassador 's Daughter ( 1956 ) . Forsythe also enjoyed a successful television career , starring in three television series , spanning four decades and three genres : as the single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ( 1957-1962 ) , as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend in the crime drama Charlie 's Angels ( 1976-1981 ) - a role he would reprise in the 2000 and 2003 film adaptations - and as patriarch Blake Carrington in Dynasty ( 1981-1989 ) . He hosted the series World of Survival ( 1971-1977 ) , and was also the presenter of the 38th Miss Universe Pageant , broadcast on CBS in 1989 .
Blake Alexander Carrington is a fictional character on the ABC television series Dynasty , created by Richard and Esther Shapiro . The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the 1981 pilot episode until the series finale in 1989 . Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty : The Reunion . In The CW 's 2017 reboot of the series , Blake is played by Grant Show . Patriarch of the Carrington family , self-made CEO of monolithic Denver-Carrington , and the principal character of the series , oil tycoon Blake Carrington is initially a ruthless man in both business and family matters . The character soon softens into a more benevolent patriarchal figure due to Forsythe 's influence .
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12 , 1981 , to May 11 , 1989 . The series , created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling , revolves around the Carringtons , a wealthy family residing in Denver , Colorado . Dynasty stars John Forsythe as oil magnate Blake Carrington , Linda Evans as his new wife Krystle , and later Joan Collins as his former wife Alexis . Dynasty was conceived by ABC to compete with CBS 's prime time series Dallas . Ratings for the show 's first season were unimpressive , but a revamp for the second season that included the arrival of Collins as scheming Alexis saw ratings enter the top 20 . By the fall of 1982 , it was a top 10 show , and by the spring of 1985 , it was the # 1 show in the United States . The series declined considerably in popularity during its final two seasons , and it was ultimately cancelled in the spring of 1989 after nine seasons and 220 episodes . A two-part miniseries , Dynasty : The Reunion , aired in October 1991 . A reboot series with a new cast premiered on The CW in October 2017 . Dynasty was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama Series every year from 1981 to 1986 , winning in 1983 . The series spawned a successful line of fashion and luxury products , and also a spin-off series called The Colbys . Other notable cast members included Pamela Sue Martin , Lloyd Bochner , Heather Locklear , Catherine Oxenberg , Michael Nader , Diahann Carroll , Emma Samms , Rock Hudson , Kate O'Mara and Stephanie Beacham .
Charlie 's Angels is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22 , 1976 to June 24 , 1981 , producing five seasons and 115 episodes . The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aaron Spelling . It follows the crime-fighting adventures of three women working in a private detective agency in Los Angeles , California , and originally starred Kate Jackson , Farrah Fawcett ( billed as Farrah Fawcett-Majors ) , and Jaclyn Smith in the leading roles and John Forsythe providing the voice of their boss , the unseen Charlie Townsend , who directed the crime-fighting operations of the Angels over a speakerphone . There were a few casting changes : after the departure of Fawcett and Jackson came the additions of Cheryl Ladd , Shelley Hack , and Tanya Roberts . Despite mixed reviews from critics and a reputation for merely being Jiggle TV ( specifically emphasizing the sex appeal of the female leads ) , Charlie 's Angels enjoyed huge popularity with audiences and was a top ten hit in the Nielsen ratings for its first two seasons . By the third season , however , the show had fallen from the top 10 . The fourth season of the show saw a further decline in ratings ; the changes could not stop the falling ratings and in 1981 , Charlie 's Angels came to an end after 110 episodes and five seasons . Charlie 's Angels continues to have a 1970s American cult and pop culture following through syndication , DVD releases , and subsequent television shows . The show also spawned a media franchise with a film series started in 2000 , which is a continuation of the series story with later generations of Angels . A reboot television series was broadcast in 2011 , but canceled after seven episodes .
Bachelor Father is an American sitcom starring John Forsythe , Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong . The series first premiered on CBS in September 1957 before moving to NBC for the third season in 1959 . The series ' fifth and final season aired on ABC for the rest of the show 's run . A total of 157 episodes were aired . The series was based on A New Girl in His Life , which aired on General Electric Theater on May 26 , 1957 . Bachelor Father is the only primetime series ever to run in consecutive years on the three major television networks ( ABC , CBS and NBC ) .
