Trivia: American actor Richard Crenna started out as a radio performer at age 11, demonstrating an astonishing range for one so young. The momentum of his career was unaffected by an army hitch and time spent earning an English degree at the University of Southern California. But even though he was by then in his twenties, Crenna found himself still playing adolescents, notably squeaky-voiced high schooler Walter Denton on the radio comedy Our Miss Brooks. That he was able to play characters of virtually any age was overlooked by movie and TV casting directors, who could see Crenna only in callow-juvenile roles. After making an excellent impression as ballplayer Daffy Dean in the 1953 film Pride of St. Louis, for example, Crenna wasn't cast in another film until the 1955 movie version of Our Miss Brooks--in which, at 29, he was Walter Denton once more. The following year, Crenna decided "to sorta let Walter Denton die," and took a decidedly mature role in the sleazy exploitation film Over-Exposed (1956). It was a fully grown Crenna who took on the role of Luke McCoy on the Walter Brennan TV series The Real McCoys, which ran from 1957 through 1963 and which gave Crenna his first opportunities as a director. After McCoys, Crenna found himself facing potential career standstill again, since it seemed that now he was typed as the rubeish Luke McCoy. This time, however, the actor had impressed enough producers with his dogged work ethic and the range displayed in guest-star appearances. In 1964, Crenna was cast in a prestigious TV drama For the People as assistant DA David Koster, and though the program lasted only one season, Crenna was firmly established as a compelling dramatic actor. Still, and despite solid Richard Crenna film performances in The Sand Pebbles (1966), Body Heat (1981) and The Flamingo Kid (1985), the actor has never completely escaped the spectre of Walter Denton. Crenna was able to conjure up the old adenoidal Denton voice on talk shows of the 1980s and 1990s, and in the action-film spoof Hot Shots: Part Deux, the actor, with an absolute straight face, portrayed Colonel Denton Walters!

Trivia: First acting gig was a Kellogg's commercial in 1960. Formed a band called Eddie and the Monsters, who released a single in 1983, recalling his role as Eddie (who looked like a wolf boy) on the 1964-66 sitcom, The Munsters. "Whatever Happened to Eddie?" was followed, in 2007, by another song, "It's Only Halloween." Took part in a motorcycling event in Carthage, NY, in 2010 to benefit the blind. Has frequently appeared at Halloween events in his Eddie Munster costume.

Trivia: Tommy Noonan was still in his teens when he and his half-brother, John Ireland, made their stage debuts with a New York-based experimental theater. Noonan then returned to his home state of Delaware to launch his own repertory company. After serving in the Navy during WWII, Noonan made his Broadway bow, then was brought to Hollywood with an RKO contract. When his brother, John, married actress Joanne Dru, Noonan befriended Joanne's brother, Peter Marshall. Taking into consideration the success of Martin and Lewis, Noonan and Marshall formed their own comedy team. It was a strictly informal professional association, with the teammates spending as much time apart as together. During one of the team's "down" periods, Noonan established himself as a supporting actor in films; he played Marilyn Monroe's boyfriend in Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953), Judy Garland's platonic musician friend in A Star Is Born (1954), and the officious floorwalker in Bundle of Joy, the 1956 musical remake Bachelor Mother (1939). In 1959, Noonan reteamed with Marshall for a feature film, The Rookie, which Noonan also wrote and produced. The picture was a disaster, as was its 1961 followup, Swingin' Along. The team broke up for keeps at this point; Peter Marshall went on to become a popular TV game show host, while Noonan gained prominence as the producer/star/"auteur" of two softcore nudie films, Jayne Mansfield's Promises Promises (1963) and Mamie Van Doren's Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964). His last effort as a producer was 1967's Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers, which was also the screen swan song of the estimable Sonny Tufts. Five days short of his 47th birthday, Tommy Noonan died of a brain tumor.

Trivia: Average in looks but above average in talent, New York native George Tobias launched his acting career at his hometown's Pasadena Playhouse. He then spent several years with the Provincetown Players before moving on to Broadway and, ultimately, Hollywood. Entering films in 1939, Tobias' career shifted into first when he was signed by Warner Bros., where he played everything from good-hearted truck drivers to shifty-eyed bandits. Tobias achieved international fame in the 1960s by virtue of his weekly appearances as long-suffering neighbor Abner Kravitz on the TV sitcom Bewitched; he'd previously been a regular on the obscure Canadian adventure series Hudson's Bay. Though he frequently portrayed browbeaten husbands, George Tobias was a lifelong bachelor.