Trivia: A former band clarinettist and vocalist, Hal Linden studied drama at the American Theatre Wing. His big Broadway break came in 1958, when he was engaged to understudy Sydney Chaplin in the musical comedy Bells are Ringing; Linden played Chaplin's character, Jeffrey Moss, a handful of times on Broadway and on a full-time basis in the touring company (reportedly, he also showed up in the 1960 film version of Bells are Ringing, though the "official" starting point of his film career was 1979's When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?) During the 1960s, Linden's time was occupied by his stage work in musicals like Wildcat, The Apple Tree and Illya Darling; from time to time, he'd pop up on a Manhattan-filmed TV series like Car 54 Where Are You? or The Defenders and was a regular on the CBS daytime drama Search for Tomorrow. In 1974, Linden won a Tony award for his work in the Broadway musical The Rothschilds. The next year, Barney Miller, a sitcom for which Linden had lensed a pilot in 1972, was picked up as a mid-season replacement by ABC. Linden would play harried Greenwich village police captain Barney Miller from 1975 through 1980, collecting five Emmy nominations, but-astonishingly -- no actual awards. Hal Linden's subsequent TV series work has included hosting stints on the ABC informational weeklies Animals, Animals, Animals and FYI, and top-billed starring roles on Blacke's Magic (1988), Jack's Place (1992) and One of the Boys (1994); he co-starred in the latter with another perennial Emmy Awards bridesmaid, Suzanne Pleshette.His less than extensive big-screen resume includes A New Life, Killers in the House, and Time Changer.

Trivia: Jennifer O'Neill's mother was still pregnant when she and her husband visited Jennifer's future grandfather, a bank president residing in Rio De Janeiro. Thus it was that O'Neill was born in the shadow of Sugar Loaf Mountain. Raised in New England and trained at New York's Professional Children's School, she became a successful cosmetics model in her teens. In films from 1968, O'Neill made her starring bow in 1970's Rio Lobo. Apparently director Howard Hawks intended to "create" O'Neill in the same way that he elevated another model, Lauren Bacall, to stardom in 1944's To Have and Have Not; alas, Hawks and O'Neill didn't see eye to eye, and it would be two years before the actress would achieve any measure of genuine stardom. In 1972, she became every pubescent boy's dream girl when she played Dorothy, the twentyish war widow who turns to teenager Gary Grimes for affection, in Summer of 42. Her career moved in fits and spurts after that triumph. O'Neill also starred on the 1983 series Bare Essence (1983), in which she was well cast as "international beauty" Lady Bobbi Rowan; in addition, she has continued making occasional films into the next century.

Trivia: Latino stand-up comedian Paul Rodriguez honed his craft by playing the Improv-Comedy Store-Catch a Rising Star circuit in the early 1980s. After making his first film appearance in DC Cab (1983). Rodriguez starred in the short-running sitcom AKA Pablo (1984), drawing from his own experiences to play the role of up-and-coming nightclub comic Paul (Pablo) Rivera. Though AKA Pablo was far from a hit, Rodriguez continued to be very much in demand for such comedy films as Miracles (1986) and Born in East LA (1987). On TV, he hosted the 1988 syndicated version of The Newlywed Game and was a regular in the 1989 sitcom Trial and Error and the 1990 adventure weekly Grand Slam. In 1994, Paul Rodriguez doubled as star and director of Million to Juan, a comedy-fantasy update of Mark Twain's "The Million Pound Bank Note."

Trivia: A Windy City native, distinguished character actor Richard Riehle earned his undergraduate degree from Notre Dame and his master's from the University of Minnesota, then took his first cinematic bow with a bit part in 1975's Western Rooster Cogburn -- opposite John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn. After Rooster, Riehle abandoned screen work for over a decade to hit the East Coast and focus almost exclusively on Broadway and regional theater. Ed Zwick's acclaimed Civil War opus Glory (1989) marked Riehle's Hollywood comeback; he subsequently increased his screen time dramatically, and chalked up a resumé playing everymen -- usually heavyset and unpolished working stiffs such as policemen, detectives, judges, and bartenders -- in literally dozens of films. Riehle's credits include Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Mercury Rising (1998), Office Space (1999), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), and National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 (2006). The actor is also known for his regular presence on two television series: the 1990 Ferris Bueller (as Principal Ed Rooney) and the 2001-2005 Grounded for Life (as Walt Finnerty). Riehle subsequently returned to National Lampoon work with the 2007 frat-boy comedy National Lampoon Presents The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell.

Trivia: Best remembered for his high-profile acting roles on two 1970s television sitcoms -- that of genial news writer Murray Slaughter on CBS's The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and that of sweet-natured Captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's The Love Boat (1977-1986), stage-trained actor Gavin MacLeod in fact began his career typecast as a villain. He landed parts in Hollywood features including The Sand Pebbles (1966), Deathwatch (1966), and The Comic (1969), and enjoyed a tenure as Joseph "Happy" Haines on the sitcom McHale's Navy from 1962 through 1964. After The Love Boat permanently laid anchor in the mid-'80s, MacLeod signed on as a spokesperson and pitchman for Princess Cruises and returned to regional theatrical work. He also tackled guest spots on programs including Touched by an Angel and (in a move that surprised everyone) the HBO prison drama Oz. Off-camera, MacLeod is an outspoken born-again Christian. He hosted a popular talk show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, along with his wife, Patti (whom he divorced in 1982 and remarried three years later), called Back on Course, and personally funded many of the Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible animated videos for children.

Trivia: California native Evan Ellingson began his acting career in commercials, eventually taking on a supporting role on the Fox sitcom Titus in 2004. This eventually led to more recurring roles, like Josh Bauer, son of Jack Bauer, on the series 24, and Kyle Harmen, son of Horatio Cane, on CSI: Miami. Additionally, Ellingson has appeared on many other TV shows, like Bones and State of Mind.