Trivia: Angela Lansbury received an Oscar nomination for her first film, Gaslight, in 1944, and has been winning acting awards and audience favor ever since. Born in London to a family that included both politicians and performers, Lansbury came to the U.S. during World War II. She made notable early film appearances as the snooty sister in National Velvet (1944); the pathetic singer in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), which garnered her another Academy nomination; and the madam-with-a-heart-of-gold saloon singer in The Harvey Girls (1946). She turned evil as the manipulative publisher in State of the Union (1948), but was just as convincing as the good queen in The Three Musketeers (1948) and the petulant daughter in The Court Jester (1956). She received another Oscar nomination for her chilling performance as Laurence Harvey's scheming mother in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and appeared as the addled witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), among other later films. On Broadway, she won Tony awards for the musicals Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), the revival of Gypsy (1975), Sweeney Todd (1979) and, at age 82, for the play Blithe Spirit (2009). Despite a season in the '50s on the game show Pantomime Quiz, she came to series television late, starring in 1984-1996 as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote; she took over as producer of the show in the '90s. She returned to the Disney studios to record the voice of Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1991) and to sing the title song and later reprised the role in the direct-to-video sequel, The Enchanted Christmas (1997). Lansbury is the sister of TV producer Bruce Lansbury.

Trivia: A shy and withdrawn child, 11-year-old Paul Sanchez emerged from his shell upon joining Viola Spolin's Children's Theatre Workshop. Even at this early stage of the game, he was a gifted improvisational comedian, delighting friends and theatregoers alike with his inspired flights of fancy. After attending Los Angeles State College, he journeyed to Paris at his own expense, hoping to meet his idols Jean-Louis Barrault and Marcel Marceau. The latter was so impressed by his instinctive talents that he hired the young performer for his prestigious touring mime troupe. Upon returning to the states, he worked with Viola Spolin's son Paul Sills at Chicago's Second City; somewhere along the way, he changed his professional moniker from Sanchez to Sand. He appeared in the popular off-Broadway revue The Mad Show, then linked up with Sills again in Story Theatre, winning a Tony Award for his portrayal of an itching dog! Hired as a general-purpose comic actor by MTM productions at the recommendation of his old Story Theatre-cohort Valerie Harper, Paul was starred in his own sitcom, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. This fey, good-natured endeavor was widely touted as the sleeper of the 1974-75 television season. Unfortunately, viewers were not as enchanted by Sands' talents as "live" audiences had been, and Friends and Lovers was axed after 13 weeks. Paul Sand has continued to thrive as a supporting actor in films (his first was 1969's Viva Max) and such TV weeklies as St. Elswhere. Paul Sand's best showing of the 1980s was on the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break, in which he played Marty, an eccentric Manhattan-born restaurateur who posed as a flamboyant Mexican named Esteban for the benefit of his customers.

Trivia: The son of legendary vaudevillian Pat Harrington Sr., comic actor Pat Harrington Jr. rose to prominence via his many appearances on The Steve Allen Show and The Jack Paar Program in the late 1950s. However, few viewers recognized him as Pat Harrington Jr.: instead, he passed himself off as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini, a guise so convincing that he was invited to play in several major tournaments. Once the public at large was apprised that Harrington was neither Italian nor a master duffer, demands for his services as an actor increased immeasurably. In 1959, he was cast on The Danny Thomas Show as Danny's new son-in-law Pat Hannigan (Thomas had planned to spin off Harrington and his TV daughter Penney Parker into their own series, but this was not to be). In 1962, he served as host of Stump the Stars, a revamped version of the old Summer replacement perennial Pantomime Quiz. Seven years later, he was seen as sharkish PR man Tony Lawrence on the short-lived TV adaptation of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In 1975, Harrington landed his signature role as macho, aphorism-spouting handyman Dwayne Schneider on the TV sitcom One Day at a Time; he remained with the series until its cancellation in 1984, earning an Emmy along the way. In films, Pat Harrington Jr. has been seen in a gallery of diverse portrayals, most amusingly as smoothly villainous telephone company spokesman Arlington Haven in The President's Analyst (1967). Harrington continued to act until 2012; his last acting appearance was a guest-spot on Hot in Cleveland, starring his former One Day at a Time co-star Valerie Harper. He died in 2016, at age 86.

Trivia: A classically-trained lead actor, Robert Reed appeared onscreen from 1958. His most famous role was as the father on the TV series The Brady Bunch.

