BREAKING: Rue McClanahan Passes Away at 76; ION Television Edits June

Thursday, June 03, 2010

BREAKING: Rue McClanahan Passes Away at 76; ION Television Edits June

We have another sad story to report. Rue McClanahan has passed away. Rue passed away at 1am this morning (Thursday, June 3, 2010) after a massive stroke, People Magazine reports. Earlier this year, she suffered a minor stroke while recovering from bypass surgery. She also had undergone treatment for breast cancer in 1997.
One of her first memorable appearances on television was appearing on an episode of Norman Lear's All in the Family. She was in the classic episode "The Bunkers and the Swingers" playing a swinger. That guest appearance made Lear cast her on Maude, one of the spin-offs of All in the Family. On Maude she played Vivian Cavender Harmon for 6 years, from 1972-1978. Following her run on the CBS hit, she had a short-lived sitcom for ABC in 1978 called Apple Pie, based on the play Nourish the Beast. Then in 1983, she recurred on the popular sitcom Mama's Family, playing Aunt Fran Crowley. After her stint on that series, she was one the four stars on the popular NBC comedy The Golden Girls that ran from 1985-1992. This is the sitcom that probably made her a name and has given her a cult status. That character of Blanche Devereaux is among the most famous sitcom characters of all-time. She won an Emmy in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1987 for this role. She was also nominated three other times. She was even nominated three times for a Golden Globe. After the run of that series, a follow-up series titled The Golden Palace, aired for one season in 1992-93. Everyone returned to that series but Bea Arthur, though she did guest star once. Her other TV starring credits include The WB drama Safe Harbor, which only lasted 10 episodes in 1999.
Rue has appeared on so many other TV series over the years in guest roles such as the aforementioned All in the Family, Grandpa Goes to Washington, Mannix, Supertrain, Lou Grant, Here's Boomer, Trapper John, M.D., Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Small & Frye, Alice, Newhart, Gimme a Break!, Charles in Charge, Crazy Like a Fox, Cover Up, Murder She Wrote, Nurses, Boy Meets World, Burke's Law, Promised Land, Murphy Brown, Columbo, Ladies Man, Touched by an Angel, Wonderfalls, Whoopie, Hope & Faith, King of the Hill, Law & Order, and most recently on Meets the Browns. Wow!
Rue's death now means that only Betty White is the only one living from the cast of The Golden Girls. Bea Arthur passed away in 2009 and Estelle Getty in 2008. In fact, Betty White was the oldest of the four, too. Rue McClanahan was the youngest of the four. Rue will be DEEPLY missed.
UPDATE: WE tv will air a Golden Girls marathon titled "Best of Blanche" on Friday (June 4) from 5pm-1am ET/PT. View Episode info for the marathon. Check out the WE tv tribute page. WE tv regularly airs the sitcom weekdays from 5-7pm & 11pm-1am, with a Monday night marathon from 8pm-11pm mixed in.
The Hallmark Channel will air Blanche themed episodes of The Golden Girls all next week (June 7-11) in its regular slots of weekdays 9am-11am & 11pm-1am. View Episode info for these.
Me-TV in Chicago will air a Maude marathon in memory of Rue on Sunday (June 6) from 4pm-7pm CT. View Episode info for Me-TV's stunt. Too bad we don't have Maude airing nationally!
Ms. McClanahan was 76.

It was just last Friday when we gave you the highlights for ION Television June 2010 and now they have changed their schedule a bit. Since CBS has canceled Ghost Whisperer and it is off their schedule, ION Television will air it 5 days a week now starting Monday (June 7). The drama will air weekdays at 6pm and 7pm, replacing an hour of Family Feud and Criminal Minds. This means Family Feud will slide from 5-7pm to 4-6pm, as M*A*S*H is now off of the weekday line-up, but will remain on weekend afternoons. Everything else is pretty much the same as it is now, but Wednesdays and Fridays at 11pm will now be Criminal Minds instead of Ghost Whisperer, so Minds airs now every weekday at 11 (in addition to all of its other slots). And finally movies will air in primetime on Saturdays, as Ghost Whisperer 3-hour block moves to late afternoons/early evenings, with times varying.
View the FULL and UPDATED schedule for ION Television June 2010.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, July 9

Shifting Gears - "Gummies" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Riley is horrified when she finds weed gummies in Carter’s pocket, prompting surprising advice from Matt. Meanwhile, Eve inadvertently lands Gabriel and Stitch in hot water after asking them to donate to a charity auction.

Shifting Gears - "Kiss" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Jimmy returns with a new job and a proposition for Riley and the kids to move into his house, Riley is torn between her past and her future. Meanwhile, Matt's feud with Eve flares up once again after she damages his car.

Abbott Elementary - "Volunteers" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ava announces the school district is sending a group of volunteers to help out at Abbott; however, when they arrive, things don’t go as planned.

Abbott Elementary - "100th Day of School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
During Abbott’s 100th day of school celebrations, Barbara receives a surprise from her daughter. Melissa, Jacob and Mr. Johnson join forces to conduct a search party.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "The Gang F***s Up Abbott Elementary" (FXX and FX, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Months after the Gang visited, Abbott's Principal Ava walks viewers through some of the unseen footage of the Gang's volunteerism and reveals their true intentions.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank Is in a Coma" (FXX and FX, 9:33PM ET/PT)
The five stages of grief set in for Dee as Frank lies on his deathbed; the Guys plot their new path forward by pitching their business ventures to Philadelphia's elite.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 7)

Wednesday, July 9

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Watch Salma on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jean Smart (Hacks/Samantha Who?/Center of the Universe/In-Laws/Style & Substance/Designing Women) - Jean is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Cole Escola (Human Resources/Search Party/Mozart in the Jungle/Difficult People) - Cole appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Richie Moriarty (Ghosts), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Richie, Betsy and Punam are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish/Final Space/The Game) - Tika sits down with the Tam Fam to talk about her new children's book I Got It From My Mama a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela chats about her film Superman on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Anna Camp (Perfect Harmony/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/The Mindy Project) and Justin Bartha (The New Normal/Teachers) - Anna and Justin discuss their film Nuked on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) - Simon talks about Peacock's Poker Face on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.