Oh, What a Night!!! It's a Star-Studded Extravaganza as TV Land Honors

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- It was an unforgettable evening as celebrities from television, music and film bestowed special tribute awards tonight to some of television's most beloved series and stars at the third annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV. The honored shows included The Bob Newhart Show (Icon Award), The Carol Burnett Show (Legend Award) Soul Train (Pop Culture Award) and Desperate Housewives (Future Classic Award). Legendary television producer and show creator Aaron Spelling received the Pioneer Award. The TV Land Awards was taped at The Barker Hangar on Sunday, March 13 and will air on TV Land and simulcast on Nick at Nite on Wednesday, March 16 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT.

(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050314/NYM152 )

This celebration of classic TV featured some unforgettable moments such as when Emmy Award-winner Ray Romano presented the cast of The Bob Newhart Show with the Icon Award. Famed TV stars Jaclyn Smith, Gavin McLeod, Bernie Kopell, Joan Collins, Michael Cole, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestly, Jennie Garth, Luke Perry, Catherine Hicks and Stephen Collins all paid tribute to Aaron Spelling. Creator and executive producer Marc Cherry accepted the Future Classic Award from show star Teri Hatcher. Soul Train creator and executive producer Don Cornelius accepted the Pop Culture Award on behalf of the program as musical artists Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Smokey Robinson, Mya, Ashanti and more paid homage to the show. And Emmy Award-winner Garry Shandling presented the cast of The Carol Burnett Show with the Legend Award.

Other memorable moments included: -- Stevie Wonder's live performance of "Superstition" in tribute to Soul Train. -- Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field accepted the Little Screen/Big Screen Star Award from Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives).

The women of classic TV proved that desperation doesn't end at 40, in a parody entitled "Desperate Classic Housewives," which aired during the show. Wisteria Lane's newest inhabitants featured Marion Ross filling in for Marcia Cross ("Bree Van De Kamp"), Barbara Eden for Nicolette Sheridan ("Edit Britt"), Charo for Eva Longoria ("Gabrielle Solis"), Joyce DeWitt for Teri Hatcher ("Susan Mayer") and Shirley Jones for Felicity Huffman ("Lynette Scavo"). Also starring in the parody were Jerry Mathers ("Sexy, Young Gardener"), Don Knotts (Mary Alice's husband), Tom Bosley ("Rex") and Abe Vigoda (Hot Stud Plumber").

-- Grammy winner and music legend Little Richard performed "Good Golly, Miss Molly." -- Loni Anderson and Howard Hesseman presented The Smothers Brothers with the Viewer's Choice Award for "Favorite Singing Siblings." -- Additionally, The TV Land Awards paid tribute to enduring character actor, Charles Lane. Ubiquitous in numerous television and film appearances, the actor celebrated his 100th birthday with a cake and a serenade of "Happy Birthday" led by film actor Haley Joel Osment.

The star-studded evening featured a roster of some of the most recognized talent in the history of television. Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox (Chips) were reunited, as were Alan Young and Mister Ed, who "horsed around." Other stars in attendance included Jerry Mathers (Leave It to Beaver), Shirley Jones (The Partridge Family), Alison Arngrim (Little House on the Prairie), Glenn Scarpelli (One Day at a Time), William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek).

The tribute awards included the following: PIONEER AWARD

This award is given to a television creator who is an industry leader, a visionary who is able to bring together all the disparate elements that lead to great television - wonderful ideas, skillful craftspeople, charismatic actors and talented writers. Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks of 7th Heaven presented this award to this year's recipient -- Aaron Spelling.

LEGEND AWARD

This award is presented to a television series which has stood the test of time and ranks among the most memorable and celebrated shows in TV history. TV Land will honor The Carol Burnett Show as this year's recipient. Garry Shandling presented this award to Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner.

ICON AWARD

This award is presented to a comedy show that made us laugh and keeps us laughing, a timeless classic. A show of enduring popularity, whose humor came not out of farce, wordplay and topicality, but from compelling stories and engaging characters. Emmy Award-winner Ray Romano presented the award to the cast of The Bob Newhart Show -- Bob Newhart, Peter Bonerz, Bill Daily, Suzanne Pleshette and Marcia Wallace.