Trivia: A longtime television actress who has also branched out into film, brunette beauty Talia Balsam also gained Hollywood recognition for her brief marriage to a pre-superstar George Clooney. Born to actors Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten in New York City in 1960, the young aspiring actress received her education at the Treehaven School in Tucson, AZ, before making her bid for the big-time shortly thereafter. In the late '70s, Balsam warmed to television audiences with recurring roles in the small-screen hits Happy Days and Taxi and feature roles in such made-for-TV films as The Survival of Dana and Sunnyside (both 1979) proved a testament to her dramatic range. A dizzying onslaught of similar television features followed, and the 1980s found Balsam becoming something of a staple in such made-for-TV efforts as Kent State (1981) and The Ladies (1987). Endearing roles on Family Ties and Punky Brewster provided just the right balance to such feature screamers as The Supernaturals (1986) and The Kindred (1987); by the time the 1990s rolled around, Balsam was married to up-and-comer Clooney and turning heads on Murder, She Wrote, thirtysomething, and Law & Order. Despite the fact that her most successful roles came with dramatic small-screen roles, Balsam continued to prove that she was an actress of little pretense by appearing in such quirky feature efforts as Coldblooded (1995) and Camp Stories (1997). Married to John Slattery following her divorce from Clooney in 1993, Balsam was later seen in the TV series L.A. Doctors and the feature Valerie Flake (1999).

Trivia: Educated at Sweet Briar College, Diana Muldaur began her New York stage career in 1963, appearing in three Broadway plays--Seidelman and Son, Poor Biros and A Very Rich Woman--back to back. She also played a regular role in the Manhattan-based soap opera The Secret Storm. In 1968, Muldaur appeared in her first film, The Swimmer. Exuding a serenity and maturity beyond her years, she was generally cast in cool, sophisticated roles, often as a deliberate contrast to her less-polished male co-stars: for example, she was a regular on the TV series McCloud (1970-77) cast as rambunctious Marshal Sam McCloud's(Dennis Weaver) low-key lady friend Chris Coughlin. Conversely, she was vitriol personified as barracuda lawyer Rosalind Shays in LA Law (1989-91)--at least she was until her character took a spectacular season--ending plunge down an empty elevator shaft. Other TV programs that have utilized Muldaur on a weekly basis have included The Survivors (1970), Black Beauty (1972), Born Free (1974), The Tony Randall Show (1976), Hizzoner (1979), Fitz and Bones (1981) and A Year in the Life (1987). In addition, she is among the few actors who have shown up in both the original Star Trek (in two guest-star assignments) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (as Dr. Katherine Pulaski). Undoubtedly one of her more enjoyable (and least taxing) assignments was as the voice of Dr. Leslie Thompson on Batman: The Animated Series. Equally busy when not performing before the cameras, Muldaur is a past member of the SAG board of the directors. Diana Muldaur is the widow of actor James Mitchell Vickery.

Trivia: While growing up in Chicago, Tom Bosley dreamed of becoming the star left-fielder for the Cubs. As it turned out, the closest Bosley got to organized athletics was a sportscasting class at DePauw University. After additional training at the Radio Institute of Chicago and two years' practical experience in various dramatic radio programs and stock companies, he left for New York in 1950. Five years of odd jobs and summer-theater stints later, he landed his first off-Broadway role, playing Dupont-Dufort in Jean Anouilh's Thieves' Carnival. Steadier work followed at the Arena Theatre in Washington, D.C.; then in 1959, Bosley landed the starring role in the Broadway musical Fiorello!, picking up a Tony Award, an ANTA Award, and the New York Drama Critics Award in the bargain. In 1963, he made his film bow as Natalie Wood's "safe and secure" suitor Anthony Colombo in Love With the Proper Stranger. Occasionally cast as two-bit criminals or pathetic losers (he sold his eyes to blind millionairess Joan Crawford in the Spielberg-directed Night Gallery TV movie), Bosley was most often seen as a harried suburban father. After recurring roles on such TV series as That Was the Week That Was, The Debbie Reynolds Show, and The Sandy Duncan Show, Bosley was hired by Hanna-Barbera to provide the voice of flustered patriarch Howard Boyle on the animated sitcom Wait Til Your Father Gets Home (1972-1973). This served as a dry run of sorts for his most famous series-TV assignment: Howard Cunningham, aka "Mr. C," on the immensely popular Happy Days (1974-1983). The warm, familial ambience of the Happy Days set enabled Bosley to weather the tragic death of his first wife, former dancer Jean Elliot, in 1978. In addition to his Happy Days duties, Bosley was narrator of the syndicated documentary That's Hollywood (1977-1981). From 1989 to 1991, he starred on the weekly series The Father Dowling Mysteries, and thereafter was seen on an occasional basis as down-to-earth Cabot Cove sheriff Amos Tupper on Murder, She Wrote. Reportedly as kind, generous, and giving as his Happy Days character, Tom Bosley has over the last 20 years received numerous honors for his many civic and charitable activities.

