Trivia: Tim Robbins ranks among contemporary cinema's most acclaimed and provocative voices; a multifaceted talent, he has proved so adept at wearing the various hats of actor, writer, and director that no less a figure than the legendary filmmaker Robert Altman declared him the second coming of Orson Welles. Born October 16, 1958, in West Covina, CA, he was the son of folk singer Gil Robbins; raised in Greenwich Village, he made his performing debut alongside his father on a duet of the protest song "Ink Is Black, Page Is White." At the age of 12, Robbins joined the Theater for the New City, remaining a member for the next seven years; he also joined his high-school drama club, an experience which afforded him his first opportunities to direct for the stage. After briefly attending the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, he relocated to Los Angeles to study at UCLA; there he also joined the Male Death Cult, an intramural softball team comprised of his fellow drama students. After graduating, the teammates reunited to form the Actors' Gang, an avant-garde theater troupe noted for productions of works by the likes of Bertolt Brecht and Alfred Jarry. After guest starring on television series including Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere, in 1984 Robbins made his film debut with a bit part in the feature Toy Soldiers. His first starring role came in 1985's teen sex romp Fraternity Vacation. Small roles in hits including Top Gun and The Sure Thing followed before a breakout performance as a doltish fastballer in Ron Shelton's hit 1988 baseball comedy Bull Durham. An onscreen romance with co-star Susan Sarandon soon expanded into their offscreen lives as well, and the twosome became one of Hollywood's most prominent couples. A series of starring roles in films including 1989's misbegotten Erik the Viking and 1990s Jacob's Ladder followed, before Altman's 1992 showbiz satire The Player won Robbins Best Actor honors at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he wrote, directed, starred, and performed the music in Bob Roberts, a mock-documentary brutally parodying right-wing politics.Upon appearing in Altman's 1993 ensemble piece Short Cuts, Robbins enjoyed starring roles in four major 1994 releases: The Hudsucker Proxy, I.Q., Ready to Wear (Prêt-à-Porter), and the Oscar-nominated The Shawshank Redemption. However, his most acclaimed project to date was 1995's Dead Man Walking, a gut-wrenching examination of the death penalty, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director; Sean Penn, portraying a death-row inmate, garnered a Best Actor nomination while Sarandon won Best Actress honors. After a three-year hiatus from acting, Robbins returned to the screen in 1997 with the comedy Nothing to Lose; he soon announced plans to mount a film adaptation of Cradle Will Rock, the Marc Blitzstein play first staged by Orson Welles six decades earlier. The film, which examined the relationship between art and politics in 1930s America, premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. That same year, audiences could view Robbins as a clean-cut suburban terrorist opposite Jeff Bridges in Arlington Road, as well as see the fruits of his directorial work in Cradle Will Rock. Robbins opened the year 2000 with a brief but nonetheless fun role as the maddeningly calm Ian in High Fidelity. The early 2000s presented a series of misfires for Robbins -- AntiTrust (2001), Mission to Mars (2000), and Human Nature (2001), writer Charlie Kaufman's eagerly awaited follow-up to Being John Malkovich, fared rather badly in theaters -- though his versatility and respect within the industry remained solid. The polarizing presidential elections of 2002 certainly thrust Robbins into the political spotlight, if not major big-screen successes. After multiple appearances on Politically Incorrect and various awards shows gave Robbins a platform for some of his views concerning the right-wing agenda, the legitimacy of the Bush administration, and the controversial pre-emptive action in Iraq, the planned screening of Bull Durham (and a subsequent appearance from Robbins and Susan Sarandon) for the 15th anniversary of the film at the Baseball Hall of Fame was surprisingly cancelled in what Robbins claimed was a retaliatory measure.By the end of 2003, the controversy was a distant memory with Robbins hitting it big with audiences and critics alike in the film adaptation of Mystic River. The performance, which saw Robbins as a tragic adult who couldn't overcome a devastating childhood, eventually won the actor his second Golden Globe along with his first ever Oscar.Robbins followed up his Oscar win by switching gears substantially. In 2004, audiences could find him as a caricature of a cutthroat PBS newsman in an extended cameo in Anchorman and starring opposite Samantha Morton in the futuristic sci-fi thriller Code 46. In 2004 Robbins wrote and staged a satire about the Iraq war titled Embedded. He returned to the big-screen as the father in the science-fiction family fantasy Zathura. In the same year he turned in a memorable supporting performance as a deranged survivor of an alien attack in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds. One year later he played a white police officer in Philip Noyce's anti-Apartheid drama Catch a Fire. And though Robbins' politics seemed to overshadow his celebrity in the first years of the new millennium, film roles in City of Ember and Green Lantern, as well as an appearance on SNL alum Fred Armisen's satirical television series Portlandia kept the longtime actor in the public eye as he continued to hone his directoral skills with the made-for-television movie Possible Side Effects, and episodes of the popular HBO series Treme. Meanwhile, in 2010, Tim Robbins & the Rogue's Gallery Band released their self-titled debut album.

