Shirley Baskin Familian Cause of Death: KCET Co-Founder Dead at 101

By Alexandria Reeves

Shirley Baskin Familian, who notably founded the public television station KCET, died at the age of 101, her family confirmed.

Baskin Familian's bereaved family announced her death through a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying that she died on Sunday in her Los Angeles home. It did not disclose Shirley Baskin Familian's cause of death, but the family asked the public to donate in her honor to UCLA's Department of Neurosurgery and the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

But viewers who grew up watching KCET shows assumed that she either died of a health issue or an old age, though this should be taken with a grain of salt as the family has not released an update related to the potential cause.

Baskin Familian's memorial and funeral also remain unknown to the public.

"Shirley had an incredible thirst and joy for life and always promoted peace, understanding and generosity of spirit between everyone she knew, and she lived those values herself," her family said.

#RIP Shirley Baskin Familian, 101; co-founder and longtime board member of @KCET in L.A. was the wife and sister of the guys who launched @BaskinRobbins with six stores in 1945. She wrote out the "Free Birthday Ice Cream Cone" cards by hand. https://t.co/YBh0s8hA4M
— Mike Barnes (@MikeBarnes4) October 29, 2022

According to Variety, she is survived by her children Edie, Richard, and Skip; her grandchildren Anabella, David, Scott, and Jon; and her great-granddaughter, Goldie Bronson.

Shirley Baskin Familian's Legacy

From Winnipeg, Canada, Baskin Familian and her family decided to move to Seattle before settling in Tacoma, Washington. She then attended the Annie Wright Seminary before studying art and design at the University of Washington.

Baskin Familian met the Chicago businessman Burton "Butch" Baskin when she was in college. She married him in 1942 after he spent four years in the US Navy.

Before entering the TV industry, she helped her brother, Irv Robbins, to launch his dairy business. He learned it from their father, and it eventually led them to open an ice cream shop.

After having six shops, Irv and Baskin Familian's husband started working together to create the famous Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream.

As for the late TV icon, she helped the business by writing the "Free Birthday Ice Cream Cone" cards to the Americans.

She and her husband also created KCET and signed as an affiliate of the National Educational Television network in 1964. Unfortunately, Baskin died of a heart attack three years later.

Baskin Familian married twice after Baskin's death - to Aaron Goldfarb (who died less than a year after the wedding) and Price Pfister CEO Isadore Familian (who died in 2002).