Roger Cook (1954–2024), This Old House landscaper

Roger Cook was a garden and landscape contractor featured on “This Old House” for decades.

Russell Morash (1936–2024), This Old House creator

Russell Morash was a TV producer who pioneered how-to TV as the creator of “This Old House” and director of “The French Chef,” among other PBS shows.

Robert MacNeil (1931–2024), MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour co-anchor

Robert MacNeil was a Canadian-American journalist who co-founded the long running news program that is now known as “PBS NewsHour.” 

Cass Warner (1948–2024), granddaughter of Warner Bros. co-founder 

Cass Warner was a filmmaker, author, the granddaughter of Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner, and mother of actor Cole Hauser.

Michael Chiarello (1962–2023), American celebrity chef 

Michael Chiarello was an acclaimed chef in California’s Napa Valley who authored numerous cookbooks, produced popular olive oils, and starred on the Food Network’s “Easy Entertaining” among many other TV appearances.

Mark Russell (1932–2023), comedian and political satirist 

Joseph Marcus Ruslander , better known by his stage name, Mark Russell , built a career on piano-driven political comedy that provided sharp commentary on current events. His bow tie became part of his signature look, and his long series of PBS specials solidified him as one of the notable satirists of his day.

Michael Gerson (1964–2022), George W. Bush’s speechwriter

Michael Gerson was chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush as well as a columnist for the Washington Post.

Mark Shields (1937–2022), “PBS NewsHour” commentator

Mark Shields was a political pundit who spent decades as a commentator on “PBS NewsHour.”

Jim Hartz (1940–2022), former “Today Show” co-host

Jim Hartz was a broadcast journalist who co-hosted “The Today Show” alongside Barbara Walters in the 1970s.

Pat Goss (2022), longtime “MotorWeek” mechanic

Pat Goss was a mechanic and TV personality who hosted the “Goss’ Garage” segment on the PBS show “MotorWeek” for more than 40 years.

Joanne Rogers (1928–2021), widow of Fred Rogers

Joanne Rogers was the widow of , of "Mister Rogers Neighborhood," and was an accomplished concert pianist.

Gerald Slater (2020), Walter Cronkite's colleague and PBS cofounder

Gerald Slater was one of the founding employees of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), who was instrumental in PBS becoming an important voice in news coverage.

Jim Lehrer (1934–2020), longtime anchor of “PBS NewsHour”

Jim Lehrer was a broadcast journalist well known for hosting “PBS NewsHour” for more than 30 years. Lehrer joined Robert MacNeil to cohost the program in 1976, when it was titled “The MacNeil/Lehrer Report.” When MacNeil left in 1995, it became “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” renamed “PBS NewsHour” in 2009. In the 36 years before his 2011 retirement, Lehrer became a giant of broadcasting known for his directness. He always strove simply to report the news, feeling that opinion and analysis had no place in what he did. Lehrer moderated twelve presidential debates, more than any other moderator in U.S. history, most recently the first presidential general election debate of 2012. He was also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and an author of plays, novels, memoirs, and screenplays, including the novel “Top Down” about the Kennedy assassination. Lehrer was honored with the National Humanities Medal and the George Foster Peabody Broadcast Award, and he was a member of the Television Hall of Fame.

Caroll Spinney (1933–2019), Sesame Street's beloved Big Bird

He played the giant character ever since the show's 1969 premiere — and also played Oscar the Grouch.

TV Journalists

Anchors are some of the most-trusted presences on the small screen, the faces we lookto in times of national crisis to bring us the news ... along with a bit of reassurance. From and , to and , these are the great television news anchors of decades past, memorable for their voices, faces and unique styles of sharing the news of the day with us. We pay tribute to TV broadcasters with this photo tribute to those we've lost.

Sister Wendy Beckett (1930–2018), nun became a BBC TV star

Sister Wendy’s art history documentaries aired on PBS in America.

Elizabeth Brackett (1941 – 2018), longtime Chicago journalist

Journalist hosted the WTTW show "Chicago Tonight" for two decades…

The WWII Massacre of Americans You Haven't Heard Of

Even in a war with more than its share of horrors, the Malmedy massacre stands out. Eighty-four American soldiers were brutally killed by their German captors in a shocking breach of the Geneva Convention's rules for warfare. Forty-three more were left for dead, using all their will to remain completely silent and still as they lay amidst the dead on freezing, snow-covered ground.

Robert A. Wilson (2017), father of Owen and Luke Wilson

Father of actors Owen and Luke Wilson…

The Kindest Man in the World: Fred Rogers (video)

Fred Rogers ( ) changed the face of children’s educational television as the creator and host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The show, produced for 33 years in Pittsburgh and broadcast to homes across America on PBS, gave preschoolers a daily half hour of imaginative “make-believe” puppetry and gentle talk that encouraged every child’s inner life.

Gwen Ifill (1955–2016), PBS NewsHour co-anchor

Gwen Ifill, a veteran television journalist who served as moderator and managing editor of the Public Broadcasting Service’s talk show “Washington Week,” died Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, of cancer, according to the network. She was 61.

David Smyrl (1935 - 2016)Emmy-winning Sesame Street actor

David L. Smyrl, the actor who played Hooper's Store owner Mr. Handford on the Public Broadcating Service series in the 1990s, has died. He was 80.

He Made Muppets Sing

Jeff Moss, the first head writer for "Sesame Street," helped to bring to life classic characters like Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

Roger Ebert, We'll See You At the Movies

Our society's culture critics have often tended to be a little, for lack of a better word, hoity-toity. Cooler than thou, if you will. They wax eloquent about that dense philosophical metaphysical book you couldn't get through once (but they just finished for an "enlightening" third time). They rave about that indie band you've never even heard of, and sing the praises of that art house film that put you to sleep.

A Visit to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Anyone who grew up watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood — that is, almost everyone under the age of 50 or so — probably feels like they know Fred Rogers . As the gentle, friendly host of one of television's longest-running children's programs, Rogers taught, sang toand counseled generations of kids. His frequent, reassuring presence in their lives elevated him to the status of a beloved uncle or grandfather. Many of those viewers already know that Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, or that he wrote all the songs he sang on his show.

Bob Ross and the Joy of Painting

Bob Ross was the beloved host of PBS’s “The Joy of Painting.

Jerry Nelson, Muppeteer

Jerry Nelson was more than a puppeteer—he was a Muppeteer.

Gene Siskel: The Balcony is Closed

Auteur theorist Andrew Sarris proclaimed Max Ophuls' opulent 1954 drama The Earrings of Madame de… his favorite movie of all time. The esteemed Pauline Kael once said her favorite film was Menilmontant , a silent French film from 1924. But a third critic whose influence on American audiences towered over the aforementioned New York intellectuals preferred something a little closer to home.

Edward Gorey, Comedian of the Macabre

Eccentric and influential, Edward Gorey wrote and illustrated more than 100 books.