Trivia: Broad-shouldered American actor Ken Wahl has proven time and again that he's more than just a mass of muscle. After a handful of supporting roles, Wahl entered cult-film Valhalla with his starring role as a Bronx-Italian highschooler in The Wanderers (1979). Arguably, his best screen role was as the "see no evil" partner of conscience-stricken cop Paul Newman in Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981). His many film appearances aside, Wahl's popularity rests with his three-year performance as underground cop Vinnie Teranova in Wiseguys (1987-90), which was impressive enough to make viewers forget Wahl's earlier series-TV stint in the unlamented adventure series Double Dare (1985).

Trivia: With the sort of GQ looks that command attention both onscreen and off, longtime actor Steven Bauer has come a long way since making an impression in Brian De Palma's controversial 1983 crime drama Scarface. A native of Cuba whose family fled to Miami shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1956, Bauer began his education at Miami-Dade Community College, where a walk-on role in the play Summer and Smoke sparked a lifelong love of acting. He transferred to the University of Miami and continued to hone his craft in such plays as Of Mice and Men, and by the time he moved to New York, Bauer was ready to study under the tutelage of acclaimed acting coach Stella Adler. It was during this time that auditions for Scarface were announced, and with his confidence bolstered by a handful of supporting roles in film and television, Bauer proved that he could hold his own opposite Al Pacino. Cast as the titular character's close friend and partner in crime, the young actor's powerful performance drew a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Although the film's notable violence and profanity ultimately provoked a backlash from both Hollywood and the viewing public, Bauer's career maintained its upward trajectory when, the following year, the handsome rising star took the lead in the romantic thriller Thief of Hearts.Throughout the '80s, roles in such high-profile films as Running Scared (1986) and Gleaming the Cube (1989) helped maintain Bauer's presence on the big screen, but it was a role in the 1990 television miniseries Drug Wars: The Camarena Story that earned him his second Golden Globe nomination and proved he could give a commanding lead performance. Increasingly relegated to low-budget thrillers and forgettable, straight-to-video fare, he had occasional roles in such films as Raising Cain (1992) and Wild Side (1995). In 2000, Bauer shared a Screen Actor's Guild award for Best Ensemble Performance in the acclaimed Steven Soderbergh crime drama Traffic, in which the actor portrayed jailed drug kingpin Carlos Ayala. The roles that immediately followed, however, seemed to offer Bauer little room to expand his talent, though his performance in the popular, but short-lived TV series UC: Undercover at least served to keep him in the spotlight before joining an impressive cast in the 2003 Bob Dylan drama Masked and Anonymous. Married to actress Melanie Griffith for the majority of the '80s, the couple divorced in 1987. Bauer married Ingrid Anderson in 1989.

Trivia: Jonathan Banks began his film career in the sort of roles described by character actor Frank Faylen as "sneezers." For example: if you sneezed, you'd miss Banks' microscopic part in 1980's Stir Crazy. He was more visible in such roles as the hitchhiker in the 1982 biopic Frances and Algren in the 1983 seriocomedy 48 Hours. On television, Jonathan Banks was cast as the scurrilous extraterrestrial Commander Kroll in Otherworld (1985) and as Frank McPike, Ken Wahl's choleric boss, in Wiseguy (1987). Banks would continue to appear in several more films over the coming years, like Dark Blue and Reign Over Me, as well as TV shows like Breaking Bad.

Trivia: Trained at HB Studio, rough-edged American actor Ray Sharkey quickly graduated to movies and television. Sharkey's first film was The Lords of Flatbush (1974), a street-gang drama that also featured early appearances by Henry Winkler and Sylvester Stallone. The actor's breakthrough film was 1980's The Idolmaker, in which he played rock 'n' roll entrepreneur Bob Marcucci; that same year, he was Phil in the low-budget but highly praised Willie and Phil. Sharkey's best known role was as Atlantic City gangster Sonny Steelgrave on the TV series "Wiseguy" (1987-90). Shortly after finishing work on the 1992 Burt Reynolds vehicle Cop and A Half, Sharkey made public the fact that he had contracted AIDS through indiscriminate drug use; he died less than one year later.

