Trivia: George Segal kicked off his performing career as a boy magician in his Long Island neighborhood. An accomplished banjoist, Segal played with Bruno Lynch and His Imperial Jazz before enrolling at Columbia University. After three years' military service, Segal resettled in New York in 1959, and that same year was cast in his first off-Broadway play. Entering films with 1961's The Young Doctors, Segal quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's most accomplished young character actors; in 1967, he received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. When one compiles a list of favorite films from the late 1960s-early 1970s, one usually spends a great deal of time exclaiming "Hey! Segal was in that, too." He played a hustling POW in King Rat (1965), a Cagneyesque hood in Saint Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), ulcerated homicide detective Mo Brummel in No Way to Treat a Lady (1968), a neurotic New York Jewish intellectual in Bye Bye Braverman (1968), a straight-laced bachelor in love with a foul-mouthed hooker in The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), and a repressed lawyer saddled with an outrageously senile mother in Where's Poppa? (1970). During this same period, Segal had an arrangement with the ABC TV network, permitting him to star in television adaptations of classic Broadway plays: he was cast as George opposite Nicol Williamson's Lenny in Of Mice and Men, then switched gears as vicious escaped criminal Glenn Griffin in The Desperate Hours. Throughout this busy period in his life, Segal fronted the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band, cutting several records and making a number of memorable Tonight Show appearances. In 1973, Segal's successful screen teaming with Glenda Jackson in A Touch of Class enabled him to demand a much higher price for his film services; unfortunately, many of the films that followed--The Black Bird (1975) and The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976) in particular--failed to justify Segal's seven-figure price tag. In the 1980s, Segal starred in two well-written but low-rated TV weeklies, Take Five (1987) and Murphy's Law (1989). His film career was lifted from the doldrums in the late 1980s with such plum roles as the pond-scum father of Kirstie Alley's baby in Look Who's Talking (1989) and the "pinko" comedy writer in For the Boys (1991). Segal's projects of the 1990s have included the syndicated TV adventure series High Tide (1994) and such film roles as the bemused husband of abrasive Jewish mama Mary Tyler Moore in the 1996 Ben Stiller vehicle Flirting with Disaster. In 1996, Segal found renewed success on television playing a well-meaning but rather duplicitous publisher whose estranged daughter comes to work for him in the razor-sharp NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me. Though he worked less frequently during the 21st century, he appeared in a variety of projects including The Linda McCartney Story as the main character's father, Fielder's Choice, 2012, and Love and Other Drugs.

Trivia: Born in New Jersey to Italian-American parents, deep-voiced actress Laura San Giacomo studied at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. After performing in regional theater, off-Broadway, and TV guest-star roles, she made her auspicious debut in Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape. As the down-to-earth yet adulterous Cynthia, her presence brought a sense of inhibition to the cast of otherwise sexually repressed characters. This was followed by a series of other good roles: the prostitute Kit in Pretty Woman, the hardworking waitress in Vital Signs, Holly Hunter's sister in Once Around, and the American expatriate Crazy Cora in Quigley Down Under. In addition to providing her husky voice to the star-studded animated series Gargoyles, she moved over to TV movies, most notably the Stephen King adaptation The Stand. On the big screen, she starred in Nina Takes a Lover, Stuart Saves His Family, and The Apocalypse (co-starring her then-husband Cameron Dye). After having her son Mason, she started playing the memorable role of magazine journalist Maya Gallo on Just Shoot Me, which ran from 1997-2003 on NBC. She worked steadily in the years following Just Shoot Me, but she was away from screens for four years after 2001, returning in the 2005 drama Havoc. Two years later she starred opposite Holly Hunter in the supernatural series Saving Grace.

Trivia: Born August 22nd, 1965, the diminutive blond comic David Spade has found success as a professional smart ass. Born in Birmingham, MI, but raised in Scottsdale, AZ, Spade first made a name for himself as a standup comedian. He spent most of the '80s performing in clubs, theaters, and college campuses. He joined the cast of Lorne Michael's long-running television show Saturday Night Live in 1990 as a writer and a performer. On the show, he soon gained popularity for such recurring sketches such as "The Hollywood Minute" in which Spade would sarcastically shred some of Tinseltown's biggest stars with his nasty comments. Spade also proved an able impersonator of celebrities ranging from Jeff Foxworthy to Tom Petty. Spade has appeared on many television talk shows and guest starred on several series. He began his film career in the late '80s playing a small role in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. In the '90s, he began playing major supporting roles in such films as Coneheads (1993) and P.C.U. (1994). He and former SNL alumni Chris Farley shared top billing in two popular comedies, Tommy Boy (1995) and Black Sheep (1996). Spade starred opposite Joe Pesci and Dyan Cannon in Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997). In 1997, Spade returned to series television in the sitcom Just Shoot Me. While 2001's Joe Dirt wasn't much of a box office success, it did earn a certain cult status, inspire animated television series, and bring about a surge of ironically-sported mullet hairstyles in the early 2000s. While 2001's Joe Dirt wasn't much of a box office success, it did bring about a resurgence of popularity for the mullet. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) featured Spade in the titular role of a one-time child star who tries to make a comeback as an adult. Spade continued to play comedic roles throughout the mid-2000s (The Benchwarners, Grandma's Boy), and once again found small-screen success with a role on the sitcoms 8 Simple Rules, and The Rules of Engagement, in which Spade plays the part of a single man surrounded by friends in various stages of couplehood.

