Trivia: Born Carlos Ray Norris, Chuck Norris served in Korea in the Army. While there, he studied karate and later became the World Middleweight Karate Champion. He was encouraged by one of his karate students, actor Steve McQueen, to go into acting. He debuted onscreen in the enormously popular Bruce Lee vehicle Enter the Dragon (1973); since the death of Lee he has been the screen's premier martial arts star. He has appeared primarily in militaristic movies in which he single-handedly kills many enemies. His breakthrough film was Missing in Action (1984), in which he played an ex-POW in search of American prisoners still held in Vietnam.

Trivia: Formerly a schoolteacher, Texas-born Noble Willingham has been essaying crusty character roles since 1969. Willingham's resumé includes a brace of location-filmed Peter Bogdanovich films, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973), and the role of Clay Stone in both of Billy Crystal's City Slickers comedies. Among his TV-movie credits is the part of President James Knox Polk in 1985's Dream West. A regular on several TV series (The Ann Jillian Show, Texas Wheelers, Cutter to Houston, AfterMASH, When the Whistle Blows), Willingham is best known to 1990s viewers as Mr. Binford (of Binford Tools) in Home Improvement and C. D. Parker in Walker, Texas Ranger. Noble Willingham's most recent film assignments include Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994) Up Close and Personal (1996) and Space Jam (1996). In 2000, Willingham left Walker, Texas Ranger to run for Congress in Texas. After losing the election to his Democratic opponent, Max Sandlin, Willingham returned to acting with a supporting role in the Val Kilmer thriller Blind Horizon. Sadly, the part would be the actor's last. In early 2004, at the age of 72, Willingham passed away at home from natural causes.

Trivia: Received a scholarship to UCLA but dropped out after just one semester to pursue a career in entertainment. Before embarking on her Hollywood career she was a featured member of the renowned performance troupe the Young Americans. Released her debut dance-pop album, Nothin' But Trouble, in 1988. Hosted a short-lived late-night musical variety show, The Party Machine With Nia Peeples, which was executive produced by Arsenio Hall. Volunteers for the American Heart Association and in 2011 participated in the AHA's "Go Red for Women Stiletto Strut" in Glendale, CA.

Trivia: Born in Spanish Harlem, Erik Estrada was compelled to go to work at an early age to help support his large, fatherless family. While a student at Brandeis High, Estrada was encouraged by his girlfriend to audition for school plays. The acting bug bit hard, and soon Estrada was working overtime in a laundromat to pay his tuition at the American Musical Dramatic Academy. He also served as errand boy/interpreter for film companies working in the neighborhood. His first professional movie appearance was as a street punk in The Cross and the Switchblade; he won the role over 100 aspirants by ad-libbing his audition, convincingly wielding a prop knife as he spoke. His next important film role was Spanish rookie cop Sergio Duran in The New Centurions (1972), and it was this assignment that led to a spate of TV guest appearances. In 1977, he was cast as motorcycle patrolman Frank "Ponch" Poncherello on the hit TV series CHiPs In 1979, he was nearly killed in a stunting accident; fortunately, he made a complete physical recovery, and remained with the series until its 1983 cancellation. After the demise of CHiPs Estrada's acting career went into decline, though he has enjoyed a career renaissance of late as the heartthrob star of Spanish-language TV soap operas. In 2005 Estrada lent his distinctive voice to the animated Adult Swim series Sealab 2021, which earned him cult status among the shows many devoted fans, and subsequent acting roles have included appearances on Life, According to Jim, and Meet the Browns. Manwhile, in 2007, Estrada earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Trivia: A handsome, chiseled actor of South Korean origins who labored for over a decade onscreen before officially landing his breakout role in the hit ABC series Lost, Daniel Dae Kim got his start with bit roles in such popular shows as Beverly Hills 90210, Angel, and 24 before turning heads as the only non-English-speaking passenger to be stranded on a mysterious island paradise inhabited by psychic smoke monsters and malevolent "Others."Born in Pusan, South Korea, and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Kim earned his B.A. from Haverford college before briefly considering a career in law. It was a fateful early-career appearance on an episode of Law & Order that spurred the burgeoning actor to ditch the courtroom and take to the stage, with subsequent roles in Romeo and Juliet and A Doll's House providing all the encouragement Kim needed to continue developing his craft. Later, after earning his M.F.A. through the Graduate Acting Program at New York University, roles in such high-profile television hits as Seinfeld, Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Party of Five came fast and furious. Though additional appearances in such features as The Jackal and For Love of the Game showed big-screen promise as well, it was on the small screen that Kim seemed most comfortable. Increasingly prominent roles in Angel, Enterprise, ER, and 24 hinted at something big in Kim's future, and with the turbulent descent of Oceanic flight 815 that something big came crashing down in a very big way.A virtual phenomenon from the very first episode, Lost proved the kind of television series capable of literally starting its own mythology -- and Kim was directly at the center of the firestorm from the very beginning. Cast as the son of a poor fisherman who eventually married into one of Korea's most powerful crime families, Kim proved a captivating presence on the show and was voted one of People Magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2005. Though Lost would indeed prove to be Kim's bread and butter, the actor continued to appear in features (Spider-Man 2, Crash) as well as branching out into the increasingly lucrative world of video-game voice-overs (24: The Game, Saints Row). Somehow, in the midst of his wildfire success, Kim has even found the time to keep his passion for the theater alive by appearing in a New York stage production of Chekhov's Ivanov.The actor appeared in 2008's critically acclaimed film The Andromeda Strain, and in the sixth and final season of LOST, which aired in 2010. Kim joined the cast of the Hawaii Five-O shortly afterwards. In 2011, Kim joined Kellan Lutz and Samuel L. Jackson in the action thrller Arena.

Trivia: Burton Gilliam achieved fame long before his film career, setting the record for most wins as a Golden Gloves boxer. Gilliam worked as a fireman in Dallas before turning to acting in the early 1970s. His toothy grin, braying voice and village-buffoon demeanor was effectively harnessed for such roles as the night clerk who "compromises" buxom bimbo Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn) in Paper Moon (1974), the chain-gang boss in Blazing Saddles (1975) and the leader of the "Flying Elvises" in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992). On TV, Burton Gilliam was seen as Virgie on Evening Shade (1992) and as one of the "This stuff's made in New York City!" kvetchers on the popular Pace's Picante Sauce commercials.