Trivia: A successful standup comedian, the headliner of one of television's most popular sitcoms, a movie star, and a best-selling author, Tim Allen spent much of the '90s being a "Male Pig," a source of pride for countless men, and a franchise unto himself. He was born Timothy Allen Dick, in Denver, CO, one of ten brothers and sisters. Mercilessly teased by his peers because of his last name, Allen developed a keen sense of humor to protect himself. His father died in an auto accident in 1964 when Allen was 11, and his mother later married an old high school flame who had also lost his wife in a car crash. Eventually the family moved to a suburb of Detroit. In 1976, Allen graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in television production and went on to work in a sporting goods store and then in an advertising agency. He made his debut as a standup comedian at Detroit's Comedy Castle in 1979 after accepting a dare from a good friend, but his career was cut short when he was arrested for dealing cocaine and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Following his release, Allen decided to turn over a new leaf and concentrate on his standup career. His early comedy routines were characterized by their vulgarity, and Allen did not find success until he perfected his "Men Are Pigs" routine. A glorious celebration of the masculine mystique centering on the joys of big block engines and tools (especially power tools), punctuated by his trademark manly grunting, the routine made him a hot property on the nightclub circuit and led to a series of televised specials on the Showtime cable network in the early '90s. While constructing his career, Allen moonlighted in television commercials, including spots as Mr. Goodwrench. It was while performing for a Showtime special that he got his break in series television. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chairman of Disney Studios, saw his act, liked it, and with Walt Disney Company chairman Michael Eisner, offered him the lead in a couple of planned series based on popular films; but Allen didn't feel they were right and suggested instead that they do a series based on his comedy character. They agreed, and Home Improvement, the continuing saga of bumbling TV handyman (whose show somewhat resembled This Old House) Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor and his brood, debuted on the ABC television network in September 1991. It quickly went on to become one of the most consistently highly rated shows on television. Allen made his starring feature film debut in 1994 with the box-office busting The Santa Clause. That same year, he also published a best-selling book, Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man. In 1995, he provided the voice for the heroic toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear in Disney's computer-generated extravaganza Toy Story, and the following year published his second book I'm Not Really Here, a more philosophical look at his life, his fame, and his family. In 1997, he starred in the largely panned Jungle to Jungle, and could not be seen on the big screen again until 1999. That year -- the same year Home Improvement ended its highly successful run -- he reprised his Buzz Lightyear role for Toy Story 2 and starred in the sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest. Though his next film, Big Trouble, was pulled from its original release date and delayed by Touchstone (the studio thought audiences may find the plot involving a missing nuclear bomb distasteful after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks), fans could still get their fill of the popular funnyman with the release of Joe Somebody in late 2001.When Big Trouble and Joe Somebody proved to be box-office duds, Allen returned to familiar territory in 2002, starring in the sequel The Santa Clause 2. With the success of that sequel under his belt, Allen stuck with the holiday genre for his next starring role. Playing opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, Allen filled the lead for 2004's adaptation of John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, Christmas with the Kranks; in what was becoming a pattern in his career, the movie was reviled by critics, but did well at the box-office. Allen fared slightly better with his first 2006 effort, a remake of Disney's The Shaggy Dog. Summer 2006's superhero-school comedy Zoom came and went; a second Santa Clause sequel, entitled The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, did modest business considering the franchise. The early-2007 weekend-warrior comedy Wild Hogs -- in which Allen joined Martin Lawrence, John Travolta and William H. Macy -- may not have seemed like a good bet on paper, but its surprise success did much to establish Allen in a new, non-holiday franchise.Allen went outside his comfort zone to play a spoiled Hollywood superstar in David Mamet's Redbelt in 2008, and a couple of years later he directed Crazy on the Outside. He reliably returned to voice Buzz Lightyear in a third Toy Story film, as well as in a handful of shorts created by Pixar featuring the character. In 2011 he returned to the small-screen as the star of Last Man Standing, and the next year he narrated the Disney nature film Chimpanzee.

