Death has been busy

 It seems not a day goes by now without reading of a celebrity or athlete's death. On Sunday, the celebrity trifecta came within hours.

Pat Carroll, 95, may be remembered more by today's generation having resurrected her career as the voice of Ursula, the villain of Disney's musical adaptation of "The Little Mermaid". Students of classic television, of course, know better. Carroll joined the cast of Make Room For Daddy, aka The Danny Thomas Show, in 1961 as Bunny, the wife of Charlie Halper (Sid Melton, ex-Captain Midnight), the manager of Danny Williams (Thomas).

Carroll became a frequent guest on game shows such as To Tell The Truth, I've Got a Secret, Password, and, for 1 week in the 70's, Match Game, before venturing into animation.

Nichelle Nichols, 89, smashed science-fiction's color barrier as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, and, after the series ended its original run, did this recruitment video for NASA:

NBA icon Bill Russell, 88, led the Boston Celtics to 11 titles, won 5 MVP awards, and was the 1st African-American head coach in the league before a brief stint in broadcasting. I can't remember if it was for CBS or NBC. To the end, Russell remained an ambassador for the league.

And we'd be remiss if we didn't include Tony Dow, 77, who passed away at mid-week. 

Dow won the role of Wally Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver after the 1st choice was turned aside and the producers went back to auditions. Dow would reprise in a reunion movie that led to the 80's revival, Still The Beaver, which was later rechristened, The New Leave it to Beaver when it left Disney Channel for TBS. Dow took up sculpting as his acting career came to a close.

From season 2 of The New Leave it to Beaver, here's the season (& TBS) opener:

Rest in peace.