Trivia: Leading actor Joe Dallesandro gained more than his 15 minutes of fame in the '60s and '70s thanks to his presence in the experimental films of Andy Warhol. Most often cast as androgynous characters, Dallesandro was the star of the Warhol/Paul Morrissey trilogy Flesh, Trash, and Heat, and later played the title roles in the selfsame production team's Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein for which Dallesandro was praised by the cognoscenti for his "naturalistic" performances. After making his "mainstream" debut in The Gardener, he worked extensively in Europe. He made fleeting appearances as Lucky Luciano in Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) and as the father of Darren E. Burrows in John Waters' Cry-Baby (1991). Dallesandro has also been prominently featured in such TV weeklies of the 1980s as Fortune Dane, Wiseguy, and The Hollywood Detective.

Trivia: Lead actor, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: A distinguished Canadian stage, radio, film, and TV actor, Eric Christmas is probably best known to American audiences as Mr. Carter in the two Porky's films of the 1980s, or as Senator Polk in The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1980), or Roland the Butler in Warren Beatty's Bugsy (1992). Christmas also played Morten Kill in Steve McQueen's courageous adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People (1979). Eric Christmas' TV-series assignments in America have included the roles of Ben Hampton in The Sandy Duncan Show (1972) and Harry "The Hunchback" Schanstra in Wiseguys (1987-1988 season).

Trivia: A self-described "navy brat," William Russ travelled all over the country in his formative years. Russ settled down in one place long enough to attend the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; here he studied drama with such classmates as Christine Lahti. After graduation, he toured Europe as a member of the Ann Arbor mime troupe. Back in the states, he attended New York's Neighborhood Playhouse on a scholarship. His subsequent New York stage credits include MacBeth, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (in which he appeared with Al Pacino) and Buried Child. In films since 1989's Disorganized Crime, Russ' largest and most rewarding movie role (thus far) was over-the-hill ballplayer Roy Dean Bream in 1991's Pastime. Russ is best known to the public at large for his TV work: he has played Burt McCowan in Another World, Roger Lococco in Wiseguy, Redmond Dunne in Capitol News and Terry Hannon in The Middle Ages. At present, William Russ -- billed under his nickname "Rusty" -- appears on a weekly basis as Ben Savage's father on Boy Meets World, taking occasional time-outs to co-star in such made-for-TV movies as Big Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Dottie West Story (1995).

Trivia: Lead actress, onscreen from 1987.