Trivia: The ever-fascinating Nancy Travis excelled in edgy, neurotic characterizations during the 1990s; she sounds like a chain-smoker or Valium-popper even when not playing one. Graduating with a BA degree from New York University, Travis apprenticed at Circle in the Square, acted in the touring company of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, and starred on Broadway with Judd Hirsch in I'm Not Rappaport. As a means of continually recharging her creative batteries, she helped found the Naked Angels, an off-Broadway acting troupe. After laboring in virtual anonymity in such TV movies as Malice in Wonderland (1985), Travis was afforded top billing in the 1986 two-parter Harem, lending a little artistry and dignity to an otherwise trivial affair. Her movie breakthrough was in the role of the errant, unmarried British mother Sylvia in Three Men and a Baby (1987) and its 1990 sequel Three Men and a Little Lady. More complex roles came her way in Internal Affairs (1992), The Vanishing (1993) and Chaplin (1993); in the latter film, she appeared as the real-life Joan Barry, whose spiteful and unfounded paternity suit against Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr.) was the beginning of the end of The Little Tramp's Hollywood career. Even when playing comedy in So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Travis retained her ticking-bomb, "don't turn your back on me" aura. Nancy Travis' television credits of the 1990s include her gravelly voiceover work as Aunt Bernice on the animated weekly Duckman (1993- ) and her starring stint on the so-so 1995 sitcom Almost Perfect.

Trivia: An actor of seemingly boundless range, New York-born Hector Elizondo began his career as a dancer. His initial training was at the Ballet Arts school of Carnegie Hall, from which he moved on to the Actors Studio. After several years' stage work, Elizondo made an inauspicious movie debut as "The Inspector" in the low-budget sex film The Vixens (1969). He was shown to better advantage in his next film, Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970), which he followed up with strong character parts in such Manhattan-based productions as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Thieves (1977). With Young Doctors in Love (1982), Elizondo began his long association with director Garry Marshall, who has since cast the actor in all of his films, in roles both sizable (Matt Dillon's dad in The Flamingo Kid [1984], the cafe owner in Frankie and Johnny [1991]), and microscopic (Overboard [1987]). Elizondo's screen roles have run the gamut from scrungy garbage scow captains to elegant concierges (Pretty Woman). In addition, he has been a regular on several mediocre television series: Popi, Freebie and the Bean, Casablanca (in the old Claude Rains role of Inspector Renault), a.k.a. Pablo, Foley Square, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, In 1994, Elizondo took on a co-starring role as a demanding chief of surgery on the popular TV medical drama Chicago Hope. Other non-Marshall highlights in his filmography include Tortilla Soup, Overboard, Necessary Roughness, and Music Within.

Trivia: Is the daughter of a retired police chief. Did print modeling work as a child. Directed a 2011 production of the play This Is Our Youth in Los Angeles. Joined the cast of the show Last Man Standing after its first season, becoming the second actress to play the role of Kristin. Hobbies include traveling and photography. Considers 27 to be her lucky number.

Trivia: Began taking classes at the Dallas Young Actors Studio at age 9. Took classes in gymnastics, ballet and skating, and played soccer before her parents let her begin acting. Was discovered by an agent during a talent showcase. Once ate a huge amount of chicken snacks during a long fast-food restaurant ad shoot and had "the time of my life."

Trivia: Got her first role in a musical at age 11.Spent her summers at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center.Booked her first audition at age 15.Studied acting at Stan Kirsch Studios and the Michael Woolson Studio in Los Angeles.Studied singing with Rachael Lawrence and at Stagedoor Manor.Studied improv at UCB.Performed alongside Neil Patrick Harris on the tv show Glee.

Trivia: Once played six characters in the same play, a production of A Christmas Carol at the Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina. Decided to pursue an acting career at age 16 and appeared in commercials before landing a role in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Considered becoming an engineer and studied drafting at Blue Ridge Community College in North Carolina. Hobbies include surfing and riding motorcycles. Is an Eagle Scout.

Trivia: Started his acting career in television commercials for many brands, including Google, Walgreens, Subway, Meijers Department Stores and Shriner's Hospital.Joined Last Man Standing in the second season, replacing twins Evan and Luke Kruntchev, as Boyd Baxter's age jumped three years.Was replaced in the seventh season of Last Man Standing by actor Jet Jurgensmeyer.Supports the autism charity, Act Today.Best known for playing Boyd Baxter in the sitcom Last Man Standing.

