Trivia: George Segal kicked off his performing career as a boy magician in his Long Island neighborhood. An accomplished banjoist, Segal played with Bruno Lynch and His Imperial Jazz before enrolling at Columbia University. After three years' military service, Segal resettled in New York in 1959, and that same year was cast in his first off-Broadway play. Entering films with 1961's The Young Doctors, Segal quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's most accomplished young character actors; in 1967, he received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. When one compiles a list of favorite films from the late 1960s-early 1970s, one usually spends a great deal of time exclaiming "Hey! Segal was in that, too." He played a hustling POW in King Rat (1965), a Cagneyesque hood in Saint Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), ulcerated homicide detective Mo Brummel in No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), a neurotic New York Jewish intellectual in Bye Bye Braverman (1968), a straight-laced bachelor in love with a foul-mouthed hooker in The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), and a repressed lawyer saddled with an outrageously senile mother in Where's Poppa? (1970). During this same period, Segal had an arrangement with the ABC TV network, permitting him to star in television adaptations of classic Broadway plays: he was cast as George opposite Nicol Williamson's Lenny in Of Mice and Men, then switched gears as vicious escaped criminal Glenn Griffin in The Desperate Hours. Throughout this busy period in his life, Segal fronted the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band, cutting several records and making a number of memorable Tonight Show appearances. In 1973, Segal's successful screen teaming with Glenda Jackson in A Touch of Class enabled him to demand a much higher price for his film services; unfortunately, many of the films that followed--The Black Bird (1975) and The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976) in particular--failed to justify Segal's seven-figure price tag. In the 1980s, Segal starred in two well-written but low-rated TV weeklies, Take Five (1987) and Murphy's Law (1989). His film career was lifted from the doldrums in the late 1980s with such plum roles as the pond-scum father of Kirstie Alley's baby in Look Who's Talking (1989) and the "pinko" comedy writer in For the Boys (1991). Segal's projects of the 1990s have included the syndicated TV adventure series High Tide (1994) and such film roles as the bemused husband of abrasive Jewish mama Mary Tyler Moore in the 1996 Ben Stiller vehicle Flirting with Disaster. In 1996, Segal found renewed success on television playing a well-meaning but rather duplicitous publisher whose estranged daughter comes to work for him in the razor-sharp NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me. Though he worked less frequently during the 21st century, he appeared in a variety of projects including The Linda McCartney Story as the main character's father, Fielder's Choice, 2012, and Love and Other Drugs.

Trivia: Born in New Jersey to Italian-American parents, deep-voiced actress Laura San Giacomo studied at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. After performing in regional theater, off-Broadway, and TV guest-star roles, she made her auspicious debut in Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape. As the down-to-earth yet adulterous Cynthia, her presence brought a sense of inhibition to the cast of otherwise sexually repressed characters. This was followed by a series of other good roles: the prostitute Kit in Pretty Woman, the hardworking waitress in Vital Signs, Holly Hunter's sister in Once Around, and the American expatriate Crazy Cora in Quigley Down Under. In addition to providing her husky voice to the star-studded animated series Gargoyles, she moved over to TV movies, most notably the Stephen King adaptation The Stand. On the big screen, she starred in Nina Takes a Lover, Stuart Saves His Family, and The Apocalypse (co-starring her then-husband Cameron Dye). After having her son Mason, she started playing the memorable role of magazine journalist Maya Gallo on Just Shoot Me, which ran from 1997-2003 on NBC. She worked steadily in the years following Just Shoot Me, but she was away from screens for four years after 2001, returning in the 2005 drama Havoc. Two years later she starred opposite Holly Hunter in the supernatural series Saving Grace.