Trivia: Although she has also proven herself as a dramatic actress, Meg Ryan used her blonde hair, blue eyes, and effervescent personality to greatest effect in romantic comedies of the 1980s and '90s. Initially getting her start on television, Ryan became a star with her titular role in the smash 1989 comedy When Harry Met Sally, earning both fame and permanent notoriety for her ability to fake an orgasm for Billy Crystal during a scene in a New York restaurant.The daughter of a casting agent, Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anna Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut on November 19, 1961. Raised in New York, she went on to study journalism at New York University. In need of money to pay for her night classes, Ryan turned to acting to raise some extra cash. With her mother's help, she landed a role on a short-lived television series, and then made her film debut in Rich and Famous. The 1981 film -- director George Cukor's last -- cast Ryan as Candice Bergen's daughter, and proved to be a positive enough experience that the young actress was soon looking for more work. A lucky break led to her being cast in the daytime drama As the World Turns, on which she performed from 1982 until 1984.After appearing in Amityville 3-D (1983), Ryan secured more auspicious work when she was cast as the wife of doomed flyboy Goose (Anthony Edwards) in Top Gun (1986). Although her role was minor, the film's success paved the way for more work for the actress, and the following year she starred in Innerspace, a comedy that cast her as Dennis Quaid's girlfriend. Her onscreen status as Quaid's love interest soon became off-screen reality, and after starring together in D.O.A. (1988), the two married in 1991.In 1989, Ryan had her breakthrough role as Sally Albright in Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally. The following year, she starred opposite Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano. Although the film received a lukewarm critical and commercial reception, it began an onscreen collaboration between Ryan and Hanks that would prove to be very successful in future films. Before she next appeared onscreen with Hanks, Ryan took an uncharacteristic turn towards the purely dramatic, playing Jim Morrison's drug-addicted wife Pamela in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991). She received wide critical praise for her portrayal, proving that she was capable of extending her range beyond light comedy. She further demonstrated her capabilities in the dark 1993 drama Flesh and Bone. Her performance as a hitchhiker received strong notices, although the film, which cast her opposite husband Quaid, was largely ignored by audiences.That same year, Ryan returned to romantic comedy, starring opposite Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle. Nominated for a Golden Globe for her work, she then starred in another romantic comedy, I.Q., the following year. However, 1994 also brought more dramatic roles with Restoration, a period drama that cast Ryan as Robert Downey, Jr.'s doomed love, and When a Man Loves a Woman, in which she played an alcoholic. After further bucking her bubbly persona with a turn as a Gulf War solider in Courage Under Fire (1996) and a somewhat nasty portrayal of a vengeful ex-girlfriend in Addicted to Love (1997), Ryan again starred opposite Hanks in You've Got Mail (1998). Another romantic comedy, it put the actress back in her most successful milieu and was popular among critics and audiences alike. That same year, Ryan had further success starring opposite Nicolas Cage in the romantic drama City of Angels, and essayed the unlikely role of a world-weary exotic dancer in Hurlyburly.2000 saw Ryan return to comedy, starring alongside Lisa Kudrow and Diane Keaton in Keaton's Hanging Up and also serving as the producer of the supernatural thriller Lost Souls. However, it was Ryan's offscreen activities that same year that truly aroused the public's notice and allowed her to break away from her perky, girl-next-door persona more effectively than any number of dramatic film roles could ever hope to: following the news of her affair with Proof of Life co-star Russell Crowe, Ryan and husband Quaid filed for divorce. Ironically, this real-life drama mirrored the premise of Proof, a romantic drama in which the wife (Ryan) of a man kidnapped in South America enlists the help of a "freelance hostage negotiator" (Crowe) to find her husband, only to enter into an adulterous affair with the negotiator.In 2001, Ryan took a short break from feature films in order to participate in a documentary titled In the Wild: The White Elephants of Thailand, though she would return to the top of the romantic-comedy It-list in the whimsical Kate and Leopold alongside then rising romantic lead Hugh Jackman. In 2002, Ryan provided interview footage with fellow acting colleagues Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Lane, Teri Garr, and Holly Hunter, among others, in Searching for Debra Winger, which was directed by Rosanna Arquette. In 2003, the actress reappeared on the scene for the release of In the Cut, a throwback to '70s psycho-sexual thrillers, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. In 2004, Ryan stared in Charles S. Dutton's feature-length directorial debut, which is based on the real-life story of Jackie Kallen, a small-time Michigan woman turned successful boxing manager. For her next film, Ryan joined the cast of the 2007 ensemble drama In the Land of Women, and then headlined another ensemble production, The Women, a poorly recieved update of the 1939 George Cukor film with the same name. 2009's Serious Moonlight, directed by Cheryl Hines, would be her last film before she took a long hiatus from acting.