Trivia: While savvy television viewers will no doubt recognize prolific small-screen actress Wendie Malick from such popular series as Baywatch, Just Shoot Me, and HBO's smart and sexy comedy Dream On, the late '90s found her feature career warming up in such independent efforts as Manna From Heaven (2001) and Bathroom Boy (2003). A native of Buffalo, NY, who first found work in front of the cameras as a Wilhelmina model in the 1970s, the Ohio Wesleyan University alum would later work for New York congressman Jack Kemp following her graduation. Subsequently gracing the catwalks of New York, Paris, and Madrid, it was a small role in the 1978 comedy How to Pick up Girls that provided the aspiring actress with her first screen break. Though she would appear in a few theatrical releases such as Scrooged (1988) during the 1980s, most of her work came with made-for-television features and such series as Kate and Allie and Anything But Love. Increasingly visible on the small screen during the 1990s, Malick's role as series protagonist Martin Tupper's (Brian Benben) ex-wife on Dream On utilized her comic abilities to maximum effect and netted the actress four Cable ACE awards. Following the final episode of Dream On in 1996, it was only one short year before Malick began a stint on another popular series that would gain her accolades among sitcom junkies, Just Shoot Me. Her background in the modeling industry provided the ideal foundation for her role as former model Nina Van Horn, and Malick (Emmy-nominated for the role) remained with the show until its final episode in 2003, simultaneously taking occasional parts in both made-for-TV and theatrical features. In 1997 Malick took the lead in the little-seen romantic comedy Just Add Love, and following voice work as the egotistical principal in the Disney series Fillmore!, she appeared alongside Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and Betty White the Emmy-winning comedy series Hot in Cleveland. In addition to her screen work, Wendie Malick met husband Richard Erickson while building homes for poor families in Mexico, and she also helps the homeless with her work for the Adopt-A-Family organization.

Trivia: Chances are likely that you would recognize his face, and it's even more likely that although the face is familiar, you don't know that his name is Enrico Colantoni. Though he struck a funny bone in audiences with his role as a befuddled alien in the 1999 comedy hit Galaxy Quest, Colantoni had been appearing in minor film and television roles since the late '80s. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in February of 1963 and raised in a prominent Italian neighborhood of the city, his early interest in acting would result in frequent neighborhood skits to entertain family and friends. His interest in performing peaked after seeing his older brother in a high school play, and despite his interest in the stage Colantoni would later opt to study law at the University of Toronto. Coming from an inartistic background, his parents frowned upon Colantoni's passion for acting, and the aspiring thespian quietly opted for a drama class as an elective as he focused most of his energy on law studies. Colantoni's drama teacher quickly recognized the young actor's potential, and it wasn't long before the bright lights of New York City became to glaring to resist. When his parents announced that they were moving back to Italy, Colantoni made the difficult decision to remain in New York and live the life of a struggling actor. His gamble would soon pay off when Colantoni made his television debut in an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series in 1989. Later deciding that he still needed time to refine his talent, Colantoni subsequently attended Yale and later spent a season at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater in 1994. Soon thereafter returning to the Big Apple, more stage roles followed until Colantoni was cast in an episode of NYPD Blue as the schizophrenic son of Peter Boyle's character. He made his film debut in the 1995 action comedy Money Train, and subsequent feature roles included Albino Alligator (1996), The Wrong Guy (1997), and 1999's Stigmata. It was during this time that Colantoni was also cast in the weekly comedy series Just Shoot Me. Later essaying the aforementioned role in Galaxy Quest, Colantoni appeared as a murderer in Steven Spielberg's A.I. before taking on roles in The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest and Full Frontal in 2002. He continued to have success in television series' throughout the 2000s, and became known for his roles as Keith Mars on Veronica Mars (2005-2006), and Sergeant Greg Parker on Flashpoint (2008-2011).