Trivia: Born August 22nd, 1965, the diminutive blond comic David Spade has found success as a professional smart ass. Born in Birmingham, MI, but raised in Scottsdale, AZ, Spade first made a name for himself as a standup comedian. He spent most of the '80s performing in clubs, theaters, and college campuses. He joined the cast of Lorne Michael's long-running television show Saturday Night Live in 1990 as a writer and a performer. On the show, he soon gained popularity for such recurring sketches such as "The Hollywood Minute" in which Spade would sarcastically shred some of Tinseltown's biggest stars with his nasty comments. Spade also proved an able impersonator of celebrities ranging from Jeff Foxworthy to Tom Petty. Spade has appeared on many television talk shows and guest starred on several series. He began his film career in the late '80s playing a small role in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. In the '90s, he began playing major supporting roles in such films as Coneheads (1993) and P.C.U. (1994). He and former SNL alumni Chris Farley shared top billing in two popular comedies, Tommy Boy (1995) and Black Sheep (1996). Spade starred opposite Joe Pesci and Dyan Cannon in Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997). In 1997, Spade returned to series television in the sitcom Just Shoot Me. While 2001's Joe Dirt wasn't much of a box office success, it did earn a certain cult status, inspire animated television series, and bring about a surge of ironically-sported mullet hairstyles in the early 2000s. While 2001's Joe Dirt wasn't much of a box office success, it did bring about a resurgence of popularity for the mullet. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) featured Spade in the titular role of a one-time child star who tries to make a comeback as an adult. Spade continued to play comedic roles throughout the mid-2000s (The Benchwarners, Grandma's Boy), and once again found small-screen success with a role on the sitcoms 8 Simple Rules, and The Rules of Engagement, in which Spade plays the part of a single man surrounded by friends in various stages of couplehood.

Trivia: While savvy television viewers will no doubt recognize prolific small-screen actress Wendie Malick from such popular series as Baywatch, Just Shoot Me, and HBO's smart and sexy comedy Dream On, the late '90s found her feature career warming up in such independent efforts as Manna From Heaven (2001) and Bathroom Boy (2003). A native of Buffalo, NY, who first found work in front of the cameras as a Wilhelmina model in the 1970s, the Ohio Wesleyan University alum would later work for New York congressman Jack Kemp following her graduation. Subsequently gracing the catwalks of New York, Paris, and Madrid, it was a small role in the 1978 comedy How to Pick up Girls that provided the aspiring actress with her first screen break. Though she would appear in a few theatrical releases such as Scrooged (1988) during the 1980s, most of her work came with made-for-television features and such series as Kate and Allie and Anything But Love. Increasingly visible on the small screen during the 1990s, Malick's role as series protagonist Martin Tupper's (Brian Benben) ex-wife on Dream On utilized her comic abilities to maximum effect and netted the actress four Cable ACE awards. Following the final episode of Dream On in 1996, it was only one short year before Malick began a stint on another popular series that would gain her accolades among sitcom junkies, Just Shoot Me. Her background in the modeling industry provided the ideal foundation for her role as former model Nina Van Horn, and Malick (Emmy-nominated for the role) remained with the show until its final episode in 2003, simultaneously taking occasional parts in both made-for-TV and theatrical features. In 1997 Malick took the lead in the little-seen romantic comedy Just Add Love, and following voice work as the egotistical principal in the Disney series Fillmore!, she appeared alongside Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Betty White the Emmy-winning comedy series Hot in Cleveland. In addition to her screen work, Wendie Malick met husband Richard Erickson while building homes for poor families in Mexico, and she also helps the homeless with her work for the Adopt-A-Family organization.

