What names come to mind when I say the words "television icon"? Dick Clark? Mary Tyler Moore? Kermit the Frog?
Those three — and 97 others — have made the list of the 100 greatest TV icons of all time, as declared by Entertainment Weekly and TV Land. The top 50 will be counted down in a TV Land special that premieres this Friday.
At first glance, the list — especially the top 10 or 15 — looks pretty good. I can't argue with Johnny Carson getting the No. 1 spot, and I'm pleased that the top 10 is almost perfectly balanced between the genders: five men, four women, and one cartoon (Homer Simpson).
But there are a few curiosities. John Stamos hits the list at No. 90, but Bob Saget doesn't rate a mention despite his years as both Danny Tanner and the host of America's Funniest Home Videos? No Big Bird or other Sesame Street characters? No Star Trek faces, not even Leonard Nimoy or LaVar Burton (whom, I'd argue, deserves a spot for Reading Rainbow alone)? It also seems like a bit of a cop-out to lump the casts of In Living Color and the original Saturday Night Live together while limiting themselves to one cast member from Melrose Place, Friends, and Beverly Hills, 90210. And I wonder how Miss Piggy feels about being passed over for Kermie.
Which icons do you think deserve spots on the list — and which of these choices would you kick off to make room for yours? The full list is over here, and you can see the top 50 if you read more
50. Larry Hagman
49. Calista Flockhart
48. Jimmy Smits
47. Simon Cowell
46. Lassie
45. Sarah Michelle Gellar
44. Susan Lucci
43. Flip Wilson
42. James Gandolfini
41. Jon Stewart
40. Sally Field
39. Jennifer Aniston
38. Bea Arthur
37. George Clooney
36. Diahann Carroll
35. Michael J. Fox
34. Bob Barker
33. Ellen DeGeneres
32. Henry Winkler
31. Sarah Jessica Parker
30. Alan Alda
29. John Ritter
28. Howard Cosell
27. Regis Philbin
26. Farrah Fawcett
25. Heather Locklear
24. Michael Landon
23. Barbara Walters
22. Milton Berle
21. Kermit
20. Carroll O'Connor
19. Andy Griffith
18. William Shatner
17. Bob Newhart
16. David Letterman
15. "Not Ready for Primetime Players"
14. Ed Sullivan
13. Jackie Gleason
12. Dick Van Dyke
11. Roseanne
10. Dick Clark
9. Homer Simpson
8. Jerry Seinfeld
7. Mary Tyler Moore
6. Carol Burnett
5. Walter Cronkite
4. Bill Cosby
3. Oprah Winfrey
2. Lucille Ball
1. Johnny Carson
You raise a good point about LeVar Burton. Not only has he been the host of Reading Rainbow, which is an iconic PBS show, but he was Kunta Kinte! Surely when you think about TV miniseries, you immediately think about Roots.