Trivia: Commenting on his notorious on-set irascibility in 1977, Jack Klugman replied that he was merely "taking Peter Falk lessons from Robert Blake," invoking the names of two other allegedly hard-to-please TV stars. Klugman grew up in Philadelphia, and after taking in a 1939 performance by New York's Group Theatre, Klugman decided that an actor's life was right up his alley. He majored in drama at Carnegie Tech and studied acting at the American Theatre Wing before making his (non-salaried) 1949 stage-debut at the Equity Library Theater. While sharing a New York flat with fellow hopeful Charles Bronson, Klugman took several "grub" jobs to survive, at one point selling his blood for $85 a pint. During television's so-called Golden Age, Klugman appeared in as many as 400 TV shows. He made his film debut in 1956, and three years later co-starred with Ethel Merman in the original Broadway production of Gypsy. In 1964, Klugman won the first of his Emmy awards for his performance in "Blacklist," an episode of the TV series The Defenders; that same year, he starred in his first sitcom, the 13-week wonder Harris Against the World. Far more successful was his next TV series, The Odd Couple, which ran from 1970 through 1974; Klugman won two Emmies for his portrayal of incorrigible slob Oscar Madison (he'd previously essayed the role when he replaced Walter Matthau in the original Broadway production of the Neil Simon play). It was during Odd Couple's run that the network "suits" got their first real taste of Klugman's savage indignation, when he and co-star Tony Randall threatened to boycott the show unless the idiotic laughtrack was removed (Klugman and Randall won that round; from 1971 onward, Odd Couple was filmed before a live audience). It was but a foretaste of things to come during Klugman's six-year (1977-83) reign as star of Quincy, M.E.. Popular though Klugman was in the role of the crusading, speechifying LA County Coroner's Office medical examiner R. Quincy, he hardly endeared himself to the producers when he vented his anger against their creative decisions in the pages of TV Guide. Nor was he warmly regarded by the Writer's Guild when he complained about the paucity of high-quality scripts (he wrote several Quincy episodes himself, with mixed results). After Quincy's cancellation, Klugman starred in the Broadway play I'm Not Rappaport and co-starred with John Stamos in the 1986 sitcom You Again?. The future of Klugman's career -- and his future, period -- was sorely threatened when he underwent throat surgery in 1989. He'd been diagnosed with cancer of the larynx as early as 1974, but at that time was able to continue working after a small growth was removed. For several years after the 1989 operation, Klugman was unable to speak, though he soon regained this ability. He continued working through 2011, and died the following year at age 90.

Trivia: Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1931, Robert Ito has spent his film career as a character actor, often in the science fiction genre. He enjoyed success on the long-running television series Quincy, and his voice has been used in many animated films, such as Batman and Superman.Robert Ito's first performances were on the stage as a dancer in the National Ballet of Canada. After a decade with the company, Ito moved to New York in the 1960s, to dance on Broadway in The Flower Drum Song.Ito moved to Hollywood and began his film career in 1966 with some forgettable science fiction vehicles, such as Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Dimension 5. The B-movie genre often turned to Ito when it wanted an actor to portray someone of his Japanese heritage. Over the years, he played many such roles, the most outstanding of which was his performance as Professor Hikita, the kidnapped scientist in the 1984 cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.Ito fared well in television, in which he was given roles that showcased his talents in made-for-television movies and series. He appeared in some memorable dramas, such as Helter Skelter (1976), American Geisha (1986), and The War Between Us (1996). The latter film starred Ito as a Canadian World War I veteran and patriarch of a family of Japanese descent, forced to leave his home in Vancouver during the dark days of Japanese resettlement following Pearl Harbor.Ito also gained distinction for his role as Fong in the Kung Fu series, as well as on popular show Quincy. He made cameo appearances in many other television shows including Magnum, P.I. and Star Trek, which featured him in a 2001 production.

Trivia: Actress/director Joan Darling first appeared onstage during the 1960s in New York City's Premise Players, an improvisational theater group. She eventually went on to work both off and on Broadway. In the late '60s and early '70s Darling was cast in leading and supporting parts in several films and in a starring role in the TV series Owen Marshall. She continued to show up as a guest on various TV shows and even did some television writing. Darling began her career as a director in 1975 with the satirical TV soap spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and subsequently directed episodes for M*A*S*H, Rich Man Poor Man, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Doc and Phyllis. Darling made her feature-film directorial debut in 1977 with the film First Love.

Trivia: Michael Fox played character parts--usually villains--in scores of television shows and in more than 100 films, mostly during the '50s and '60s. Fans of the CBS daily serial The Bold and the Beautiful will remember him for having played Saul Feinberg from 1987-1986. Born and raised in Yonkers, New York and first made his name on Broadway starring opposite Lillian Gish in The Story of Mary Stuart. Fox made his film debut in films such as Voodoo Tiger and Backhawks (both 1952). Later in his career, Fox founded the Theater East actors organization. Fox passed away at the Motion Picture Home, Woodland Hills, California. The 75-year-old was suffering from pneumonia at the time.

Trivia: Actor Robert Alda studied architecture at NYU, briefly working in this field until choosing show business. He started performing in vaudeville, and in burlesque as a tenor and straight man; by 1934, he was well established on radio. He made a spectacular film debut in Warner Bros.' 1945 biopic Rhapsody in Blue (1945), essaying the role of George Gershwin over the objections of director Irving Rapper, who'd wanted to hold off production until Tyrone Power was available. Alda did as good a job as possible, given the banalities of the scripts, though his piano-playing sequences are obviously faked and tricked up. Alda's starring career faded out rather quickly; he was more successful with second leads and villainous roles, and in the early 1960s became a fixture of Italian sword-and-sandal and spy films. Returning to Broadway in 1950, Alda created the role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, winning a Tony Award in the process. In 1954, he starred in the syndicated TV series Secret File USA. Robert Alda was the father of Alan Alda, with whom he appeared in a poignant MASH TV episode of the late 1970s.

Trivia: Though a film actor from 1963 and a stage performer before that, American leading man Sam Groom is best known for his work in the field of soap operas. After playing such supporting roles as Tom Eldredge in the 1965 As the World Turns prime-time spin-off Our Private World, Groom spent four years as Dr. Ross Mathews on NBC's Another World. Eventually leaving the series because he felt that daytime dramas offered "no dignity," he accepted the title role in the Canadian-produced nighttime series Dr. Simon Locke (1971). Though the series proved unsuccessful when it was syndicated to the U.S., its sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive, liked Groom enough to spin off the Locke character into another syndicated weekly, Police Surgeon, which ran until 1974. Sam Groom's most recent TV starring vehicle was the 1985 fantasy offering Otherworld.

Trivia: Character actor Karl Lukas was most famous for playing "Lindstrom" opposite Henry Fonda in the Broadway version of Mister Roberts(1948). While he spent most of his four-decade-long career on stage, he also dabbled in television and the occasional feature film. Lukas made his screen debut playing the "inspector" in the Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz comedy The Long Long Trailer (1954). His other film credits include The Watermelon Man (1970), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), and Memories of Me (1988). Lukas also guest-starred on such television series as Family Affair, St. Elsewhere, and Little House on the Prairie.

Trivia: American actor Marland Proctor played supporting roles in a number of '70s exploitation films such as Chrome and Hot Leather. He got his start on-stage in the early '60s playing off-Broadway and in California. Proctor also appeared frequently on television.