Trivia: An actor whose remarkable versatility has often been described as chameleon-like, Kevin Spacey has made an art of portraying a gallery of morally ambiguous characters ranging from the mildly shady to the all-out murderous. His reputation as one of the best-respected actors of his generation was bolstered by an Oscar, a Tony, and an award as Best Actor of the Decade from England's Empire magazine in 1999.The son of a technical procedure writer and a secretary, Spacey was born in South Orange, NJ, on July 26, 1959. His family moved a great deal thanks to his father's job, eventually settling for a time in Los Angeles. It was there that Spacey -- who had previously done a stint at military school -- attended Chatsworth High School, where he was very active in the theater. After an attempt at standup comedy, Spacey went to Juilliard, though his time was cut short after his second year, when he decided to quit school and begin his career.He made his theatrical debut in 1981 with Shakespeare in the Park, performing alongside the likes of Mandy Patinkin and John Goodman. The actor continued to be a fixture on the theater scene throughout the decade, performing both on Broadway and in regional productions. It was through the theater that he got his first big break: While auditioning for a Tom Stoppard play, Spacey was approached by director Mike Nichols, who cast him in his production of David Rabe's Hurlyburly. The actor's work in the play led Nichols to cast him as a subway mugger in his 1986 Heartburn. Two years later, the director and actor worked together again in Working Girl, in which Spacey had a small but memorable role as a sleazy businessman.By this time, Spacey was starting to work steadily in film, although he maintained his stage work, winning a 1990 Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of Lost in Yonkers. He also did a substantial amount of television work, appearing on the series Wiseguy as deranged criminal Mel Proffitt. Criminal or morally questionable activities were to figure largely in Spacey's subsequent portrayals: His first starring role in a film was as the husband of a murdered woman in the 1992 Consenting Adults. The same year, he won acclaim for his portrayal of a foul-mouthed, leech-like real estate agent in James Foley's screen adaptation of the David Mamet play, Glengarry Glen Ross. Spacey landed his next memorable film role as yet another foul-mouthed jerk in the 1994 Swimming With Sharks, which he also co-produced. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his portrayal of an abusive studio executive, and he gained further recognition the same year for his entirely different role in The Ref, in which he played one half of a constantly arguing married couple. However, it was with his performance in the following year's The Usual Suspects that Spacey fully stepped into the spotlight. As the enigmatic, garrulous "Verbal" Kint, Spacey was one of the more celebrated aspects of the critically lauded sleeper hit, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work. The actor won additional acclaim the same year for his role as a serial killer in the stylish and unrelentingly creepy thriller Seven. Spacey went on to make his directorial debut the following year with Albino Alligator. A New Orleans-based crime drama starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise, the film won some positive reviews, though it made little impact at the box office. In addition to directing, Spacey kept busy with acting, appearing the same year in A Time to Kill and Al Pacino's documentary Looking for Richard. The actor went on to star in Clint Eastwood's highly anticipated 1997 adaptation of John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and then had a sizable role in the big-budget The Negotiator in 1998. The same year, he also lent his voice to the computer-animated A Bug's Life and starred in the screen adaptation of Hurlyburly. While doing steady film work, Spacey also continued to appear on the stage, winning raves for his performance in an adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, first on the London stage in 1998, and then on Broadway the following year. Also in 1999, Spacey won an Academy Award as Best Actor for American Beauty, director Sam Mendes' dark comedy about a man experiencing a mid-life crisis. Following up Beauty with starring roles in The Big Kahuna and Ordinary Decent Criminal, Spacey would later appear as a mental patient who claims to be from a distant planet in K-PAX. K-Pax proved to be a minor flop, as did the actor's other major film in 2001, Lasse Hallstrom's adaptation of The Shipping News. Although Spacey drew positive notices for his portrayal of a man trying to start a new life in Newfoundland, the film, which also starred Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, and Judi Dench, quickly sank at the box office and received only a lukewarm reception from critics.Spacey maintained a busy schedule throughout 2003, appearing in three disparate projects that reflected his extraordinary versatility. Besides cropping up as himself in the third Austin Powers outing, Austin Powers: Goldmember, he played the title character of The Life of David Gale, the story of a University of Texas professor whose anti-capital punishment stance assumes very personal meaning when he is convicted of rape and murder and lands on death row; the picture received a critical drubbing and faded quickly from view. That year, Spacey also starred in The United States of Leland, playing the father of a fifteen-year-old (Ryan Gosling) who murders an autistic child.2004 marked a key year for Spacey. The actor -- who had dreamed of portraying crooner Bobby Darin since childhood, and spent years striving to produce a biopic of the late singer through his production house, Trigger Horse Productions, ultimately realized that goal in December '04. In addition to starring Spacey as Darin, the biopic, entitled Beyond the Sea, enlisted Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, John Goodman as Steve Blauner, and Brenda Blethyn as Polly Cassotto. Beyond earned a decidedly mixed critical reception.In 2005, Spacey cut back on his acting schedule and devoted more attention to his role as artistic director of the legendary Old Vic Theatre in London -- a position he had assumed in 2003, under ten-year contract. In a Charlie Rose appearance c. 2005, the actor openly discussed his desire to use his position to revive a series of theatrical classics and reestablish The Vic as one of the world's premier stage venues. Unfortunately, Spacey's work here also earned some derision; under his aegis, The Vic mounted Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues in May 2006 - an effort helmed by Robert Altman - and it drew vicious critical pans, one from a reviewer who demanded that Spacey resign. Although Spacey listened to the complaints about the Altman effort, (shelving the production during the theater's busy summer tourist season), he vowed to continue his efforts at the Vic unabated.Summer 2006 also saw the actor appearing in the highly anticipated big-budget extravaganza Superman Returns, playing Lex Luthor to Brandon Routh's Superman/Clark Kent and Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane. With a powerhouse supporting cast that includes Frank Langella (Good Night, and Good Luck.), and Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest), the picture predictably opened up to spectacular box office (becoming one of summer's top grossers) and enthusiastic critical notices. Those who did criticize the film singled out Spacey's interpretation of the Luthor role.About a month prior to the Superman debut, Spacey signed with Warner Brothers to co-star in Joe Claus (originally titled Fred Claus), a Christmas comedy that reteamed Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin with funnyman Vince Vaughn, and enlisted Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Sideways) as a co-star. Additional roles in the years that followed further reflected Spacey's penchant for the offbeat, such as his portrayal of an envious military man caught up in psychic phenomena in the satire The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009), corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the acerbic comedy Casino Jack (2010) and a sadistic boss with a taste for humiliation in Horrible Bosses (2011). Meanwhile, at about the same time, Spacey took on the role of one of Shakespeare's most iconic villains in the Old Vic's production of Richard III - for which he earned considerable critical praise. In 2013, Spacey returned to television on Netflix's House of Cards, playing ruthless congressman Frank Underwood, earning Spacey nominations from the Emmys, SAGs and Golden Globes. In 2015, he earned both a Special Olivier Award for his work as the artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, and was awarded an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II (though, as he's not a British or Commonwealth citizen, he's not entitled to be called "Sir.")

