Peter Jennings

“Peter took his work very seriously. But he did not take himself seriously. And he was a little uncomfortable—very uncomfortable—with the word ‘star,’ and a little uncomfortable with the word ‘anchor’ because he really did think about himself as a ‘reporter.’”—Dan Rather

Roone Arledge

Don Hewitt, the producer of 60 Minutes at CBS, and the only executive in network news whose longevity and influence rivaled Roone’s, said, ‘‘Just about everything that’s good in television has a Roone Arledge trademark on it.’’

Frank Gifford

“Governor Reagan had his arm around John Lennon, and he was explaining American football to him. Only on Monday Night Football would you get those two guys, who were poles apart, united.” —Frank Gifford

Bea Arthur

Tall, husky-voiced, hilariously forthright if not downright acid-tongued, Beatrice “Bea” Arthur commanded attention, whether she was on stage or the TV screen.

Estelle Getty

“I know this lady I’m playing. She’s partly me and partly my imagination, but she’s an original and that’s what I’ve been playing all my life—original characters.” —Estelle Getty, on her role as Sophia Petrillo in The Golden Girls

Rue McClanahan

The Golden Girls hilariously redefined viewer notions of how respectable older women ought to behave. Rue’s hilarious turn as an unrepentantly oversexed senior citizen endlessly recalling, with her spot-on Southern drawl, escapades from days gone by threatened to steal the show every week.

Leonard H. Goldenson

“Leonard was hugely successful on the one hand; painfully modest on the other. He was the kind of guy who drove a car several years out-of-date.”—Ted Koppel, former Nightline anchor

Jim Henson

It wasn’t until The Muppet Show debuted in 1976, starring Kermit and the egotistical and hilariously outspoken Miss Piggy, that the Muppets became a favorite of fans of all ages.

Guy Williams

“Out of the night… when the full moon is bright…” If you were a child in the 1950s, you immediately recognize those dramatic opening words to the theme song of a certain television hero of the time—“a horseman known as Zorro.” And of all the famous film Zorros, the memorable standout was Guy Williams.

Regis Philbin

Television talk show host, game show superstar, singer, author, actor, red carpet bon vivant. You name it, he’s done it. The word “icon” seems to have been created for Regis Philbin.