He's one of those "you'd know him if you saw him" TV types. But Jay Thomas belongs on this board because he had a long career in radio before also becoming a guest star on a host of TV shows. He was Carla's hockey playing husband "Eddie Lebec" on Cheers, worked on Murphy Brown and frequently appeared on David Letterman.

Most recently the Emmy winner had a show of his own on SiriusXM.

Cancer took him far too soon at just 69.

Actor Jay Thomas Dead at 69


Here's the infamous Lone Ranger Christmas story from the Letterman show, which the host once called the greatest talk show anecdote of all time.