Meinhardt Frank Raabe /ˈmaɪnˌhɑːrt ˈrɑːbi/ ( September 2 , 1915 - April 9 , 2010 ) was an American actor . He was one of the last surviving Munchkin-actors in The Wizard of Oz , and was also the last surviving cast member with any dialogue in the film . He portrayed the coroner who certified the death of the Wicked Witch of the East .
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Widely regarded to be one of the greatest films in cinema history , it is the most commercially successful adaptation of L. Frank Baum 's 1900 children 's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Directed primarily by Victor Fleming ( who left the production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind ) , the film stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale alongside Ray Bolger , Jack Haley , and Bert Lahr . Characterized by its use of Technicolor , fantasy storytelling , musical score , and memorable characters , the film has become an American pop culture icon . It was nominated for six Academy Awards , including Best Picture , but lost to Gone with the Wind , also directed by Fleming . It did win in two other categories : Best Original Song for Over the Rainbow and Best Original Score by Herbert Stothart . While the film was considered a critical success upon release in August 1939 , it failed to make a profit for MGM until the 1949 re-release , earning only $ 3,017,000 on a $ 2,777,000 budget , not including promotional costs , which made it MGM 's most expensive production at that time . The 1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on the CBS network reintroduced the film to the public ; according to the Library of Congress , it is the most seen film in movie history . It was among the first 25 films that inaugurated the National Film Registry list in 1989 . It is also one of the few films on UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register . The film is among the top ten in the BFI ( British Film Institute ) list of 50 films to be seen by the age of 14 . The Wizard of Oz is the source of many quotes referenced in contemporary popular culture .
Dixie Virginia Carter ( May 25 , 1939 - April 10 , 2010 ) was an American film , television and stage actress and singer . She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom Designing Women ( 1986-93 ) , and as Randi King on the drama series Family Law ( 1999-2002 ) . She was nominated for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Gloria Hodge on Desperate Housewives ( 2006-07 ) . Carter made her professional stage debut in a Memphis production of the musical Carousel in 1960 , and made her Broadway debut in the 1974 musical Sextet . After appearing for two years as District Attorney Brandy Henderson on the CBS soap The Edge of Night ( 1974-76 ) , she starred in the 1976 Broadway musical Pal Joey . Her other television roles included the sitcoms On Our Own ( 1977-78 ) , Filthy Rich ( 1982-83 ) and Diff'rent Strokes ( 1984-85 ) . She returned to Broadway to play Maria Callas in the play Master Class in 1997 , and to play Mrs. Meers in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2004 .
Designing Women is an American sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29 , 1986 , until May 24 , 1993 , producing seven seasons and 163 episodes . The comedy series Designing Women was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS . The series centers on the lives of four women and one man working together at an interior designing firm in 1980s Atlanta , Georgia , called Sugarbaker & Associates . It originally starred Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker , president of the design firm ; Delta Burke as Suzanne Sugarbaker , Julia 's ex-beauty queen sister and the design firm 's silent partner ; Annie Potts as head designer Mary Jo Shively ; and Jean Smart as office manager Charlene Frazier . Later in its run , the series gained notoriety for its well-publicized behind-the-scenes conflicts and cast changes . Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks replaced Burke and Smart for season six , but Duffy was not brought back for the seventh and final season , and she was replaced by Judith Ivey .
Diff'rent Strokes is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from November 3 , 1978 to May 4 , 1985 and on ABC from September 27 , 1985 to March 7 , 1986 . The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson , two African-American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and widower named Phillip Drummond ( Conrad Bain ) and his daughter Kimberly ( Dana Plato ) , for whom their deceased mother previously worked . During the first season and first half of the second season , Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds ' housekeeper , Mrs. Edna Garrett , who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom , The Facts of Life . The second housekeeper , Adelaide Brubaker , was played by Nedra Volz . The third housekeeper , Pearl Gallagher , was played by Mary Jo Catlett , appearing first as a recurring character before eventually becoming a main cast member . The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman , Todd Bridges and Dana Plato and became known for the very special episodes in which serious issues such as racism , illegal drug use , alcoholism , hitchhiking , kidnapping and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored . The lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction , with Plato and Coleman suffering early deaths .
Out of the Blue is an American fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC during the fall of 1979 . It is chiefly notable as having featured a Mork & Mindy crossover , and for the controversy surrounding its status as a spin-off of Happy Days .