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the '70s.

Trivia: After building a career as a character actor playing dozens of military men and cops, Ken Jenkins founds steady work and notoriety in 2001 when he was cast as Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso on NBC's Scrubs. Born in New Boston, OH, Jenkins began acting on the stage in the 1960s and continued to be a presence in the theater world throughout the '70s and into the '80s before transitioning to a screen career. His film roles included such varying and prominent features as Matewan and The Abyss, and his TV work included work on everything from Newhart to Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1991, Jenkins got his first taste of regular series work when he was cast on the acclaimed family drama Homefront, which lasted two seasons. More supporting work followed before the creators of Scrubs came knocking and offered the role for which he would come to be best known. He would appear on the show until 2010, after which he took on a recurring role on the series Cougar Town.

Trivia: Supporting actor Anthony Denison has appeared onscreen since the '80s.

Trivia: Born Joseph Levitch to show business parents, Jerry Lewis spent his early summers with his parents as they performed in resorts of the Catskills Mountain "borscht belt;" occasionally he would join their act by singing a song. After one year of high school, he dropped out and started looking for work as an entertainer, supporting himself with a variety of odd jobs. He was an experienced one-night-stand comic by the time he was 18; his act consisted in part of mimicking famous performers whose recordings would be played off-stage. He married Patty Palmer, a singer with the Jimmy Dorsey band, when he was 18, supporting himself and his wife by entertaining in the Catskills during the summers. He met Dean Martin, another small-time entertainer, in 1946, and the two formed a comedy team. Their first appearance, at Atlantic City's 500 Club, was a big success; soon they were playing to packed houses all over the country. Martin would sing and be interrupted by Lewis's wacky clowning, and the two would ad-lib and trade insults; by the end of the '40s they were the most popular comedy team in America, performing on stage, TV, and in nightclubs. They were signed to a Paramount movie contract in 1949 by Hal Wallis, debuting as supporting players in My Friend Irma (1949). Before splitting up in 1956, they starred in 16 films together, all with the same structure: Martin would play a calm, suave, romantic singer and Lewis would play a hyperkinetic misfit. The films were all solid performers at the box office. Lewis went his own way in order to have more control over his films, and subsequently he often produced, directed, and/or wrote the movies he appeared in. Generally unappreciated (if not panned) in America, his films were considered works of genius in France, where he became known as "Le Roi du Crazy;" two influential French film magazines agreed that his work brilliantly unveiled truths about America. He went to Paris in 1971, receiving a rousing welcome and playing 16 sold-out performances at the Olympia. The same year he published The Complete Filmmaker, in which he outlined his theory of film and its techniques. Since 1970 his film work has been very limited, but includes a noteworthy performance as a Johnny Carson-like talk show host in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1983). Every Labor Day Weekend he hosts a telethon to raise money in the battle against muscular dystrophy.