Trivia: Specializing in playing shambling, cantankerous cynics, Walter Matthau, with his jowly features, slightly stooped posture, and seedy, rumpled demeanor, looked as if he would be more at home as a laborer or small-time insurance salesman than as a popular movie star equally adept at drama and comedy. An actor who virtually put a trademark on cantankerous behavior, Matthau was a staple of the American cinema for almost four decades.The son of poor Jewish-Russian immigrants, Matthau was born on October 1, 1920, in New York City and raised in a cold-water flat on the Lower East Side. His introduction to acting came during his occasional employment at the Second Avenue Yiddish Theater, where he sold soda pops during intermission for 50 cents per show. Following WWII service as an Air Force radioman and gunner, Matthau studied acting at the New School for Social Research Dramatic Workshop. Experience with summer stock led to his first Broadway appearances in the 1940s, and at the age of 28 he got his first break serving as the understudy to Rex Harrison's character in the Broadway drama Anne of a Thousand Days. After having his first major Broadway success with A Shot in the Dark, Matthau began working on the screen, usually in small supporting roles that cast him as thugs, villains, and louts in such films as The Kentuckian (1955) and King Creole (1958). Only occasionally did he get to play more sympathetic roles in films such as Lonely Are the Brave (1962). In 1959, he tried his hand at directing with Gangster Story. In addition to his stage and feature-film work, Matthau appeared in a number of television shows. Just when it seemed that he was to be permanently relegated to playing supporting and dark character roles on stage and screen, Matthau won the part of irretrievably slavish sportswriter Oscar Madison in the first Broadway production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple (1965). Simon wrote the role especially for Matthau, and the show made both the playwright and the actor major stars. In film, Matthau played his first comic role (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) in Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie (1966). The film also marked the first of many times that Matthau would be paired with Jack Lemmon. The unmistakable chemistry at play between the well-mannered, erudite Lemmon and the sharp-tongued, earthy Matthau exploded when they were paired onscreen, and was on particularly brilliant display in the hit film version of The Odd Couple (1967). Good friends with Lemmon both onscreen and off, Matthau starred in his directorial debut, Kotch (1971), and starred alongside him in The Front Page (1974) and Buddy Buddy, both of which did little for Matthau and Lemmon's careers. As a duo, the two again found success when they played two coots who were too busy feuding to realize that they were best friends in Grumpy Old Men (1993). They reprised their roles in a 1995 sequel and also appeared together in The Grass Harp (1995), Out to Sea (1997), and 1998's The Odd Couple II. On his own, Matthau continued developing his comically cynical persona in such worthy ventures as Plaza Suite (1971), California Suite (1978), and especially The Sunshine Boys (1975), in which he was paired with George Burns. He proved ridiculously endearing as a grizzled, broken-down, beer-swilling little league coach with a marshmallow heart in The Bad News Bears (1976), and further expressed his comic persona in such comedies as 1993's Dennis the Menace, in which he played the cantankerous Mr. Wilson, and the romantic comedy I.Q. (1994), which cast him as Albert Einstein.Though many of his roles were of the comic variety, Matthau occasionally returned to his dramatic roots with ventures such as the crime thriller Charley Varrick (1973) and The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 (1974). In addition to his work in feature films, Matthau also continued to make occasional appearances in made-for-television movies, one of which, Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991), was directed by his son Charles Matthau. Matthau, who had been plagued with health problems throughout much of his adult life, died of a heart attack at the age of 79 on July 1, 2000. The last film of his long and prolific career was Diane Keaton's Hanging Up (2000), a family comedy-drama that cast the actor as the ailing father of three bickering daughters (Lisa Kudrow, Meg Ryan, and Keaton). Coincidentally, when Matthau was hospitalized for an undisclosed condition in April of the same year, he shared a hospital room with none other than longtime friend and director Billy Wilder.