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series and soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble . It debuted on CBS on April 2 , 1956 , and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its run until November 28 , 1975 , The series then moved to ABC , where it aired from December 1 , 1975 , until December 28 , 1984 . 7,420 episodes were produced , of which some 1,800 are available for syndication . It is said that the writer P.G . Wodehouse , actress Bette Davis , actress Tallulah Bankhead , first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and songwriter Cole Porter were all devoted fans .
Family Law is an American legal drama television series created by Paul Haggis , that aired on CBS from September 20 , 1999 to May 27 , 2002 . This series starring Kathleen Quinlan as divorced lawyer Lynn Holt , who attempted to start her own law firm after her husband left both her and their law practice , taking all of their clients with him . From September of 2018 until April of 2019 , reruns of the show have aired on Start TV , but have since returned in October . The show also starred Christopher McDonald as opportunistic , ambulance-chasing attorney Rex Weller , Julie Warner as Lynn 's friend Danni ( and the one member of her former firm 's staff who did not defect with Lynn 's ex-husband ) , and Dixie Carter as pit bull divorce attorney Randi King . Later cast additions included Tony Danza , Cristián de la Fuente , Salli Richardson and Meredith Eaton as Emily Resnick , an ambitious attorney hoping to make partner . Edwin Starr 's 1970 hit song , War was used as the series ' opening title theme .
Peter Abraham Haskell ( October 15 , 1934 - April 12 , 2010 ) was an American actor who worked primarily in television .
Bracken 's World is an American drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 , 1969 , to December 25 , 1970 . The series was created and produced by Dorothy Kingsley . The Lettermen performed the second-season theme song , Worlds .
Ryan 's Hope is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer , originally airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7 , 1975 to January 13 , 1989 . It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan , New York City .
Benjamin Lawson Hooks ( January 31 , 1925 - April 15 , 2010 ) was an American civil rights leader . A Baptist minister and practicing attorney , he served as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) from 1977 to 1992 , and throughout his career was a vocal campaigner for civil rights in the United States .
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) [ a ] is a civil rights organization in the United States , formed in 1909 as a bi-racial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B . Du Bois , Mary White Ovington , Moorfield Storey and Ida B . Wells . Its mission in the 21st century is to ensure the political , educational , social , and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination . National NAACP initiatives include political lobbying , publicity efforts and litigation strategies developed by its legal team . The group enlarged its mission in the late 20th century by considering issues such as police misconduct , the status of black foreign refugees and questions of economic development . Its name , retained in accordance with tradition , uses the once common term colored people , referring to those with some African ancestry . The NAACP bestows annual awards to African Americans in two categories : Image Awards are for achievement in the arts and entertainment , and Spingarn Medals are for outstanding achievement of any kind . Its headquarters is in Baltimore , Maryland .
The Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio , television , wire , satellite , and cable across the United States . The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access , fair competition , radio frequency use , media responsibility , public safety , and homeland security . The FCC was formed by the Communications Act of 1934 to replace the radio regulation functions of the Federal Radio Commission . The FCC took over wire communication regulation from the Interstate Commerce Commission . The FCC 's mandated jurisdiction covers the 50 states , the District of Columbia , and the territories of the United States . The FCC also provides varied degrees of cooperation , oversight , and leadership for similar communications bodies in other countries of North America . The FCC is funded entirely by regulatory fees . It has an estimated fiscal-2016 budget of US $ 388 million . It has 1,688 federal employees , made up of 50% males and 50% females as of December , 2017 .
Ira Stadlen ( January 16 , 1924 - April 18 , 2010 ) , known professionally as Allen Swift , was an American voice actor , best known for voicing cartoon characters Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show . He took his professional name from radio comedian Fred Allen and 18th century satirist Jonathan Swift .
Howdy Doody is an American children 's television program ( with circus and Western frontier themes ) that was created and produced by E. Roger Muir and telecast on the NBC network in the United States from December 27 , 1947 , until September 24 , 1960 . It was a pioneer in children 's television programming and set the pattern for many similar shows . One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center , in Studio 3A , it was also a pioneer in early color production as NBC ( at the time owned by TV maker RCA ) used the show in part to sell color television sets in the 1950s .