Trivia: Comes from a family of actors, having Danny, Christopher and Alanna Masterson as siblings. Made guest appearances on his brothers' TV series That '70s Show and Malcolm in the Middle during the early 2000s. Supporter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Trivia: Is the youngest of five children. First stage role was in Arthur Miller's Danger: Memory. Discovered by a TV casting director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he was playing Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew. Starred on the short-lived Fox series American Embassy and had recurring roles on the crime dramas Bones and Women's Murder Club. Lent his voice to the animated movie Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) and the video games Army of Two: The 40th Day and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Is an avid reader and chess player.

Trivia: Started acting while at musical-theater camp when she was a child. Worked as a model. Her first TV role was on the Fox sitcom The Grubbs. Appeared on Lost as the teenage Eloise Hawking.

Trivia: Made professional debut at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA. (where she grew up) at age 13. Was nominated for a Philadelphia Barrymore Award as Little Red Riding Hood in a 2000 production of Into the Woods and for a New York Drama League Award for the same role in 2002 (her Broadway debut). Made her movie debut in the 2008 comedy College Road Trip. Costarred in the horror movies Paranormal Activity 2 and 3. Starred in a 2010 production of The Diary of Anne Frank at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse.

Trivia: A popular comedian during the 1970s, Jay Leno is best known as the man who replaced Johnny Carson at the helm of The Tonight Show in 1992. Leno was born James Douglas Muir Leno to parents of Italian and Scottish heritage (Leno is particularly fond of discussing the Italian part) in New Rochelle, NY, but was raised in Andover, MA. During the year in which he was establishing his standup career, Leno was performing 300 nights throughout North America. He made his television debut on the Merv Griffin Show and his acting debut in Silver Bears (1977). That year he appeared in the cast of the short-lived Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Show, a musical variety summer replacement series. By the early '80s, Leno had left behind any notion of becoming an actor because his comedy career was in high gear. His subsequent film appearances have been as himself or as a parody of himself (The Flintstones, 1994). Leno made his first appearance on The Tonight Show on March 2, 1977. Though he can be sharp and is an astute political commentator, there is something nice and comforting about the soft-eyed, lantern-jawed funnyman that appeals to vast middle-American audiences, the same sort who regularly tuned in to Carson. It is small wonder that Leno became Carson's sole guest host by 1987. Leno hosted his first show as Carson's successor on May 25, 1992, with comedian Billy Crystal as his first guest. There was much furor surrounding the selection of Leno as many believed fellow late night gab-meister David Letterman would inherit the throne. Since taking the Tonight Show's reigns, Leno has attempted to inject the show with a slightly hipper edge by featuring more radical musical acts and affecting a more casual look. It's a tough balancing act, for he must do so without alienating his older, more conservative fan base. Leno would conitnue to host The Tonight Show until a brief stint in 2009, when the network had contracted earlier to hand hosting duties over to Conan O'Brien. Leno moved into an earlier time slot with a comedy show called The Jay Leno Show, but after some controversy, he resumed hosting duties on the Tonight Show, and O'Brien took his act over to TBS.

Trivia: If ever there were a comic geared to one particular demographic, Bill Engvall is he. Hailed by many fans as one of the true protégés of Jeff Foxworthy (with whom he has often performed), Engvall caters to fans of "redneck comedy" -- one-liners and anecdotes about pickup trucks, beer guzzling, tailgating, deer hunting, and assorted acts of blue-collar mayhem. Oddly, Engvall (unlike, say, Larry the Cable Guy) often sports a far more polished look than many of his contemporaries with the same brand of material. Through it all, Engvall remained imminently successful and racked up a massive and loyal fan base of American everymen.Born William Ray Engvall Jr. on July 27, 1957, in Galveston, TX, the future comedian/actor reportedly moved around a great deal with his family as a tyke. Engvall acted in local productions as a child and adolescent, then launched a series of successful routines at the Dallas Comedy Corner. He moved to Los Angeles with his wife in 1984, and first gained public recognition some time later with an appearance on the popular CBS sitcom Designing Women in the very early '90s and a guest-star spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (the mecca for standup comedians) just prior to Carson's departure. In 1992, Engvall landed a recurring role on the short-lived sitcom Delta (with Delta Burke as a struggling country singer); he played Buck Overton, the husband of Delta's cousin and number one fan, Lavonne (Gigi Rice). Unfortunately, ABC canceled that program after less than one year.Engvall's standup albums began appearing in 1997. He benefited hugely from his association with Foxworthy, who featured the comic in an occasional supporting role on his sitcom The Jeff Foxworthy Show; the two then teamed up with Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White for the mega-successful Blue Collar Comedy Tour, which spawned its own concert film in 2003. Doubtless banking off the success of these efforts, the WB network launched an SNL-style sketch comedy program, Blue Collar TV, in 2004 -- to which Engvall often contributed material. Following several solo performance films (including Bill Engvall: Here's Your Sign Live in 2004 and Bill Engvall: 15° Off Cool in 2007), Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy co-starred in the feature comedy Delta Farce (2007), as a couple of blue-collar Joes mistaken for Army personnel. In mid-2007, Engvall finally scored his own sitcom, appropriately titled The Bill Engvall Show. Co-starring Nancy Travis and Tim Meadows, the TBS show followed the work and family life of family counselor Bill Pearson (Engvall). In 2009, the comedian released Aged and Confused, a comedy set detailing the pitfalls of middle age, and took on a hosting gig in 2011 for a re-launch of the gameshow Lingo.