Trivia: After majoring in history at Columbia University, brawny Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938) took a string of odd jobs to pay his way through Yale Drama School, and to afford private acting lessons. His first professional break came with the Broadway production Streamers. In films and TV from 1977, Dennehy is a most versatile actor, at home playing Western baddies (Silverado), ulcerated big-city cops (F/X), serial killers (John Wayne Gacy in the made-for-TV To Catch a Killer), by-the-book military types (General Groves in Day One, another TV movie), and vacillating politicos (Presumed Innocent). One of his most rewarding film assignments was as dying architectural genius Stourley Kracklite in Peter Greenaway's The Belly of an Architect (1987).In addition to his many TV-movie roles (one of which, good-old-boy Chuck Munson in 1993's Foreign Affairs, won him a Cable Ace Award), Dennehy has starred in the weekly series Big Shamus, Little Shamus (1977), Star of the Family (1981), and Birdland (1994), as well as the sporadically produced Jack Reed feature-length mysteries. It was in one of the last-mentioned projects, Jack Reed: A Search for Justice (1994), that Dennehy made his directorial debut. Aside from his work in film and television, Dennehy has also had considerable success on the stage, particularly with his Tony-winning portrayal of Willy Loman in the 1998 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman.The actor continued to show his range in the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy (starring David Spade and the late comedian Chris Farley), in which he became well known for his role as Big Tom Callahan, and for a voice role in Ratatouille (2007) as Django, the father of rat and aspiring chef Remy.Dennehy joined Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in Righteous Kill, a 2008 police drama, and worked alongisde Russell Crowe in the 2010 suspense film The Next Three Days. In 2011, Dennehy played the pivotal role of Clarence Darrow in Alleged, a romantic drama set during the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial.

Trivia: Funnyman Jack Carter (as he is invariably billed) was a successful nightclub comedian when he decided to dive headlong into the infant medium known as television. In January of 1949, Carter was hired to host ABC's minstrel-show effort Pick and Pat. By the spring of that year, Carter presided over the ABC variety program Jack Carter and Company. Later that same year, he was the first emcee of the DuMont Network's Cavalcade of Stars, remaining with the series until being replaced by Jackie Gleason in 1950. His last "regular" TV assignment was as host of 1956's Stage Show, though he kept busy as a sitcom guest star into the 1980s, frequently playing abrasive con artists (e.g. "Friendly Freddie" on Gomer Pyle USMC). In 1971, Carter made his directorial debut with an episode of Lucille Ball's Here's Lucy. Jack Carter's movie roles have ranged from comedy relief to raffish villain in such pictures as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and The Funny Farm (1982). Carter continued to work steadily into his 90s, with guest appearances on shows like Desperate Housewives, Parks & Recreation, New Girl and Shameless. Carter died 4 days after his 93rd birthday, in 2015.

Trivia: Character actor Len Lesser worked steadily in film and television since his film debut in Shackout on 101 (1955). Lean, dark, and bushy-browed, he was typically cast as a crook or hitman. Fans of the television sitcom Seinfeld will recognize Lesser as Uncle Leo.

Trivia: Best known as the younger (by one year) brother of talented but ill-fated Saturday Night Live comedian Chris Farley, Kevin Farley followed in the footsteps of his older sibling and established himself as a comedic screen presence in his own right. He grew up in Madison, WI, as the third of five children and the son of an asphalt company owner, and -- like Chris -- soon fell into a niche as the class clown. Both young men grew up as members of the Saturday Night Live generation and idolized performers such as John Belushi and Bill Murray beyond belief; Kevin attended Marquette University as a business major (graduating in 1986) and went to work for his dad. He grew to hate the business life and eventually moved to Chicago and enrolled in comedy classes, then relocated to Los Angeles and began signing for bit parts in Chris' features, such as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, as well as guest spots in series programs such as That '70s Show and 3rd Rock from the Sun.Following Chris' death from an overdose in December 1997, Kevin landed a starring role on the briefly run MTV sitcom 2Gether, then moved into features, with an unsurprising emphasis almost exclusively on comedy, much of it in the destructive and anarchic vein of his late brother. Projects in which Kevin appeared included the Adam Sandler animated comedy Eight Crazy Nights (2002), the Cedric the Entertainer laugh-fest Johnson Family Vacation, and -- in a starring capacity -- a turn as a Michael Moore-like anti-patriotic director who gets the Ebenezer Scrooge treatment in the David Zucker gag-fest An American Carol (2008).

Trivia: Possessing a dark but earthy beauty and a natural, winning smile, actress Rena Sofer has found notable small-screen success in such series as Melrose Place, Just Shoot Me, and Coupling after spending the majority of the 1990s in an Emmy-winning role on the daytime soap opera General Hospital. As the millennium turned, so did Sofer's cinematic aspirations, with keen-eyed movie lovers spotting her in such feature efforts as Traffic (2000) and March (2001). An Arcadia, CA, native, Sofer relocated to Pittsburgh when her Orthodox Jewish rabbi father and psychology teacher mother divorced. Spotted by a New York talent agent at the age of 15, it wasn't long before Sofer was appearing on the daytime drama Loving and landing roles on such small-screen efforts as Herman's Head and Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style. In 1992, she made her big-screen debut with a small role in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us with Melanie Griffith. Beginning a four-year run on General Hospital in 1993, Sofer would simultaneously appear in numerous made-for-television features before beginning her year-long run on Melrose Place in 1998. She made a notable leap back to the big screen with a small role in the 2000 comedy Keeping the Faith, and after following up with Traffic, Sofer settled back into sitcom life with a high-profile guest-starring role on Ed. In the 2002 made-for television remake of Carrie, her part as a sympathetic high school teacher proved a highlight of the otherwise forgettable effort, and in 2003, she headed the cast of Coupling, the highly anticipated American remake of the popular U.K. sitcom.