You simply can’t overestimate the impact Sherwood Schwartz had on those of us TV junkies who have memorized the plot of every Brady Bunch episode and probably learned what the word “hunch” meant after hearing it in the Brady theme song. So it’s incredibly sad news that the 94-year-old TV legend, who created The Bunch and Gilligan’s Island, died today in Los Angeles.

On the other hand, Schwartz will live on via his ongoing TV/pop culture classics. And he not only created the shows; he also wrote the series’  iconic theme songs, hands down two of the most memorable theme songs in TV history. In honor of the TV Academy Hall of Fame member, a great YouTube compilation of the Brady Bunch theme song, with the various versions from the show’s five seasons:

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• Tags: Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz, THe Brady Bunch

R.I.P. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who died early this morning in Florida. As a Seinfeld fan, I can’t help but think about the show’s running spoof/homage to Steinbrenner, who was played by series co-creator Larry David:

The real-life “Big Stein,” as the Larry David version referred to the character, even filmed a cameo for the Seinfeld season seven finale, but the scenes were edited out because of time, and because the Yankees honcho reportedly didn’t like the storyline in which George Costanza’s bride-to-be, Susan, was killed off. The scenes appeared on the season seven DVDs, though, and have popped up on YouTube:

And, they’re not embeddable, but check out compilation clips of Seinfeld Steinbrenner scenes here and here … a true character, in real-life and on the small screen.

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• Tags: George Steinbrenner Seinfeld, Larry David George Steinbrenner

UPDATE: Just got a press release from the WE network. Tomorrow, June 4, from 5PM ET to1AM, the cable channel will air a “WE Remember Rue” Golden Girls marathon, featuring Blanche-centric episodes. Sounds like must-TiVo-TV to me.

The last week hasn’t been kind to classic TV stars, between Gary Coleman‘s death leaving Todd Bridges as the only surviving Diff’rent Strokes kid star and today’s death of Rue McClanahan leaving Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girls star.

White’s statement on the passing of her friend and co-star: “Rue was a close and dear friend. I treasure our relationship,” White, 88, said in a statement. “It hurts more than I ever thought it would, if that’s even possible.”

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• Tags: Golden Girls, Rue McClanahan