Guy Lombardo
On November 5, 1977, Lombardo suffered a fatal heart attack. Another source says he died "of a lung ailment." His wife was at his bedside when he died in Houston Methodist Hospital.
Times Square Ball
From 1956 to 1976, CBS was well known for its television coverage of the festivities hosted by bandleader Guy Lombardo, most frequently from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, featuring his band's famous rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight. After Lombardo's death in 1977, CBS and the Royal Canadians, now led by Victor Lombardo, attempted to continue the special. However, Guy's absence and the growing popularity of ABC's "New Year’s Rockin’ Eve" prompted CBS to eventually drop the band entirely. In 1979 the Royal Canadians were replaced by a new special, "Happy New Year, America", which ran in various formats with different hosts (such as Paul Anka, Donny Osmond, Andy Williams, Paul Shaffer, and Montel Williams) until it was discontinued after 1996. CBS, except for coverage during a special episode of "Late Show with David Letterman" for 1999, and a special "America's Millennium" broadcast for 2000, has not broadcast any national New Year's programming since.