Trivia: Ron Silver was known for his extraordinary stage presence and high-energy portrayals of a variety of offbeat characters in films and on television. A native New Yorker, Silver studied Chinese at State University of New York at Buffalo and drama at the Herbert Berghof Studio and the Actors Studio. After receiving his bachelor's from S.U.N.Y., Silver earned a master's degree in Chinese history at the College of Chinese Culture in Taiwan and then returned to New York to study at the aforementioned acting studios. 1976 was a big year for Silver who debuted as a comedian in feature films (Tunnelvision), television (The Mac Davis Show), and theater (El Grande de Coca-Cola). He was also a regular cast member between 1976 and 1978 on the sitcom Rhoda, and then appeared in several made-for-television movies before appearing in Semi-Tough (1977). His feature film career picked up in the early '80s, but he did not get his first big break until he starred opposite Anne Bancroft in Sidney Lumet's Garbo Talks (1984). Silver earned critical acclaim in 1989 for starring in Philip Saville's Fellow Traveler as a Hollywood screenwriter forced to flee his family and friends to avoid getting blacklisted during the early '50s. That same year, Silver won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for starring in David Mamet's Speed-The-Plow and scored a second film coup in Paul Mazursky's adaptation of author Isaac Bashevis Singer's Enemies, A Love Story. In the years to follow,, the busy Silver, who juggled his time between the three entertainment forms, became a respected mid-range star who could be counted on to deliver consistently strong, fine performances. As the '90s progressed, he moved into more lead roles playing everything from psychopaths (Blue Steel [1990]), senators (Time Cop [1994]), sleazy lawyers (in the TV medical drama Chicago Hope [1994- ]), and scientists (The Arrival [1996]). Silver died of esophageal cancer in 2009 at the age of 62.

Trivia: Lead actress Patricia Charbonneau was first seen on screen in Desert Hearts (1986).

