November 14, 200718 yr Might have missed this thread but thought it was interesting. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,223039.shtml The 50 Greatest TV Icons by the numbers: -- 12 Icons from the classic era (1950s-1960s); 21 Icons from the 1970s-1980s and 17 Icons from the modern era (1990s-2000s). -- There are 22 Comedy Icons; 10 Drama Icons; 8 Variety Icons; 5 Talk Show Icons; 2 News Icons; 1 Soap Icon; 1 Game Show Icon and 1 Sports Icon. -- There are 29 Men; 17 Women; 2 Non-human; 1 Animated and 1 Ensemble Cast. The list of The 50 Greatest TV Icons in numerical order: 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
November 14, 200718 yr Author Thoughts, Homer is top 10 is ridiculous. Calista Flockhart remotely smelling the top 100 is terrible. Don't think Diahann Carroll (although she if very pretty) and Jimmy Smits is top 50 caliber.
November 14, 200718 yr Any list that Milton Berle can't make it in the top 10, let alone top 20, is invalid. Calista Flockhart? Simon Cowell? You've gotta be kidding.
November 14, 200718 yr Oprah #3??? Be serious! I agree with most of the top 50, but would definitely reorder them.
November 14, 200718 yr Ted Danson's gotta be in there somewhere. And as much as I like Jon Stewart, I can't really justify him in there. Where's Andy Kaufman? Tom Selleck?
November 14, 200718 yr Maybe I missed it but how about Don Knotts Ron Howard come on. :thumb::thumb::thumb:
November 14, 200718 yr Any list that Milton Berle can't make it in the top 10, let alone top 20, is invalid. Calista Flockhart? Simon Cowell? You've gotta be kidding. Uncle Milty would be in my top 5. I'm just glad Flockhart and Cowell came in behind Lassie. By the way, if Lassie is on the list, where's Mr. Ed? :irked:
November 14, 200718 yr Maybe I missed it but how about Don Knotts Ron Howard come on. Knotts and Howard didn't do much in TV outside of Andy Griffith. As for your earlier Homer comment his show has been on TV for nearly two decades, everyone knows who he is, and his catch phrase "d'oh" has been added to the dictionary. I would say the main character on a show that's been on for nearly 20 years merits Top 10 consideration. All of these are pretty defendable where they are ranked if we don't let our personal bias get in the way. The only one towards the top that is a head scratcher to me is Rosanne. While she may be a household name, I'm not sure she is "iconic" enough to warrant her ranking, I think of her more as "infamous." As for Oprah, I don't like her any more than anyone else on BGP, but the fact remains her show has been on for two decades and merely stamping the first letter of her first name on a book can sell it over 3 million copies. She can literally make or break a product, person, or event. While I am no fan, her impact and her place TV history is undeniable.
November 14, 200718 yr I would think Bob Hope would be in there for his 50 years of specials. You would think over Calista Flockhart. Of course I don't how Ed Sullivan could be ranked lower than Rosanne. Has any one show had a bigger impact on American Pop Culture history than the Ed Sullivan Show?
November 14, 200718 yr Author Knotts and Howard didn't do much in TV outside of Andy Griffith. As for your earlier Homer comment his show has been on TV for nearly two decades, everyone knows who he is, and his catch phrase "d'oh" has been added to the dictionary. I would say the main character on a show that's been on for nearly 20 years merits Top 10 consideration. . Well, the show that Howard "didn't do much in TV outside of Andy Griffith" produced #32 on the list, Henry Winkler. Don Knotts did do Three's Company. But besides that many are on the list for a single character, including Henry Winkler at #32. As for Homer, he might deserve to be on the list but not top 10. Milton Berle was one of the people who made television in it's infancy. He helped make it a medium that people wanted to sit down and watch.
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