Trivia: Bald-pated, mustachioed Canadian character actor Lou Jacobi began entertaining theatre audiences as a child. Though many of his characterizations were urban-American ethnic types, Jacobi was well into his career before ever setting foot on an American stage. Among his more memorable screen roles were the explosive Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and the philosophical Parisian bartender Moustache in Irma La Douce (1963). After his cameo as a middle-aged transvestite in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), the hapless Mr. Jacobi found himself called upon to don women's garb on a nearly-weekly basis for the various TV variety series of the early 1970s. Lou Jacobi's other television work included supporting parts on The Dean Martin Show, Somerset and Melba, and the lead in the 1976 sitcom Ivan the Terrible.

Trivia: Trained as an actor, Gene Saks organized a number of New York-based workshop organizations before making his Broadway debut. He began directing in 1963, helming such Neil Simon Broadway plays as Biloxi Blues and Brighton Beach Memoirs and such Simon-scripted films as Barefoot in the Park (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), and Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1986). Saks made his film acting bow in 1965, recreating his stage role as paranoid kiddie-show host Chuckles the Chipmunk in A Thousand Clowns. Saks was married to actress Beatrice Arthur, who co-starred in his 1974 film version of Mame, from 1950 to 1980.. In 1995 Saks directed the 1995 TV remake of the 1961 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. He died in 2015, at age 93.

Trivia: Actor Joseph Maher found success on stage, television, and in cinema. Over his career, he received three Tony nominations, including one for Joe Orton's Loot. His film credits include turns as Warren Beatty's butler in Heaven Can Wait (1978) and as Bishop O'Hara in Sister Act (1992). On television, Maher guest starred on series such as Seinfeld and thirtysomething.