Trivia: Like many another contemporary movie and TV favorite, Stanley Tucci is a graduate of the drama department at SUNY-Purchase. Tucci made his film bow in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, after which he specialized in playing lowlifes and scuzzbags, despite his offscreen credentials as a loyal friend and loving family man. Some of his more memorable appearances were as Rick Pinzolo in TV's Wiseguy (1987-1989), a minor-league thug named Vernon in Beethoven (1992), and a Middle-Eastern assassin in The Pelican Brief (1993). Tucci acquired a fan following of sorts for his slimy year-long role of Richard Cross on the weekly TV series Murder One (1995).In 1996, Tucci broke loose from his established screen persona by playing an ambitious Italian-American restaurateur in Big Night, the most delightfully "gastronomic" film since Like Water for Chocolate. The art-house favorite was a sheer labor of love for Tucci, who served as its producer, co-wrote its script with his cousin Joe Tropiano, and shared directorial duties with his friend Campbell Scott. Tucci again directed two years later with The Impostors, a farcical comedy that cast him and longtime friend Oliver Platt as two stowaways on an ocean liner. Unlike Big Night, however, the film did not do well with audiences or critics. After starring in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1998) as Puck and In Too Deep (1999) as a police supervisor, Tucci again stepped behind the camera, this time to direct Joe Gould's Secret (2000). A historical drama about an eccentric man (Ian Holm) living on the streets of Greenwich Village, it received a very enthusiastic reception at the 2000 Sundance Festival, where it premiered. The early 2000s seemed to be a winning period for the versatile actor, with Tucci also taking home the Best Supporting Actor in a television movie award for his role in Conspiracy (2001). That same year he appeared in America's Sweethearts as an intense movie mogul. He continued doing solid work even when the finished films were sometimes lacking. He played in the Jennifer Lopez hit Maid in Manhattan, Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition, the American remake of Shall We Dance?, and landed his largest role in a major Hollywood production when Steven Spielberg cast him as the ambitious, officious manager of The Terminal. Tucci lent his voice to the animated film Robots in 2005, and the next year earned solid notices for his work as a fashion magazine editor loyal to the diva editor in chief Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.The highly-respected character actor continued to work steadily in a variety of projects, but a pair of high-profile supporting roles in 2009 earned him strong reviews and awards consideration. As the husband to Julia Child in Julie & Julia, Tucci got to work opposite Meryl Streep yet again in another box-office hit, but it was his creepy turn as a child killer in the big screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones that earned him Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations.In 2010 he appeared opposite Cher in Burlesque, and was a loving father in the sleeper hit Easy A. In 2012, Tucci was cast as the announcer and emcee Caesar Flickman in the hit adaptation of the smash novel The Hunger Games. Tucci continued to be a work horse, appearing in seven films in 2014, including Transformers: Age of Extinction and a cameo in Muppets Most Wanted.

Trivia: Best known as a singer/songwriter and guitarist for one America's most successful and enduring popular music groups the Eagles, as well as for having written and performed such solo hits as "Smuggler's Blues," Glenn Frey was also an occasional actor on television and in feature films. He debuted in the former medium in 1985, as a guest star on the flashy detective series Miami Vice. The aforementioned song was also featured . Frey also guested on Wiseguy and played the lead in the short-lived CBS detective drama South of Sunset (1993). He made his feature film debut co-starring opposite Gary Busey and Robert Duvall in Let's Get Harry (1987). A decade later, Frey played the owner of the Arizona Cardinals, Dennis Wilburn, in the Tom Cruise vehicle Jerry Maguire. Frey died in 2016, at age 67.

Trivia: Before he inaugurated his professional career, African-American actor Paul Winfield received a well-rounded education: He trained at the University of Portland, Los Angeles City College, Stanford, U.C.L.A., the University of Hawaii, and the University of Santa Barbara. After stage work, Winfield received his first major Hollywood break as Paul Cameron on the TV sitcom Julia (1968-1971). In films from 1969, he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a fiercely proud sharecropper in Sounder (1972). Back on the small screen, he earned Emmy nominations for his interpretation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1978 miniseries King and his work as Dr. Huguley in 1979's Roots: The Next Generation. An indispensable purveyor of authoritative roles, he has played several judges, winning a 1994 Emmy for his performance in this capacity on TV's Picket Fences. Paul Winfield has also been seen on a regular basis in three television series, playing Julian C. Barlow in the 1989-1990 episodes of 227, Isaac Tuhle in Wiseguy (1987-1991), and a no-nonsense Magic Mirror (voice only) in the 1987 Cinderella spoof The Charmings. In 2004, not long after playing a small role in a remake of Sounder, Winfield suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 62.

