Tom Bosley, best known as Howard Cunningham on 'Happy Days,' has died at the age of 83.

According to TMZ, family members reported that Bosley died after a staph infection. Bosley's agent, Sheryl Abrams, told the Associated Press that Bosley suffered from heart failure at 4AM Tuesday in a hospital near his Palm Springs home and that he was also battling lung cancer.

Over five decades, the actor appeared in a range of TV shows and specials, movies, commercials and Broadway productions, but he was most famous as the stern, loving TV dad, Mr. Cunningham.

Mr. C -- as the Fonz called him -- was the quintessential sitcom dad that everyone wanted for their own. He made the top 10 of TV Squad's best TV dads ever.

Barbara Billingsley, known to millions of TV fans as the pearls-wearing housewife June Cleaver on the classic sitcom 'Leave it to Beaver,' has passed away at the age of 94.

A family spokeswoman said Billingsley died of polymyalgia, a rheumatoid disease, at her home in Santa Monica, Calif.

In a statement, her TV son, Jerry Mathers, said, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend and lifetime mentor Barbara Billingsley. She will live in the hearts of her fans as a wonderful actress and be remembered by her friends as a gracious lady."

"She will be deeply missed by all of her family, friends, fans and most especially by me."

By now you've heard the terrible news that prolific producer/writer Stephen J. Cannell has died at the age of 69 of melanoma.

Not all TV producers/writers/creators are well-known, but Cannell was. That will happen when you are involved so many shows (in his case, more than 40). Even casual TV fans know the guy who rips the paper out of the typewriter and throws it up in the air at the end of his shows.

Since the 1960s, Cannell did many shows, either as a writer, creator, producer, or director (and sometimes all of those). He even acted, and had a recurring role on ABC's 'Castle.'

Here's my list of the great Cannell shows. Feel free to add yours in the comments below.

Edwin Newman, who spent decades as a newsman at NBC, has died. The veteran TV journalist, who was 91, passed away Aug. 13 in Oxford, England, though his death was only just announced by outlets including the New York Times so his family could have time to grieve privately.

Newman first joined NBC's ranks in the early 1950s and served as a correspondent, anchor, commentator, documentary host and theater critic over his three-decade tenure. He was known for his dry wit, stark eyebrows and love of plainspoken English.

In a statement, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw said, "Ed Newman was an early role model for my generation of NBC News correspondents. Worldly, erudite and droll, qualities that were enriched by his pitch perfect use of the English language."

The producers of HBO's 'Six Feet Under' were on to something.

Meredith Local Media, based in Des Moines, will start to syndicate a local televised paid obituary service after introducing it at WNEM-TV in Flint-Saginaw Bay City, Mich., according to a TVNewsCheck.com report.

The concept was first introduced, in a way, during the run of 'Six Feet Under.' The Emmy-nominated HBO show, which ran from 2001-05, would post obits of recently departed characters on the channel's Web site. In Michigan, a CBS affiliate scrolls the obits while soft music plays in the background at the end of weekday newscasts.

Eddie Barth, who played rival detective Myron Fowler on the detective series 'Simon & Simon,' died May 28 of heart failure, the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. He was 78.

According to the report, Barth died at his home in Los Angeles.

In addition to 'Simon & Simon,' on which he appeared in 38 episodes, Barth acted on a number of famous television shows throughout his career, from 'Kojak,' to 'Shaft' to 'Murder She Wrote.' He also provided the closing line in the Miller Lite beer commercials of the '80s.

Hilary Duff books a multi-episode role on 'Gossip Girl,' Paula Abdul gets in touch with her inner 'Diva,' Wentworth Miller returns to the small screen and more TV news.

Wow. Busy day in celebrity deaths. First we hear that Farrah Fawcett finally lost her battle to cancer, then suddenly we hear that, after being rushed to a LA hospital in cardiac arrest, Michael Jackson also died. He was only 50, and he was about to embark on a comeback concert stint in London that he hoped would revive his career.

ABC News was already scrambling to move up the Farrah special they had planned to air on 20/20 this coming Friday. That special, where Barbara Walters interviews Ryan O'Neal, will be shown tonight at 10 PM ET. They also just announced that they will be airing an MJ retrospective at 9 PM ET.

Other networks are following suit with their own specials, according to THR.com.

It's interesting how most news outlets aside from Fox didn't confirm MJ's death even though our friends at TMZ had the news first. I guess it wasn't legitimate enough for them. Either way, it's a shockingly sad day in the entertainment biz, no matter what you may have thought of Farrah or Jackson.

Eddie Cibrian joins 'CSI: Miami,' Farrah Fawcett passes away at 62, 'America's Got Talent' has its lowest premiere ever and more TV news.

During some of the television obits I've been hearing about the late, great Ed McMahon, one of the most common misunderstandings about the Tonight Show sidekick's career has been perpetuated: that he worked for Publishers Clearing House, handing out big checks to unsuspecting sweepstakes winners.

Well, Ed did work for one of those sweepstakes-and-subscriptions houses, but it was PCH's main rival, American Family Publishers. He often appeared in the AFP's ads and mailings with his Bloopers and Practical Jokes buddy Dick Clark.

Not once did McMahon work for PCH, but as Bob pointed out in his obituary, jokes about his sweepstakes work often kept the mistake alive.

'Tonight Show' sidekick Ed McMahon died early this morning in Los Angeles.

According to his publicist, Howard Bragman, McMahon, who was hospitalized with pneumonia in February, died at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering a "multitude of health problems the last few months."

Among the reported ailments: bone cancer, an anonymous source told the Associated Press.

He was 86.

Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls, whose velvety voice earned him legions of fans, died today of cancer at the age of 72. Rawls was born in Chicago and raised by his grandmother. He started honing his voice at age seven in a Baptist church choir.

 Rawls got his start as a gospel singer, then later transitioned to more secular music, selling over 40 million copies of his 60-plus albums and winning four Grammys . In addition to his long career as a singer, Rawls also appeared in over a dozen films and 16 television series, including Fantasy Island and Fall Guy, and voiceovers for children's cartoons (among other roles, he was the voice of Harvey on Hey, Arnold!) . Rawls was also a humanitarian; he was well known as a huge supporter of the United Negro College Fund, and performed at the fund's telethon last year.

Looks like we need to add another one to Jonathan's list from earlier this week. Known primarily for his role as Blue in the recent comedy movie "Old School", Patrick Cranshaw has passed away at the ripe age of 86. Besides appearing in several other movies, Cranshaw also made recurring appearances in the television shows Alice, Mork & Mindy, The Ted Knight Show and Dukes of Hazzard. No obituary of Cranshaw's is complete without the phrase: "You're my boy, Blue!"

(Part 4 of 5)

It happens every year, and you hate to be the one who ends up writing about it (especially me because I'm a big cry-baby), but it's the right thing to do when it comes time to pay your respects to those we've lost over the last 365 days. So grab a box of tissues and join me along with the rest of my fellow TV Squadders as we remember some of the great actors, comedians, news anchors, producers, writers, and other television personalities who've moved on to what we can only hope is a better place.