TV & VIDEO - Dec. 23, 1987

What do Dan Rather and Ferdinand Marcos have in common? This week, they share the distinction of receiving TV Guide’s seventh annual J. Fred Muggs Awards for their “foolish and absurd” television escapades during 1987. The awards, named to honor the chimp that co-hosted the original “Today” show, were bestowed upon more than 30 celebrities and events for their part “in making it sometimes seem as if the world of television must be somewhere in the ‘Twilight Zone’,” the magazine said. Rather “handily” won the “John McEnroe Cup for Petulance Under Fire” for creating six minutes of blank TV time when he stormed from his anchor position after learning the network planned to allow a long U.S. Open semi-final match to delay the start of his newscast.