Trivia: Chances are likely that you would recognize his face, and it's even more likely that although the face is familiar, you don't know that his name is Enrico Colantoni. Though he struck a funny bone in audiences with his role as a befuddled alien in the 1999 comedy hit Galaxy Quest, Colantoni had been appearing in minor film and television roles since the late '80s. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in February of 1963 and raised in a prominent Italian neighborhood of the city, his early interest in acting would result in frequent neighborhood skits to entertain family and friends. His interest in performing peaked after seeing his older brother in a high school play, and despite his interest in the stage Colantoni would later opt to study law at the University of Toronto. Coming from an inartistic background, his parents frowned upon Colantoni's passion for acting, and the aspiring thespian quietly opted for a drama class as an elective as he focused most of his energy on law studies. Colantoni's drama teacher quickly recognized the young actor's potential, and it wasn't long before the bright lights of New York City became to glaring to resist. When his parents announced that they were moving back to Italy, Colantoni made the difficult decision to remain in New York and live the life of a struggling actor. His gamble would soon pay off when Colantoni made his television debut in an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series in 1989. Later deciding that he still needed time to refine his talent, Colantoni subsequently attended Yale and later spent a season at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater in 1994. Soon thereafter returning to the Big Apple, more stage roles followed until Colantoni was cast in an episode of NYPD Blue as the schizophrenic son of Peter Boyle's character. He made his film debut in the 1995 action comedy Money Train, and subsequent feature roles included Albino Alligator (1996), The Wrong Guy (1997), and 1999's Stigmata. It was during this time that Colantoni was also cast in the weekly comedy series Just Shoot Me. Later essaying the aforementioned role in Galaxy Quest, Colantoni appeared as a murderer in Steven Spielberg's A.I. before taking on roles in The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest and Full Frontal in 2002. He continued to have success in television series' throughout the 2000s, and became known for his roles as Keith Mars on Veronica Mars (2005-2006), and Sergeant Greg Parker on Flashpoint (2008-2011).

Trivia: Actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright Woody Allen redefined film comedy during the 1970s, bringing a new measure of sophistication and personal complexity to the form. Drawing universal insight from the traditions of Yiddish humor, Allen established himself both as a comic Everyman and one of American filmmaking's true auteurs, writing and directing features which broke with established narrative conventions and infused the screen-comedy form with unprecedented substance and depth.Born Allen Stewart Konigsberg in Brooklyn, NY, on December 1, 1935, he adopted his stage name at the age of 17, and in 1953 enrolled in New York University's film program, quickly failing the course "Motion Picture Production" and soon dropping out of school to begin writing for comedian David Alber for the sum of 20 dollars a week. Two years later, Allen graduated to writing for television, working on the staff of the legendary Your Show of Shows, as well as penning material for Pat Boone. During his five-year tenure in television, his efforts won him an Emmy nomination, but like Mel Brooks, Allen found his writing career stifling, and he eventually decided to try his hand as a standup performer. After slowly gaining a reputation on the New York-club circuit, he became a frequent talk show guest and in 1964 issued his self-titled debut comedy LP.In 1965, Allen made his film debut, writing and starring in the Clive Donner farce What's New, Pussycat?; he also continued his standup career, but his interest in live performance was clearly waning. With 1966's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, a puckish re-tooling of a Japanese spy thriller complete with his own story line and dubbed English dialogue, he made his directorial debut. After appearing in the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale, his rise to fame continued when his play Don't Drink the Water was produced on Broadway. In 1969 Allen directed two short films for a CBS television special: Cupid's Shaft, a satire of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights, and an adaptation of Pygmalion. However, Allen's career as a filmmaker fully took flight with the gangster send-up Take the Money and Run (1969), in which he starred, co-wrote, and directed. His status as an auteur was further solidified with 1971's Bananas and the following year's episodic Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask). Allen next appeared in Herbert Ross's 1972 feature Play It Again, Sam, followed by his own return to the director's chair for 1973's futuristic comedy Sleeper. While remaining as outlandish as his previous work, 1975's period comedy Love and Death signaled Allen's desire for respect as a serious filmmaker.Allen's breakthrough was 1977's Best Picture-winning Annie Hall; bittersweet and deeply personal, it established a new kind of comedy -- soul-searching and sophisticated, even the film's nonlinear narrative was experimental. A major commercial hit as well as a critical success, Annie Hall announced a new era of intelligence and complexity in American comedies, but Allen himself subsequently turned away from humor completely