Trivia: Actor, comedian, novelist, columnist, noted wit, vocal gay rights advocate, and general bon vivant, Stephen Fry is nothing if not one of the more versatile and outspoken talents to come along in the latter half of the 20th century. Since beginning his creative partnership with Hugh Laurie in 1981, Fry has become a fixture on British television with programs such as A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. In addition, he has made a number of films and established himself as a respected commentator on the various happenings in British society.Born in London on August 24, 1957, Fry was the second of three children born to a homemaker mother and physicist/investor father. The family moved to Norfolk when Fry was very young and he was sent off for a public school education at the age of eight. Over the course of his education, first at Uppingham and then at Stout's Hill, Fry got into lavish amounts of trouble thanks to his tendency to lie, cheat, and steal, a habit that would land him in jail for three months when he was 18. After serving time at Pucklechurch prison for credit card fraud, Fry began to turn his life around, beginning with an acceptance to Queens College, Cambridge. It was at Cambridge that he began doing comedy, performing with the legendary Cambridge University Footlights Club (previously home to various Monty Python members, among others). Other Footlighters at the time included Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery, and Hugh Laurie, the last of whom was introduced to Fry by Thompson. Fry and Laurie began their collaboration in 1981, performing Footlights revues at various venues around Great Britain, including the Edinburgh Festival, and doing a three month tour of Australia. In 1984, after making occasional television appearances for a couple of years (including a hilarious send-up of the Oxbridge set on an episode of The Young Ones), Fry found great critical and financial success when he was asked to rewrite Noel Gay's Me and My Girl. The stage production, which starred Fry's Cambridge friend Emma Thompson, won wide acclaim, eventually garnering Fry a 1987 Tony nomination. Throughout the remainder of the decade, Fry won fame in his native country for his work on various television and radio shows, and in supporting roles in a number of films. Some of his more notable television work included A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1987) and Rowan Atkinson's Black Adder series, while he made appearances in films such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and the same year's A Handful of Dust. Meanwhile, Fry was also gaining recognition for his columns for The Daily Telegraph, as well as a certain amount of notoriety for various well-publicized statements he made in the press. Two of the more memorable of these were a magazine article in which he declared his celibacy and a television appearance where he claimed the U.K. record for saying "f***" the most times in one live broadcast.The 1990s brought more film and television work for Fry, as well as the publication of three best-selling novels The Liar, The Hippopotamus, and Making History, as well as Paperweight, a collection of his columns, and Moab Is My Washpot, his autobiography. In addition to the transatlantic recognition he received for his books, some of the films he appeared in gave him fame beyond the PBS set (who had become further acquainted with him via the acclaimed series Jeeves and Wooster, in which he starred with Laurie). Most memorable of these were: Peter's Friends (1992), in which Fry co-starred with Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, and various members of the Footlights set; John Schlesinger's Cold Comfort Farm (1995); Wilde (1997); Spice World (1998); and A Civil Action (1998). He got particular attention for his work in Wilde, owing both to the filmmakers' decision not to gloss over the details of the Victorian playwright's sex life and to Fry's uncanny physical resemblance to Oscar Wilde, something that no doubt helped to enhance the actor's performance.The following decade found the next generation getting acquainted with Fry as the narrator of the popular Harry Potter series of audiobooks and videogames, with film roles on The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (as famed British clairvoyant and astrologer Maurice Woodruff), MirrorMask, and V for Vendetta keeping him a familiar face on the big screen. And despite candidly detailing his struggle with bipolar disorder in the 2006 documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, it was Fry's role as host of the long-running comedy panel show QI, which debuted in 2003, that provided his fans with the kind of witty and irreverent social commentary they had come to expect from the multi-talented star. With four new comedians gathering each week to share personal anecdotes, answer trivia questions, and quip about the latest headlines, QI was always fresh and relevant even after being on the air for nearly a decade.Fry continued to work in all forms of media, and expanded his fan base by taking high-profile roles like Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) and playing the Mayor of Laketown two of the three Hobbit movies, The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). He also had a recurring role in the series 24: Live Another Day, playing the British Prime Minister.