POP CULTURE AWARD

This award is presented to a show that has crossed the line from television series to pop culture phenomenon. This year's honoree is Soul Train. Stevie Wonder presented this award to Executive Producer Don Cornelius.

FUTURE CLASSIC AWARD

ABC's critically-acclaimed smash hit series, Desperate Housewives, was awarded the 2004 TV Land Future Classic Award. Teri Hatcher, star of the hit TV show, presented creator Marc Cherry, the creative team and members of the cast of Desperate Housewives - Brenda Strong, James Denton, Doug Savant, Mark Moses, Steven Culp, Kevin Murphy, John Pardee, Joshua Senter, Joey Murphy and Michael Edelstein with the award.

Also tonight, the network announced the winners of its viewers' choice poll for a variety of fun categories. The voting took place on tvland.com and ended on March 10.

Among the winners who picked up the coveted TV Land statuette included: QUEEN OF THE QUIP/KING OF ZING Roseanne, Roseanne LITTLE SCREEN/BIG SCREEN STAR Sally Field MOST HEARTWARMING PET-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP Mister Ed and Wilbur Post, Mister Ed FAVORITE SINGING SIBLINGS The Smothers Brothers

Other winners from tvland.com's poll which were not announced at the show included:

"CASUAL FRIDAY" COP Paul Michael Glaser, Starsky and Hutch FAVORITE PRIVATE EYE Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, Murder, She Wrote FAVORITE NOSEY NEIGHBOR Gladys Kravitz, Bewitched CLASSIC TV BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR Ted Knight, The Mary Tyler Moore Show FAVORITE CATCH PHRASE "It's so tasty too!", Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy THEME SONG YOU JUST CANT GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD Gilligan's Island TWO-PARTER/CLIFFHANGER "Who Shot J.R.?" Dallas FAVORITE CRIMESTOPPER Batman and Robin BEST DREAM SEQUENCE "It May Look Like a Walnut," The Dick Van Dyke Show FAVORITE HEARD BUT NOT SEEN CHARACTER Carlton the Doorman, Rhoda AIRBORNE CHARACTER(S) Sally Field, The Flying Nun FAVORITE MOTHER-IN-LAW Endora, Bewitched MOST "OUT OF THIS WORLD" Mork, Mork & Mindy MOST UNINSURABLE DRIVER Bo Duke, The Dukes of Hazzard CHICEST SITCOM DECOR Jeannie's Bottle, I Dream of Jeannie THE MOST HAPPENIN' GREASY SPOON OR HANGOUT Arnold's, Happy Days

Tvland.com offered a complete online All Access Pass for viewers to fully enjoy the TV Land Awards by creating a live, enhanced, TV experience. Danny Bonaduce served as the site's guest host. Nominated twice for Emmy Awards for the enhancement of original television programming, tvland.com created an experience that is a virtual theater for each viewer to click around and visit. As each act unfolded on-air, users had a chance to experience new video game content by going all around the venue to locations such as backstage and to the green room, viewing rehearsal day footage plus exclusive celebrity interviews, chatting with fellow audience members, playing trivia and games (including the "Aaron Spelling Bee") and entering for a chance to win mint condition TV collectibles.

Michael Levitt (TV Land Awards 2003 and 2004, Billboard Music Awards, Happy Days 30th Reunion) serves as Executive Producer, Emmy-award winning Glenn Weiss as Director (2003 Tony Awards, Christmas in Washington, Star Search), Greg Sills as Supervising Producer (VH1 Divas, Billboard Music Awards), Michael Dempsey as Producer (Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration, mtvICON), and Sal Maniaci and Larry W. Jones also serve as Executive Producers.

Now seen in over 85 million U.S. homes, TV Land's program mix features popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed with a specific audience in mind - the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television and features all-time Classic hits like "All in the Family," "I Love Lucy," "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Bonanza."

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. , owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.