TV Guide Names the Fifty Greatest TV Stars of All Time
      December 9, 1996

      Ever wonder just who the fifty greatest TV stars of all time are? Well, to satiate the universe's quest for pop-culture knowledge, TV Guide has gone and ranked them. Lucille Ball, to no one's surprise, tops the list, and the remaining roster is rife with such boob-tube legends as Johnny Carson (No. 2), Mary Tyler Moore (No. 5), and Dick Van Dyke (No. 10). There are, however, some more controversial picks lower down in the ranks: Miss Piggy (No. 23), Julia Child (No. 45), and Bart Simpson (No. 48), to name a few. David Letterman hits the list at No. 46, but rival TV talker Jay Leno failed to register. "Letterman has simply done more to change the format," explained TV Guide senior editor David Hiltbrand to the New York Post. The entire list appears in TV Guide's December 14 issue. In the meantime, here's the magazine's top ten:

      1. Lucille Ball
      2. Johnny Carson
      3. Jackie Gleason
      4. James Garner
      5. Mary Tyler Moore
      6. Oprah Winfrey
      7. Carol Burnett
      8. Michael Landon
      9. Bill Cosby
      10. Dick Van Dyke

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