Appreciation: "Oh My God, They're Turkeys!"

Writer who penned classic "Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati dead at 66

Maybe you know turkeys can't fly. But Mr. Carlson...Well, he didn't.

WKRP in Cincinnati's "Turkeys Away," maybe the funniest and, in terms of sheer bird casualties, deadliest holiday-themed TV episode of all time, was written by Bill Dial. (View the entire episode at fancast.com.)

Dial died June 2 at his home in South Carolina, various sources, including WKRP's "hometown" newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer, reported this week. He was 66.

Dial acted in, as well as helped write the 1978-82 sitcom. (He popped up a couple of times as station engineer Bucky Dornster.) Later, he coexecutive produced the Jerry O'Connell sci-fi series Sliders and scripted episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

But it is for dreaming up one, fatally flawed publicity stunt that Dial will be best remembered. Certainly, Mr. Carlson never forgot.