Mighty Mouse is an American animated anthropomorphic , superhero mouse character created by the Terrytoons studio for 20th Century Fox . The character first appeared in 1942 ( originally named Super Mouse ) and subsequently in 80 theatrical films between 1942 and 1961 . These films appeared on American television from 1955 through 1967 , Saturday mornings on the CBS television network . The character was twice revived , by Filmation Studios in 1979 and in 1987 by animation director Ralph Bakshi , who had worked at the Terrytoons studio during his early career . Mighty Mouse has also appeared in comics and other media .
Underdog is an American animated television series that ran from October 3 , 1964 , to 1973 on the NBC network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills , and continued in syndication until 1973 for a run of 124 episodes . Underdog , Shoeshine Boy 's heroic alter ego , appears whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred is being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff . Underdog nearly always speaks in rhyming couplets , as in There 's no need to fear , Underdog is here ! His voice was supplied by Wally Cox .
Myles Wilder ( January 28 , 1933 - April 20 , 2010 ) was a television comedy writer and producer . Wilder attended and graduated from UCLA 's Theater Arts Department . During his senior year , he and two of his friends , Mitch Rose and Wayne Thoms , produced a documentary entitled The Sports Car that depicted the history of and interest in sports cars . He later wrote for The Tim Conway Show , a 1970 situation comedy , and the 1977 situation comedy The San Pedro Beach Bums . Wilder 's father was director-producer W. Lee Wilder ( 1904-1982 ) , and his uncle was Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder ( 1906-2002 ) .
McHale 's Navy is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons , from October 11 , 1962 , to April 12 , 1966 , on the ABC television network . The series was filmed in black and white and originated from an hour drama entitled Seven Against the Sea , broadcast on April 3 , 1962 . The ABC series spawned three feature films : McHale 's Navy ( 1964 ) ; a sequel , McHale 's Navy Joins the Air Force ( 1965 ) ; and a much later 1997 sequel-remake of the original series .
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American action-comedy television series that was aired on CBS from January 26 , 1979 , to February 8 , 1985 . The show aired for a total of 147 episodes spanning seven seasons . The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners , which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts .
Dorothy Michelle Provine ( January 20 , 1935 - April 25 , 2010 ) was an American singer , dancer and actress . Born in 1935 in Deadwood , South Dakota , she grew up in Seattle , Washington , and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros. , after which she first starred in The Bonnie Parker Story and played many roles in TV series . During the 1960s , Provine starred in series such as The Alaskans and The Roaring 20 's , and her major roles in movies included Good Neighbor Sam ( 1964 ) , That Darn Cat ! ( 1965 ) , Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die ( 1966 ) , Who 's Minding the Mint ? ( 1967 ) , and Never a Dull Moment ( 1968 ) . In 1968 , Provine married the film and television director Robert Day and mostly retired . She died of emphysema on April 25 , 2010 in Bremerton , Washington .
The Roaring 20 's is an American drama television series that was broadcast by the American Broadcasting Company ( ABC ) from October 15 , 1960 , until January 20 , 1962 .
The Alaskans is a 1959-1960 ABC/Warner Bros. western television series set during the late 1890s in the port of Skagway , Alaska . The show features Roger Moore as Silky Harris and Jeff York as Reno McKee , a pair of adventurers intent on swindling travelers bound for the Yukon Territories during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush . Their plans are inevitably complicated by the presence of singer Rocky Shaw ( Dorothy Provine ) , an entertainer with a taste for the finer things in life . The show was the first regular work on American television for the British actor Roger Moore .
Man Without a Gun is an American western television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television and presented on the NTA Film Network and in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959 . Set in the town of Yellowstone near Yellowstone National Park in the then Dakota Territory during the 1870s , the program starred Rex Reason as newspaper editor Adam MacLean , who brought miscreants to justice without the use of violence or gunplay but through his Yellowstone Sentinel . The co-star was Mort Mills , as Marshal Frank Tallman , who intervened when the pen proved not to be mightier than the sword.Harry Harvey , Sr. , was cast in twenty-one episodes as Yellowstone Mayor George Dixon . The program is considered to have been unique because it showcased MacLean 's moral ethics and common sense to bring outlaws to justice . The show was also used as a schoolroom to teach the youngsters of the 1950s about decency and the differences between right and wrong .