Trivia: A uniquely gifted and versatile actor possessing the distinct ability to immerse himself in a role so convincingly that he becomes almost unrecognizable -- from a quality obsessed restaurateur (Big Night, 1996) to a master criminal bent on world domination (Spy Kids, 2001) -- one can always count on Tony Shalhoub to deliver a memorable performance no matter how small his role may be.Well-known to television audiences for his extended stint as a self-deprecating cabbie on the long-running series Wings, Shalhoub made the often-painful transition from television to film with a grace seldom seen. Born on October 9th, 1953 in Green Bay, WI, Shalhoub developed his passion for theater at the youthful age of six when he volunteered via his sister to play an extra in a high-school production of The King and I. Shalhoub was hooked. After earning his master's degree from the Yale Drama School and spending four seasons at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, Shalhoub packed his bags for New York where he began a luminous career on Broadway. Broadway brought Shalhoub success not only in his career, but in his personal life as well: he was nominated for a Tony for his role in Conversations With My Father and he met his future wife, actress Brooke Adams, while acting in The Heidi Chronicles. It was not long after his Broadway success that Shalhoub made his feature debut, as a doctor in the 1990 AIDS drama Longtime Companion.Shalhoub's film career has been a testament to his range and a compliment to his abilities. Though prone to comedy, his dramatic roles have gained him just as much, if not more, recognition than his comedic roles. Winning the Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics for his well-researched role in Big Night (1996), Shalhoub expanded his dramatic film repertoire with roles in A Civil Action and The Siege (both 1998), while always maintaining his knack for humor (1997's Men in Black). Shalhoub's role as the ultra-mellow "anti-Scottie" in the Star Trek send-up Galaxy Quest (1999) proved that his comic persona was indeed still as sharp as ever. Sticking in the sci-fi/fantasy mold for his roles in Imposter and Spy Kids (both 2001), Shalhoub once again proved that he could do 180-degree character turnarounds with ease.Though Shalhoub would stay in sci-fi mode for his role in Men in Black 2, he would return to solid ground with his role as an obsessive-compulsive detective in the well-received television pilot Monk (2002). Directed by Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot, the pilot for Monk successfully paved the way for the curiously innovative USA series to follow and found the actor warmly re-embracing the medium that had propelled him to stardom. As Monk's popularity continued to grow, Shaloub found success on the big screen in the role of a gifted psychologist for The Great New Wonderful (2005), and voiced the lovable Luigi in Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011). In 2007, he worked alongside John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson for the supernatural horror film 1408.

Trivia: With the role of Steve Bushak in 1990's The Freshman, actor Frank Whaley inaugurated a fruitful film career. Whaley went on to be prominently featured in three 1991 pictures. He played real-life guitarist Robby Krieger in The Doors, and two leading roles: the hapless tourist caught up in literary espionage in Back in the U.S.S.R. (1991) and the feckless night watchman with both a runaway heiress and a gang of burglars on his hands in Career Opportunities (1991). Whaley has continued averaging two to three film appearances per annum; would that the films themselves were more profitable than the likes of Swing Kids (1993) and A Midnight Clear (1993).

Trivia: Before he became an actor, Charles Durning, the son of an Army man, continued in his father's footsteps with valor and distinction, earning a silver star and purple heart in World War II. Durning held down several "joe jobs" -- iron worker, elevator operator, cabbie, waiter, and dance instructor -- until turning to acting in the late 1950s. Fresh from the national tour of The Andersonville Trial, Durning began his long association with Joseph Papp in 1962, distinguishing himself in Shakespearean roles. He made his earliest film appearance in Ernest Pintoff's Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965). Durning's film roles increased in size and importance after his interpretation of a crooked cop in the Oscar-winning The Sting (1973). He went on to appear in several Burt Reynolds films, most memorably as the singing governor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). That performance landed him an Oscar nomination, as did his spin on "Concentration Camp" Erhardt in the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be. In 1975, Durning was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of ulcerated police lieutenant Moretti in the theatrical feature Dog Day Afternoon (1975); he finally won that award 15 years later for his work as "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald in the TV miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Other notable film roles to his credit include Peter Stockmann in the Steve McQueen-produced An Enemy of the People (1978), Dustin Hoffman's "suitor" in the cross-dressing classic Tootsie (1982) (he later co-starred with Hoffman in the 1984 stage revival of Death of a Salesman), and the foredoomed Waring Hudsucker in the Coen Brothers' Hudsucker Proxy (1994).On television, Durning played Lt. Gil McGowan on the daytime soap Another World, officer Frank Murphy in The Cop and the Kid (1975), Big Ed Healey in Captains and the Kings (1976), Studs' dad in Studs Lonigan (1979), private-eye Oscar Poole in Eye to Eye (1985), the title character in PBS' I Would Be Called John: Pope John XXIII (1987), crooked industrialist Dan Packard (the old Wallace Beery role) in Dinner at Eight (1989), and Dr. Harrlan Eldridge in the Burt Reynolds TV vehicle Evening Shade (1990-1994), an assignment which afforded the far-from-sylph-like Durning his first nude scene.While his television and film career have continued to be prolific, Durning has also continued to earn acclaim for his stage work. In 1990, he won a Tony Award for his performance as Big Daddy in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.He continued to work steadily well into his seventies in a variety of projects including Jodie Foster's dysfunctional family comedy/drama Home for the Holidays, the absurd comedy Spy Hard, and Jerry and Tom. At the beginning of the 20th century he reteamed with the Coen Brothers for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and was part of the impressive ensemble in David Mamet's State and Main. He was also part of the original cast of the firefighter drama series Rescue Me. Durning died at age 89 in late December 2012, two months before his 90th birthday.