Trivia: Often introduced as "one of America's most familiar faces," it's likely that you've caught a glimpse of Ron Masak either in one of his over 300 appearances in various television shows, on that commercial that lingers in the back of your memory somewhere (he was once blessed with the moniker "king of commercials" and was the voice of the Vlassic Pickle Stork for 15 years), or maybe in one of his 15 feature film appearances. Whatever you might recognize him from, if you don't remember his name, he's the guy that you know you've seen somewhere before, but just might not be able to place where. A native of Chicago, IL (he was once offered a contract with the Chicago White Sox by Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby), Masak was classically trained as an actor at the Windy City's own CCC. A tireless performer, Masak found an initial platform for his talents in the Army, where he toured the world entertaining in an all-Army show in which he served as writer, performer, and director. Masak became well-known not only for his acting abilities, but for the fact that he was a dedicated performer who never missed a show. Proving himself adept at roles ranging from Shakespeare to his almost decade-long stint as the sheriff on Murder She Wrote, Masak thrived in theater and in commercial work around Chicago in the late '50s and early '60s.After a few minor roles in such television series as Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, and The Flying Nun (not to mention what many consider to be one of the earliest Elvis impersonations on the Spade Cooley Show in 1958), Masak was spotted by producer Harry Ackerman early in his career and went to California to audition for a lead in a pilot. Though that particular prospect fell through, Masak was introduced to John Sturges, a meeting which resulted in his feature debut in the cold-war thriller Ice Station Zebra (1968). Masak's work as an emcee is another testament to his universal appeal and versatile likeability; he has served as host for some of the biggest names in show business, including such talents as Kenny Rogers and Billy Crystal. Masak also starred in four of the most successful sales motivational videos of all time, including Second Effort with Vince Lombardi and Ya Gotta Believe with Tommy Lasorda (which Masak also wrote and directed). The first recipient of MDA's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Masak's work as field announcer for the Special Olympics and his eight-year stint as host of The Jerry Lewis Telethon represents only a fraction of his remarkable work as a compassionate philanthropist, and though Masak's film work may not be as prolific or as frequent as his extensive television work, his roles in such films as Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) are always memorable and constantly ring true with an appeal that often leaves a lasting impression, even though his screen time may be brief and his characters secondary.

Trivia: Over-the-top comic actor Kenneth Mars made an unbearably funny screen debut as the ex-Nazi playwright responsible for the smash miss "Springtime for Hitler" in Mel Brooks' The Producers (1968). He was just as exaggerated, though not quite as amusing, as the one-armed police inspector in Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974). Mars seemingly never held anything back, a trait that was prized by his admirers but caused discomfort among his detractors: reviewing the actor's performance in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1972), Jay Cocks noted, "As a pompous middle-European intellectual, Kenneth Mars mugs and drools in a manner that Jerry Lewis might find excessive." Still, Mars nearly always delivered the laughs -- especially on TV, where he was a regular on such programs as He and She and The Carol Burnett Show. Another of his screen appearances was as a remonstrative rabbi in Woody Allen's Radio Days (1986). Kenneth Mars has also provided voices for dozens of TV cartoon shows, where he sometimes fell prey to the indignity of having his name spelled Len Mars in the credits.

Trivia: Actress Constance Forslund gained her first Broadway attention in the mid '70s revival of Clare Booth Luce's The Women. Though born in California, Constance spent her teen years in Wisconsin. In the '70s, '80s and '90s, she appeared regularly in TV movies and guest-star spots on various weekly series. Forslund could also be seen in such theatrical films as The Way We Were (1973), Hail to the Chief (1973) and The River's Edge (1985). The production that really, truly should have made Constance Forslund a star was This Year's Blonde, a 1980 TV-movie wherein the actress pulled out all the stops in the role of the young Marilyn Monroe.

Trivia: American actor John C. Becher began his professional career in the military during WW II where he was assigned to teach actors how to survive USO performances in combat zones. Among his students were Melvyn Douglas and Red Skelton. Prior to that, Becher trained at Milwaukee State Teachers College and at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. Following his military stint, he began appearing in New York theaters. This led him to act on television and finally in films.