7.2.20 Several Heroes of the Day

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Ya know, when I started writing a special Hero of the Day for Carl Reiner yesterday, I made a special realization.

That realization is the fact that there's many heroes to be celebrated. 

So, with further adieu, here's a list of heroes we're celebrating:

CARL REINER: The beloved comedian and movie director died this week at 98 years old. He was one of TV's first major stars in 1950 with the popular Your Show of Shows, co-starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and his longtime pal, Mel Brooks. Reiner went on to create and star in The Dick Van Dyke Show and also directed many hit movies like "Oh God" and "The Jerk" with Steve Martin. He was also the father of Rob Reiner, who is also a legendary star of stage and screen. Just a few short weeks ago, Reiner and Mel Brooks were seen chatting with each other on social media. 

HUGH DOWNS: Another beloved TV legend was Hugh Downs. The longtime host of NBC's Today and ABC's 20/20 died today at the age of 99. He was also Jack Paar's sidekick on The Tonight Show and hosted the classic game show Concentration. In all, he hosted over 10,000 hours of television, a record he kept until Regis Philbin broke it with 15,000 hours hosted. On both 20/20 and Today, his co-host was Barbara Walters, now 91. It's without any doubt that Downs truly had an impressive career.

COMEDY CENTRAL: After nearly a decade off TV, 1990s animated bad boys Beavis and Butt-head are back. Comedy Central announced that they've inked a two-year deal with show creator Mike Judge to produce new episodes of the iconic series, along with spin-offs (I could see it now: Stewart having his own series where he's headbanging to Maroon 5) and specials. The original series ran from 1993-1997. The program starred Judge as the title characters, two 14-year-old 1990s metalheads who caused trouble and simply weren't all that smart. Some claim that their positive reviews for metal and rap videos helped to transform 1990s music; as a matter of fact, Rob Zombie had long-thanked B&B for helping his band White Zombie increase sales of their debut album, "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1".

After the show's cancellation in 1997, Judge ended up having a successful career in various aspects of entertainment, especially with the long-running King of the Hill, which ran on Fox from 1997-2010. He also directed several movies including "Office Space" (based from his Milton animated movies) and "Idiocracy". Both films flopped at the box office, but have both have achieved cult status since their release. 

In 2010, Judge and MTV brought back Beavis and Butt-head for one more season. Despite impressive ratings, Judge claimed that the network didn't pick up the revival for a second season because it no longer reached their demographic of females 12-24. Now, Judge is back and rearing to produce more B&B shows. 

DAVE BARBER: Saturday will mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Flint radio great Dave Barber. Since the 1970s, Dave was a driving force behind the mic. He started out as a conservative talker, but as Flint was being destroyed by Reagan's union busting and tax cuts for the wealthy, he changed his tune politically. Many in Michigan - like myself - were introduced to Barber when his show was syndicated in the 2000s throughout Michigan. I even met Dave twice and he was quite the decent human. He later moved to Providence, RI and hosted a radio show before moving to Capitol TV, the state's version of C-SPAN. A week before he passed away, he came back to Michigan to attend a wedding for his niece. At the rehearsal dinner, Dave collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He had suffered both a stroke and heart attack. He died July 4, 2015 at the age of 60. He was survived by his son. 

CASEY KASEM AND AMERICAN TOP 40: It was 50 years ago Friday that the world learned how to count backwards. Casey Kasem's American Top 40 debuted on just seven stations. Today, it's now on over 400 radio stations worldwide. I, like many of you, grew up on Casey Kasem and his replacement on AT40, Shadoe Stevens. To me, Casey was my Sunday morning ritual. I still enjoy listening to old school AT40 shows since they bring back good memories. 

AND FINALLY, THE SCHNEIDER FAMILY: The Schneiders own the Family Market stores in Copemish and Honor in northern Michigan. They have been in the grocery business for some 60 years. This past week, they announced that customers will be charged $10 if they enter the store without a mask. GOOD! Anybody who puts their customers first deserves a pat on the back.