with 1978's Interiors, a brooding drama inspired by the films of his hero Ingmar Bergman. While earning a pair of Oscar nominations, the feature received wildly mixed reviews.With 1979's Manhattan, however, Allen's comic impulses and his desire for respect met halfway, and the results were remarkable; an autobiographical ode to his beloved New York City set against the music of George Gershwin, the film, luminously shot in black-and-white, was widely hailed as a masterpiece, and remains one of his definitive works. Its follow-up, 1980's Stardust Memories, recalled Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 in its depiction of a filmmaker torn between his audience's desire for comedy and his own aspirations toward more fulfilling work. Bergman was again the inspiration behind 1982's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, the first of Allen's films to star new paramour Mia Farrow; his fascination with his own celebrity continued with 1983's Zelig, a technical tour de force combining new material with vintage newsreel footage.After 1984's modest character comedy Broadway Danny Rose, Allen mounted The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), a tribute to Buster Keaton's landmark Sherlock, Jr. The next year's brilliant Hannah and Her Sisters won favorable comparisons to Chekhov, and earned Allen his second Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The following year, he released Radio Days, his most sweetly comic effort in years; however, he subsequently entered into another Bergman-like phase, directing two back-to-back 1988 dramas -- September and Another Woman -- which failed to find favor with audiences or critics. The penetrating Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), on the other hand, ended the decade on a high note, scoring three Academy Award nominations.In the 1990s, Allen settled comfortably into the role he'd begun assuming during the previous decade; working with limited budgets, he made exactly the films he wanted to make regardless of current trends, with a steady and dependable cult audience to keep his career successfully afloat. Both 1990's Alice and 1992's Shadows and Fog were negligible at best, but he returned to form with Husbands and Wives, a seriocomic, cinéma vérité look at a crumbling marriage. The reality of the film soon became apparent when he and Farrow suffered a very public breakup in the wake of revelations that Allen had begun dating Farrow's adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn (whom he later married).In the wake of his personal turmoil, Allen returned to filmmaking, enlisting Diane Keaton for 1993's Manhattan Murder Mystery. In 1994, he returned to critics' good graces with the period comedy Bullets Over Broadway, which garnered an impressive seven Oscar nominations, while 1995's Mighty Aphrodite scored two more Academy nods. In 1996, Allen directed his first-ever musical comedy, Everyone Says I Love You, which found some favor with audiences and generally positive reviews from critics. However, Deconstructing Harry followed in 1997 to vehemently mixed reviews, as did 1998's Celebrity, leading many critics to wonder if Allen was entering another phase in his long and varied career.Almost in direct response to these sentiments, Allen released a string of lighthearted films, beginning with the critically acclaimed Sweet and Lowdown in 1999. A mock-docudrama look at a Django Reinhardt-like jazz musician, the film snagged Oscar nominations for Sean Penn and his co-star Samantha Morton. After Lowdown, Allen entered into a multi-picture deal with DreamWorks Pictures -- his most significant alliance with a studio since his fruitful collaboration with Orion throughout the 1980s. 2000's Small Time Crooks, a modestly scaled comedy evoking Born Yesterday and Big Deal on Madonna Street, was the first of these pictures, enjoying a healthy run at the box office and decent reviews. Allen's next pair of films, Anything Else and Melinda and Melinda, continued his trend of mixed-reviewed comedies, but in 2005, he changed the setting of his work to Britain and delivered what many considered his best film in years with the dark drama Match Point. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the picture netted a Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, Allen's first in nearly a decade. Perhaps hoping she might be his lucky charm, the filmmaker cast Johansson again in the following year's so-so mystery-comedy Scoop, and continued to explore the dark corners of the other side of the Atlantic with the star-studded Cassandra's Dream in 2007. A string of uneven follow-ups ensued, many of which extended Allen's newfound interest in filming outside of the U.S. - such as the earthy, Spain-set romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and the lighthearted Midnight in Paris (2011), a fantasy with a time travel twist that recalled Allen's classic short story The Kugelmass Episode. Midnight was rapturously received by the critics, bringing the writer-director some of his finest reviews since Sweet and Lowdown and becoming his biggest box office hit ever. On top of all that popular success, the movie earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and Allen garnered his 15th nod for writing as well as his seventh for Best Director. He also captured nominations for directing from the DGA and the Golden Globes, and writing nominations from the WGA as well as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. When all was said and done, Allen won the Oscar for Best Writing and the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. But Allen was soon onto his next project, an ensemble comedy called To Rome with Love.