“Peggy Charren, 86, whose advocacy of higher-minded television programming for children took the issue to government agencies and the halls of Congress and led to landmark legislation, died on Thursday at her home in Dedham, Mass.,”  reports The New York Times.

The exact cause of death was unknown, though the story adds that Charren “had had vascular dementia for many years, her daughter Deborah Charren said.”

Writes our good friend Brian Lowry in Variety – in his must-read obituary/tribute to Charren, “Anybody who thinks one person can’t make a difference clearly never met Peggy Charren, who has died at the age of 86.

“The founder of Action for Children’s Television, Charren lobbied for and achieved the passage of the Children’s Television Act 25 years ago. In the process, she took on and outflanked what might be called the TV-toy industrial complex, railing against the proliferation of ‘program-length commercials’ plugging products, and demanding that broadcasters put on at least some educational fare aimed at kids in exchange for their lucrative licenses.”

Peggy Charren