Trivia: Though blonde actress Joanna Kerns may be best known for her breakthrough role as Maggie Seaver on the popular 1980s television sitcom Growing Pains, the seasoned actress-turned-director has subsequently made quite a name for herself behind the camera by taking the reigns of such popular small-screen series as Ally McBeal, Felicity, Judging Amy, and Boston Public. Born Joanna Cruisse de Varona in San Francisco in 1953, the talented teen pursued many avenues before eventually discovering her love of acting. Though she would compete unsuccessfully for a spot on the 1968 Olympics Gymnastics team (her sister Donna would later take home the gold medal for swimming), she remained steadfast in her athleticism and subsequently dropped out of high school to tour with the Gene Kelly stage musical Clown Around. It wasn't long before she gained affection for the spotlight, and following a move to New York, the aspiring young actress could be spotted in a Broadway production of Ulysses in Nighttown. A move back to the West Coast resulted in numerous film and television roles, and as her television career continued to take off, the up-and-coming actress married producer Richard Kerns. On the heels of minor roles in such films as Ape (1976) and Coma (1978), roles in Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, and Hill Street Blues made Kerns a familiar face to television viewers, and by the time she accepted the role of loving mother Maggie Seaver, Kerns had also turned heads in Hunter and V. Balancing out her seven-year run on Growing Pains with numerous made-for-television feature roles, Kerns ultimately realized that her small-screen fame would inevitably be short-lived, and that realization eventually led her to step behind the camera as a frequent director for the series. Of course, her prediction did come true, and after Growing Pains went off the air in 1992, Kerns juggled acting and directing in television throughout the 1990s in addition to remarrying Mark Appleton following the breakup of her previous marriage. After helming many of the decade's most popular shows, Kerns brought in the new millennium with a role as Winona Ryder's distant mother in Girl, Interrupted before experiencing something of a family reunion with 2000's The Growing Pains Movie. Kerns' frequent recognition of her Spanish roots has also made her something of a role model to Chicano and Latino youth. In 2007 the sitcom Mom was cast as the mother of Alison, the ambitious television producer Knocked Up by Seth Rogen, and in 2009 Kerns wrote and directed the short The Gold Lunch.

Trivia: Actor John Shea launched his career on-stage in 1975 and made his feature-film debut in Hussy (1980). He began his long involvement with television in The Nativity (1978) and later won an Emmy for his work in the miniseries Baby M (1988). Between 1993 and 1997, Shea appeared on the television series Lois and Clark as villain Lex Luthor.

Trivia: Specializing in roles as cranky authority figures and unassuming mothers, longtime character actress Lee Garlington has the kind of familiar face that makes people wonder, "Where have I seen her before?" With numerous roles on some of the most popular television series of the past 20 years -- including Family Ties, Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and CSI -- most TV viewers probably have seen her face before, though wading through her exhaustive list of credits to find out where might be a daunting task. In addition to a busy television career, Garlington found a steady stream of work in features. Averaging about three films per year since her debut in the 1983 sequel Psycho II. The actress turned up again opposite Anthony Perkins three years later in Psycho III, and parts in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), The Seventh Sign (1988), and Field of Dreams (1989) rounded out the decade. Though Garlington had a featured role in the 1989 Seinfeld pilot, her character was replaced by Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when the series came to fruition the following year. Throughout the '90s, Garlington frequently alternated between the big and small screens, and though most of her TV appearances were only guest spots, she had a rare recurring role in the 1996 series Townies. Garlington became an increasingly familiar supporting player over the next few years in such features as Evolution (2001), American Pie 2 (2001), One Hour Photo (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and The Hot Chick (2002). In 2003, the longtime actress once again returned to weekly television with a role on the popular evening drama Everwood.

Trivia: Relatively unknown character actor Kurt Fuller has made a fairly consistent acting career in television and films since the late '80s, mostly playing authority figures. One of his earliest film appearances was as the head television executive in the Hulk Hogan movie No Holds Barred. Mostly working in comedies and dramas, he has also been in action thrillers (Eve of Destruction) and family-oriented adventures (Bingo). He has a lengthy list of television guest star credits, including L.A. Law, Ally McBeal, and The West Wing. In the '90s, he had starring roles in a few short-lived TV series like Capitol News, Timecop, and That's My Bush. After playing Kirk Douglas' son in the comedy Diamonds, he played the adult foil in the teen comedies The New Guy, Scary Movie, and Porn 'n Chicken. In 2002, he played Hogan's Heroes castmember Werner Klemperer in Paul Schrader's Auto Focus; the following year he appeared with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler in Anger Management. He had a small part in the Oscar winning biopic Ray, as well as the Will Smith hit The Pursuit of Happyness. He played The Dean in 2009's Van Wilder: Freshman Year, and two years later he was part of the ensemble in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.

Trivia: American actor Cliff Potts began his career billed under his real name of Cliff Potter. After featured parts in films like Man Called Gannon (1969), Silent Running (1971) and The Groundstar Conspiracy (1972), Potts essayed the title character in the 1972 independent film Cry for Me Billy. His TV movie roles include Cole Younger in 1980's Belle Starr. Cliff Potts was also a regular on several weekly series: he played John Brooke in the 1979 video adaptation of Little Women, and was seen as ex-baseball player Ted McCovey, the new husband of reporter Billie Newman (Linda Kelsey), during the 1981-82 season of Lou Grant.

Trivia: Born, raised, and educated in the Midwest, character actress Bonnie Bartlett moved to New York City with her actor husband, William Daniels (otherwise known as the voice of K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider). During the '50s, she played Vanessa Raven on the CBS soap opera Love of Life. After adopting two children in the '60s, she went on to a prolific career on television. From 1974-1977 she played widow Grace Snider who married the farmer Isaiah Edwards on Little House on the Prairie. From 1982-1988 she played Ellen, the wife of Dr. Mark Craig (played by husband Daniels) on St. Elsewhere. At the 1986 Emmy awards, the couple became the first married team to win acting awards on the same night. Of her many made-for-television movies and miniseries, she had starring roles in Right to Die, Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story, and Tuesdays With Morrie. Her supporting roles in feature films include Twins, Dave, and Primary Colors. Back on television in the late '90s, she played several reoccurring characters, most notably Lucille on Home Improvement, Dean Bolander on Boy Meets World, and Barbara Brooks on Once and Again.