Trivia: American actress Patti D'Arbanville was 13 when she was discovered by "underground" filmmaker Andy Warhol. Wary of Warhol's reputation, D'Arbanville's mother wouldn't permit her daughter to work for the director until the girl was 17 -- at which point she enacted a lesbian love scene in Warhol's Flesh (1968). Unlike many Warhol protegees, D'Arbanville was able to matriculate to mainstream movies, though many of these, particularly the 1977 Bilitis, were obsessed with sex and procreation. The actress endeared herself to middle-America movie fans in the Barbra Streisand/Ryan O'Neal vehicle The Main Event (1979), stealing the show as a girl with a hacking (and hilarious) cough. Other D'Arbanville performances of note include the role of Ken Wahl's lady love on the TV series Wiseguy, and the redoubtable Cathy Smith in the 1989 John Belushi biopic Wired.

Trivia: For several years, the name of British actor Tim Curry was known only to the privileged few who'd seen his performance as transvestite mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter in the stage and screen versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. By one of those wondrous quirks of fate, the 1975 Rocky Horror film was resuscitated from its disappointing initial run and became the archetypal "midnight movie," and for nearly two decades its faithful fans have lined up in front of theaters in bizarre costumes and makeup, toting toilet paper and toast (suitable for throwing at the screen). Unlike these fans, Curry was not content to relive his past triumphs, but moved on to such prestige assignments as the role of Mozart in the Broadway production of Amadeus and the part of William Shakespeare in a TV movie biography. A polished farceur, Curry was seen at his best in comedy film roles, notably the repressed music teacher in Oscar (1991) and the supercilious concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992). But audiences must have their villains, and Curry has aimed to please in such insidious roles as Cardinal Richelieu in 1993's Three Musketeers (possibly the most lascivious Richelieu ever -- so much so that Milady De Winter pulls out a knife and threatens to "change his religion.") Curry's heart remained in the theater, and for an unfortunately short period in the early '90s he excelled in the Peter O'Toole role in a musical stage version of the 1982 film My Favorite Year. He has also contributed his vocal talents to such animated cartoon series as Peter Pan and the Pirates, winning an Emmy for his con brio portrayal of Captain Hook. Curry's reputation preceded him when he was hired to give voice to a nasty character on Hanna-Barbera's Paddington Bear cartoon series in 1988; appropriately, even the character's name was Mr. Curry.In 1990 Curry played one of pop culture's scariest clowns when he took the part of Pennywise in a small-screen adaptation of It, and a few years later he was the fiendish Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers. He continued to work steadily in projects as diverse as Congo, Muppet Treasure Island, McHale's Navy, and Addams Family Reunion where he took over the part of Gomez Adams after the passing of Raul Julia. He became well-known to a whole new generation of fans doing voices for The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, and Jimmy Neutron at the beginning of the 2000s. He was eventually cast as Mr. Salamone, the forever put-upon hotel employee who is subjected to the whims of little Eloise in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the enduringly popular children's books. In 2010 he appeared in John Landis' comedy Burke & Hare.

Trivia: A veteran character actor of stage and screen, George O. Petrie will be recognized by fans of the NBC sitcom Mad About You as Paul Reiser's film editor. A native of New Haven, CT, and a 1934 graduate from U.S.C., Petrie's interest in acting led him to New York where he landed a role in the Broadway production of Cafe Crown. While serving in the military during WWII, Petrie appeared in the Broadway production of The Army Play by Play, a five-part anthology comprised of vignettes penned by soldiers from as many camps. The show ran for six months and played a command performance before President Roosevelt. Upon transferring to the Air Corps, Petrie was cast in Moss Hart's inspirational Winged Victory. Following its four-month run, Petrie went on to appear in George Cukor's film version. Petrie became a radio performer after his discharge and starred in several dramas, including The Amazing Mr. Malone. He turned to television acting in the '50s and began starring in live soap operas such as As the World Turns and Edge of Night as well as playing a semi-regular part on Jackie Gleason's The Honeymooners. Petrie would remain associated with Gleason on various projects through 1969. Petrie's filmography includes Hud (1963), Something in Common (1986), and Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987). Petrie died of lymphoma in his Brentwood, CA, home at the age 85.