Trivia: Perhaps most recognizable from television on the campy sci-fi The Lost Saucer series on The Krofft Supershow from the 1970s, Alice Playten did voicework on countless animated features, including the remake of Felix the Cat, Aladdin, and My Little Pony: The Movie. She played a recurring role, or voice, rather, in the animated Doug series as Beebee Bluff. Ironically enough, she was also the voice of the demon in Amityville II: The Possession. More known for her stage work than television or screen acting, Playten was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Henry Sweet Henry. She won an Obie Award for her portrayal of Mick Jagger in the stage show National Lampoon's Lemmings in the early '70s, which also starred John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Christopher Guest. She won another Obie for her work as Maimie Eisenhower in First Ladies Suite. She was in the original Broadway cast of many a musical, including Oliver!, Henry Sweet Henry, and Promenade, and appeared on Broadway in W.C. and Seussical.

Trivia: The son of famed voiceover actor Allen Swift, Lewis J. Stadlen prepared for his own show business career by studying with Sanford Meisner and Stella Adler. At 19, Stadlen was cast as Mendel in the touring company of Fiddler on the Roof. He made his 1969 Broadway bow as young Julius Marx--alias Groucho--in the short-lived musical comedy Minnie's Boys. Subsequent New York theatre credits included Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys and the well-received revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, in which Stadlen sparkled in five distinct roles. In films since 1972, Stadlen has excelled in such eccentric characterizations as Lupinsky, a gay Polish actor forced by the Nazis to wear a pink star, in Mel Brooks' 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be. Sitcom fans are most familiar with Stadlen's one-season portrayal of prissy political aide Jonathan Taylor on the weekly Benson. Devoting most of his time to the stage in the past two decades, Lewis J. Stadlen has appeared in such Broadway productions as Don Juan and More Don Juan and 1-2-3-4-5, and has starred in one-man shows based on the lives of Groucho Marx and S. J. Perelman.

Trivia: A longtime fan of theater, actor/screenwriter Richard Woods became a staple on Broadway early in his career, appearing in such productions as You Can't Take It With You, Murder Among Friends, and Sherlock Holmes. Constantly refining his passion for the stage, Woods maintained roles in numerous productions with APA-Phoenix in the 1960s and appeared in such regional theaters as the Yale Repertory. Woods also became a fixture at the renowned Circle in the Square, appearing in productions such as The Man Who Came to Dinner.The mid-'60s found Woods making appearances on television, with a role in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Then television appearances became virtually non-existent until the early '80s, when Woods revisited his mystery roots as Watson in the 1981 TV adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. He appeared in numerous made-for-television movies that decade, before making his big screen debut in Mr. North (1988). The '80s also found Woods penning the story for Endangered Species (1982).Throughout the 1990s, Woods appeared in small roles in such Coen brothers efforts as Miller's Crossing (1990) and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). On January 16, 2001, Richard Woods died of cancer in Englewood, NJ. He was 77.

Trivia: Character actress Alice Drummond built a solid background in theater before regularly playing interesting older ladies in film and television. During the '60s, she played Nurse Jackson on the gothic TV series Dark Shadows. Her early work was mostly confined to the stage, though, and by 1970 she had earned a Tony nomination for her performance in The Chinese & Dr. Fish. During the '80s she appeared in many feature films and television shows, usually in roles like eccentric old ladies on Night Court. One of her most recognizable parts was the librarian who is chased by a ghost through the New York Public Library in the opening scene of Ghostbusters. During the '90s, she got a few more substantial roles, like a patient in Awakenings and Ray Finkle's mother in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. She found meager success with independent comedy dramas in the late '90s, starting with Adrienne Shelly's I'll Take You There. In 2001 she played Aunt Millie in Tom Rice's The Rising Place and in 2003 she was Grandma Dottie in Peter Hedges' Pieces of April. Drummond died in 2016, at age 88.