Trivia: Was a competitive figure skater as a child. Fell in love with acting after playing Claire in The Nutcracker on Ice. Sang at the 2011 Friends of On Lok Fashion Show fundraiser, in San Francisco to raise money toward helping senior citizens. Performed for the 2012 Asian Health Services fundraiser gala. Has appeared in commercials for Samsung, Universal Studios and McDonald's.

Trivia: Though most commonly associated with her multi-season portrayal of marketing executive Gina Waters-Payne, significant other of Martin Payne (Martin Lawrence) on the Fox sitcom Martin (1992-97), Tisha Campbell began her lengthy Hollywood career with a role that film buffs will have little difficulty remembering. Campbell made her feature debut as Chiffon, a member of the black female doo-wop group that acts as a Greek chorus, in the 1986 Frank Oz musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors (1986). An Oklahoma City native, born to a coat factory employee father and a gospel singer mother, Campbell moved with her family to Newark, New Jersey at the age of three, where the entire clan suffered from abject poverty. At age 6, Campbell won a talent contest, and the following year landed a turn in an ABC Afterschool Special entitled Unicorn Tales, as well as a supporting role in the off-Broadway musical Really Rosie. Campbell attended and graduated from Newark's Arts High School, then made the ambitious trek out to Los Angeles (with her family's encouragement) and spent several years surviving numerous television pilots that failed to take off. Shop, however, rocketed Campbell to national attention and jump-started her film career. She landed additional roles in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988), House Party (1988) (which she also choreographed), and Boomerang (1992). Campbell met future co-star Lawrence on the set of House Party; according to Campbell's later recollections, Lawrence immediately invited her to play his girlfriend should he ever land a sitcom. In 1992, that plan materialized. The program scored sensational ratings and immediately connected with a young, black, urban market; the arc of the series witnessed Gina and Martin transitioning from lovers to intendeds to husband-and-wife. Campbell originally planned to remain with the series through its final season, but actually left Martin several months prematurely, in November of 1996, asserting that Lawrence verbally, physically and sexually abused her on the set of the program - allegations that Lawrence and his representatives aggressively denied, claiming that Campbell was using the actor as a pawn in a contractual dispute with the network despite the fact that the actress left in mid-season.After her stint on Martin, Campbell signed for supporting roles in a number of low-profile features including Linc's (1998), The Sweetest Gift (1998) and Snitch (1999), then returned to network television briefly as one of the stars of the domestically-themed situation comedy My Wife and Kids (2001).Campbell is also occasionally credited by her married name of Tisha Campbell-Martin. She enjoyed a brief tenure as a recording artist with a 1993 r&b release entitled Tisha.

Trivia: Parents owned a restaurant that hosted live music and dinner shows as he was growing up. Debuted on television in a guest role on the CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the episode "Lost & Found" in 2010. First credited role in a feature film was Jet in 2010's Redemption Road alongside Michael Clarke Duncan and Taryn Manning. Has done extensive voice-over work, including for characters on the Nickelodeon TV shows Bubble Guppies and Shimmer and Shine. Has listed ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern and club/freestyle among his dance skills on his resume.