Each year, the Emmys honor the best in current TV. They also recognize the all-time greats. This year Bea Arthur, Larry Gelbart, Merv Griffin, Daniel Burke, Tom Murphy and Sherwood Schwartz will be entering the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame. Grand choices, in my opinion, with only a minor quibble which I'll mention later.

According to ATAS chairman and CEO John Shaffner , "The Hall of Fame is a special recognition for those who have made significant contributions and have left an indelible mark on the television business." As Maude in the 1970's and Dorothy on The Golden Girls in the 1980's (into the '90s) Beatrice Arthur, made her mark. She was more effective on TV than she was in the theater, and she was a dynamo on stage.

%Gallery-20843%

Today's a sad day for any Yankee fan over the age of 30 or so, as Phil Rizzuto, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the team during the '40s and '50s, died today at 89. Of course, most Yankee fans remember "The Scooter" as a broadcaster; he did play-by-play on TV and radio from 1956 to 1996.

During that time, fans can fondly tell you chapter and and verse about how unconventional he was; he'd send out birthday wishes in the hopes that the Yanks would get a hit, he often talked about the great Italian meal he ate the night before with his wife Cora, and he'd joke around with his various broadcast partners, usually laughing and saying "you huckleberry!"

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the same folks who give us the Emmys) announced the inductees to their Hall of Fame, which was founded in 1984. The class consists of William Shatner, former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw, and Regis ("the Reege") Philbin. Of course, all three have been on our TVs for decades and are pretty obvious inductees. Also in the group are veteran sitcom director James Burrows (Cheers, Will & Grace) and producer and former network executive Leonard Goldberg (Hart to Hart). Induction ceremonies are yet to be scheduled.