Trivia: Beloved by television audiences for his endearingly snippy portrayal of upstairs restaurant owner John Allen Hill on Cheers, Tony-winning stage actor Keene Curtis endeared himself to Broadway audiences as Annie's Daddy Warbucks before embarking on a successful career in television and film. Born in Salt Lake City, UT, and raised in nearby Bountiful, Curtis first realized his love for the stage while a student at the University of Utah. Though a three-year stint in the Navy put a brief halt to his education, Curtis returned to the University to study for his bachelor's and master's degrees and was subsequently discovered by Orson Welles when Welles directed a 1947 college production of Macbeth. So impressed with Curtis' performance was Welles that the popular filmmaker cast the burgeoning actor in a professional production of Macbeth the following year. With his stage career kicking into full gear, Curtis would pursue acting while simultaneously working as a stage manager at the Martha Graham Dance Company for the next 12 years. Equally adept in film, television, and the Broadway stage, Curtis also appeared in Welles' film version of Macbeth in addition to roles in such features as Heaven Can Wait (1978), The Buddy System (1984), and I.Q. (1994). Following his memorable performance in Annie, Curtis appeared in such Broadway productions as Twelfth Night, Saint Joan, and Comedians. 1971 found Curtis the recipient of a Tony for his multiple roles in the musical The Rothschilds. Though he was prolific in film and on-stage, it was on television that Curtis made a lasting impression with roles on such popular series as M*A*S*H, Benson, and The Pretender. Curtis also did voice-over work for Scooby and Scrappy-Doo and The Smurfs. Always concerned with helping aspiring actors realize their dreams, Curtis would later endow an acting scholarship, in addition to donating his Tony and other theater memorabilia, to his alma mater. On October 13, 2002, Keene Curtis died of Alzheimer's disease in Bountiful, UT. He was 79.

Trivia: Actor Greg Germann is probably best known as attorney Richard Fish -- the tactless, neurotic litigator who went head-to-head with Ally McBeal in law school, but soon does an about face and hires her, on that character's eponymous Fox comedy drama. Actually, that role only represented the tail end of a long ascent to stardom for the gifted actor. Germann trained as a dramatist at an early age by performing in local stage productions in his childhood home of Golden, CO. In the early '80s, Germann moved to New York City and attended auditions before film producers tapped him for supporting roles in pictures ranging from the eminently forgettable (the 1986 Whoopee Boys) to the outstanding (the 1991 Once Around, the 1994 Imaginary Crimes). Germann found his greatest success, however, in television; after landing regular roles on two short-lived programs, the legal drama Sweet Justice and the sitcom Ned and Stacey (1995), the actor caught the eye of McBeal mastermind David E. Kelley. Kelley praised Germann as an actor so versatile that he could seemingly do anything; unsurprisingly, the role, like the series, lasted five seasons.Germann followed Ally McBeal up with supporting parts in a series of mostly forgettable films, including the direct-to-video Sandlot 2 (2005) and crazylove (2005), before returning to form with a prime role in the Will Ferrell racing comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Germann then landed a regular role as a mentally disturbed diet guru in the decidedly quirky (and short-lived) comedy drama series In Case of Emergency (2007). He also delivered an extraordinary performance as a quiet, compassionate counselor in Monty Lapica's big-screen debut, Self-Medicated (2005). Germann appeared in Quarantine (2008) director John E. Dowdle revamp of [REC] Paco Plaza's Spanish-language horror film [REC], and starred in The Santa Incident, a family-friendly comedy film following a pair of siblings charged with helping Santa back to the North Pole, in 2010. In 2011 he co-starred in the drama Fly Away, and worked with Salma Hayek and Kevin James in the 2012 action comedy Here Comes the Boom.