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: The Standard Operating Procedure of those anonymous young lovelies chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month is to make an extremely brief flurry of au naturel movie appearances before rapidly fading into the sunset. Such was not the case of very blonde, very buxom Shannon Tweed. After being anointed Playmate of the Month and Playmate of the Year, the Canadian-born Tweed was able to sustain her film career for nearly two decades. Her come-hither looks, cascading blonde hair, and divine figure admittedly contributed to her durability, but her strongest suit was her genuine acting ability and willingness to poke fun at her image. The actress offered a comedy performance worthy of a Colbert or Lombard as the fetchingly undraped star of the Apocalypse Now spoof Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1990), while she was consistently superior to her material (and most of her co-stars, female and male) in the Night Eyes and Indecent Behavior films of the 1980s and 1990s. Somewhat more modestly garbed in her television appearances, Tweed has been a regular on the daytime soaper Days of Our Lives, the nighttime serial Falcon Crest (1981-1982 season only, as Diana Hunter), and the raunchy cable-TV sitcom First and Ten. In 1991, she starred as air-service proprietor Sally "Slick" Monroe on the diverting Canadian TV adventure weekly Fly By Night, which ran in rerun form on CBS until 1993. The sister of actress Tracy Tweed, Shannon Tweed has two children with Kiss musician Gene Simmons.

Trivia: Taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California during the 1970's.Has had recurring roles on several well-received TV series, such as Perfect Strangers, Picket Fences, Angel, ER, Lost and Justified, among others.Is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, which is based in New York City. Has earned advanced degrees in Theatre, American Literature and Creative Writing.

Trivia: Character actor Richard Portnow has worked steadily in theater, feature films, and on television for many years. On stage, he has appeared both on and off Broadway, as well as in many regional productions, and at London's Royal Court Theatre. Portnow made his feature film debut with a bit part in Susan Seidleman's Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). On television, Portnow has guest starred on many series, including Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, and The Nanny.

Trivia: With a father who was a prominent jazz trumpeter, a grandmother who danced at The Cotton Club, and a grandfather who was a member of the Nat King Cole Trio, it may seem a given that actor Wren T. Brown would pursue a career in show business. Despite the fact that Brown has been acting almost as long as he can recall, he nearly put his career in the spotlight aside for a shot at becoming a professional tennis player. Though Brown landed his first commercial appearance at age 11, the following six years would be spent running the courts before returning to commercials in McDonald's first "Chicken McNuggets" campaign at age 17. Following a television debut in Knight Rider and a feature debut in Robert Townsend's 1987 comedy Hollywood Shuffle, strong supporting performances in The Hidden (1987) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988) eventually led to a leading role in the 1992 feature The Importance of Being Earnest (1992). His appearance in such popular sitcoms and dramas as Seinfeld, Frasier, The West Wing, and Ally McBeal gaining Brown ever-widening exposure, a Dramalogue Award for his role in a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It and a NAACP Image Nomination for his work in 2001's Jeffrey's Plan proved that he had what it took to make it on-stage as well. Moving into the new millennium with roles in Dancing in September (2000) and Biker Boyz (2003), Brown returned to the small screen with a supporting role in the 2003 sitcom Whoopie.

Trivia: A wiry, reliable character actor who first caught the attention of television audiences with his Emmy-winning role as Detective Mick Belker on Steven Bochco's gritty police drama Hill Street Blues, Bruce Weitz crafted a successful career in both low-budget features and small-screen dramas. The Norwalk, CT, native trained at both Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater and Louisville's Actors Theater after earning graduate and undergraduate degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, and it wasn't long before he set his sights on Broadway. A successful debut opposite George C. Scott in a revival of Death of a Salesman was quickly followed by roles in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and Norman, Is That You? Weitz also appeared in 13 New York Shakespeare festivals during the late '70s before moving on to television. Supporting roles in Quincy and Happy Days were followed by performances in such made-for-TV features as Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story and Every Stray Dog and Kid (both 1981). That same year, Weitz joined the cast of Hill Street Blues for the duration of the series and his popular character became a highlight of many episodes. The role propelled Weitz's TV career and the actor did not lack work for the rest of the decade. By the time the '80s gave way to the '90s, Weitz's small-screen feature career was still going strong, and, in 1991, he joined the cast of the popular sitcom Anything but Love for one season. He returned to work with old friend Bochco with short-lived series The Byrds of Paradise in 1994 and appeared as Robert Shapiro in 1995's made-for-TV feature The O.J. Simpson Story. Nurturing a growing feature film career in the late '90s and early 2000s, Weitz later enjoyed roles in such high-profile theatrical releases as Deep Impact (1998) and Half Past Dead (2002), enjoyed a multi-episode run on ER as Alderman John Bright, and graced the casts of features including El Cortez (2005) and The Dukes (2007).

Trivia: Studied at the Actors Studio in New York City. Is an accomplished equestrienne and occasionally works at a stable. Appeared in three films that were nominated for 2003 Academy Awards: 21 Grams, Seabiscuit and Monster. Owns a ranch in California, where she keeps a horse and numerous dogs.

Trivia: Irish actor Morgan Sheppard has played character roles on television and in international feature films since the '80s, but he has spent most of his career on-stage.

Trivia: Yale graduate Bradford Dillman began his career in the sort of misunderstood-youth roles that had previously been the province of Montgomery Clift and James Dean. His first significant stage success was as the younger son in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey Into Night. Signed by 20th Century-Fox in 1958, Dillman at first played standard leading men; his subtle shift to villainy occurred after he was cast as a wealthy psychopath in Compulsion, the 1959 drama based on the Leopold-Loeb case. Compulsion won Dillman an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and also threatened to typecast him for the rest of his film career, notwithstanding his leading role in Fox's Francis of Assisi (1961). It was during his Fox years that Dillman married popular cover girl Suzy Parker. Bradford Dillman has remained much in demand as a television guest star, and in 1965 was the lead on the filmed-in-Britain TV drama series Court-Martial.

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: If character actor Herb Edelman was one of the more successful stage and screen purveyors of "Everyman" roles, it was probably because he'd held down an astonishing array of meat-and-potato jobs before settling into acting. Edelman studied to be a veterinarian at Cornell University, but left during the first year. He took a tentative stab at journalism before toiling as an Armed Forces radio operator and announcer. While stationed in the Far East, Edelman entertained the notion of becoming a "Jewish Buddhist." He returned to his hometown to attend Brooklyn College, dropped out to become a hotel manager, was briefly the "straight" half of a comedy team, worked in advertising, drove a hack, and dropped back into college. Finally turning to acting full time in summer stock, Edelman began picking up small roles in New York productions, including the scene-stealing exhausted delivery man inNeil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1965), a role he recreated for the 1967 film version. Forming strong bonds with both Simon and with Barefoot star Robert Redford, Edelman would later appear in Simon's The Odd Couple and California Suite, and in the Redford/Barbara Streisand vehicle The Way We Were (1973). In 1968, Edelman co-starred with Bob Denver in the two-season TV sitcom The Good Guys. Nine years later, he starred as one-half of the title role in the weekly TV comedy/fantasy Big John, Little John (Robbie Rist was the "Little" one). Other TV series featuring Herb Edelman on a regular or recurring basis included Ladies Man, 9 to 5, Strike Force and Murder She Wrote. Fans of the sitcom The Golden Girls may remember Edelman for playing Stanley, Bea Arthur's irksome ex-husband. Edelman died of emphysema at the Motion Picture Hospital in Los Angeles on July 21, 1996; he was 62.