Trivia: James Stacy had passed the quarter-century mark before deciding upon an acting career. In 1956, Stacy's James Dean-ish handsomeness landed him a part in a Pepsi-Cola commercial. Afterward, Stacy put together a portfolio and started making the casting rounds. Unfortunately, his difficult attitude managed to get him fired from his first film role in South Pacific (1958), and had his lines taken away from him in Sayonara (1957). His recurring appearances as Fred on TV's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet started the ball rolling again, and by 1965 Stacy was Columbia Pictures' answer to Frankie Avalon, starring in such Beach Party rip-offs as A Swingin' Summer and Winter a Go Go. He also found time to marry actress Connie Stevens, only to lose her to singer Eddie Fisher. Stacy's second wife was Kim Darby. From 1968 through 1971, Stacy starred on the TV western Lancer. Two years after the series' cancellation, he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, which cost him his left arm and leg. Courageously refusing to retire, he began appearing in roles specially written to accommodate his handicap. His comeback film was the 1975 Kirk Douglas western Posse, in which he was cast in the nonambulatory role of newspaper editor Hellman. In 1977, he starred in the TV-movie Just a Little Inconvenience, playing a double-amputee Vietnam veteran. And in Disney's 1982 fantasy film Something Wicked This Way Comes, Stacy plays a crippled, embittered bartender, who makes the mistake of his life when he wishes to be "whole" again. His last regular TV role was Rogosheske in the weekly cop series Wiseguy. In 1996, once he was retired from acting, he served a six-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to the molestation of a minor (Stacy's erratic behavior around his arrest negated the hope of only getting probation for the incident). He was released in 2001 and resumed his life as a private citizen. Stacy died in 2016.

Trivia: Maximilian Schell may not be a household name, but he is internationally respected, particularly in Europe, as an award-winning actor/director of stage and screen. He was born in Vienna, Austria, on December 8, 1930, but raised in Switzerland after his parents, Swiss author/poet Hermann Ferdinand Schell and Austrian actress Margarethe Noe von Nordberg, fled there to escape the effects of Nazi Germany's forcible annexation of Austria in 1938. As a young man, Schell studied at three universities -- Zurich, Basel, and Munich -- before making his professional stage debut in 1952. In 1955, he appeared in his first film, Kinder, Mütter und ein General. He next debuted on Broadway and then in Hollywood, playing a German officer who befriends fellow soldier Marlon Brando in The Young Lions (1958). Schell earned an Oscar in 1961 for his intriguing performance as a defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, and would subsequently be nominated for Oscars for his work in The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and Julia (1977). In 1968, he produced Das Schloss (The Castle) and made his feature film directorial/screenwriting debut with Erste Liebe (First Love) in 1970. The latter film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film, as did his 1973 effort Der Fussgänger. The latter also won him a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. As a director and producer, Schell distinguished himself on the international stage with productions such as the remarkable Tales From the Vienna Woods and the modern opera Coronet. In addition to film and stage work, he has occasionally worked on television, winning a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Lenin in the HBO miniseries Stalin (1992) and additional acclaim for his work in Peter the Great (1986) and Joan of Arc (1999). Schell's screen appearances became sporadic in the later 1980s, and he rarely branched out from acting. Notable films from the '90s included a rare comic role opposite Marlon Brando in The Freshman (1990), a dramatic turn as a stern patriarch in screenwriter Joe Eszterhas' autobiographical Telling Lies in America (1997), Tea Leoni's father in Deep Impact (1998), and a cardinal in John Carpenter's Vampires (1998). When not busying himself on stage, screen, and television, he distinguished himself as a concert pianist and conductor. He performed with Claudio Abado, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony, and Leonard Bernstein.In his later years before his death in 2014 he appeared in Fisimatenten, and in 2002 he directed My Sister Maria. In 2008 he appeared in both House of the Sleeping Beauties, and the con-artist comedy The Brothers Bloom.