Trivia: An edgy comic who skyrocketed to comedy fame with his memorably side-splitting appearance in Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy, Bernie Mac may have seemed an unlikely candidate for a television sitcom, but with the debut of The Bernie Mac Show, the inventive comedian began on a high note, leaving many pondering the apparent overnight success of the comedian who had ostensibly come from nowhere to become a ubiquitous presence. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago, IL, Mac was a member of a large extended family living under one roof, which provided the energetic youngster with plenty of fuel for refining his ability to perform dead-on impressions and humorously recall memorable family occurrences. Time spent as a gopher for performers at the Regal Theater also served as a primer for his showbiz aspirations (as well as a cautionary warning of the destructive temptations that go along with fame). Mac's first experiences with standup came at the age of eight, when he performed a routine about his grandparents at the dinner table in front of the congregation at church. Though it resulted in some strict reprimanding from his grandmother, he had the audience feeding out of his palm and the young impressionist quickly had the epiphany that humor meant more to him than the sting of discipline. From that point on, Mac refined and developed his comic abilities on the tracks of Chicago's El trains and in local parks. Though he earned a modest keep from his public performances, Mac craved the legitimacy of the club circuit and he began to perform professionally in 1977. After early film work -- including memorable appearances in Above the Rim (1994) and The Walking Dead (1995), which followed on the heels of his big-screen debut in 1992's Mo' Money -- Mac was offered and appeared in the television series Midnight Mac in 1995. Hesitation as to the neutering of his material made the comedian leery of television, and the show didn't last. The comic actor earned more attention when he turned up frequently the following year in television's Moesha, though mainstream acceptance was still four years and numerous bit film parts away. Following The Original Kings of Comedy, Mac began to develop an idea for a sitcom that revolved around similar family experiences and retained the edge that had initially shocked his audiences into laughter. In 2001, he debuted the family sitcom The Bernie Mac Show, and it was a success, running for five seasons. 2001 would indeed prove to be the year of the Mac as he also took on a substantial role in director Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11. He reprised that character in the two Ocean's sequels, as well as lead roles as a vice presidential candidate in the Chris Rock political satire Head of State and as a washed-up baseball player in 2004's Mr. 3000. 2007 saw Mac in a more serious role as a kindly janitor in the inspirational sports drama Pride. Upon his death in August 2008 of complications from pneumonia, Soul Men, in which he stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson as a soul singer embarking on a reunion tour, had yet to hit theaters.­

Trivia: Actress Kellita Smith primarily established herself on television, with an effective portrayal of über-professional, no-nonsense wife Wanda -- straight man to the popular eponymous comedian on the rollicking sitcom The Bernie Mac Show (2001-2006). Previously, Smith had tackled guest roles on series programs including Nash Bridges, Martin, Sister, Sister, and NYPD Blue. Her activity extended to cinematic work from the beginning, with a 1995 portrayal on the harrowing Sean Penn-directed drama The Crossing Guard. Smith placed a heightened emphasis on features after The Bernie Mac Show wrapped at the end of its fifth season, with work in theatrical outings including Fair Game (2005), Roll Bounce (2005), and Feel the Noise (2007).

Trivia: A name that carries its own connotations, Hugh Marston Hefner not only founded the billion-dollar Playboy Enterprises, but did much to spearhead the "sexual revolution" -- first by publishing Playboy magazine in 1953, then by expanding his girlie magazine into supper clubs, cable networks, book publishing, apparel, adult-entertainment home videos, and scores of other arenas. Playboy Magazine itself began with a well-known business coup: Hefner purchased nude photographs of an extremely young Marilyn Monroe and published them in his magazine, in December 1953, making the first issue an instant, must-have American phenomenon. This provided the necessary boost to get the publication underway. Whereas other purveyors of entertainment for men, such as Larry Flynt and Al Goldstein, would later hone in on the gritty underbelly of the market, Hefner aggressively (and successfully) attempted to make eroticism and nudity more palatable to average middle-class citizens, gradually bringing increasingly explicit printed material into mainstream America's living rooms and thus reshaping the country's moral and sociocultural landscape. To Hefner's credit, he never failed to underestimate the intelligence of his readers, filling each issue with the finest literary work, criticism, interviews, and nonfiction journalism, alongside his erotic centerfold photographs -- thus giving the magazine some class. Film historians might be intrigued to know that Hefner's cinematic activities are not by any means limited to softcore adult entertainment. He has occasionally produced critically lauded mainstream pictures, such as Roman Polanski's X-rated (for violence, not sex) Macbeth (1971), Arthur Hiller's cult classic The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974), and (as part of a legal settlement) Peter Bogdanovich's extraordinary character study Saint Jack (1979).Hefner was portrayed by Cliff Robertson in Bob Fosse's Star 80, Jack Fitz in American Gangster, and Randall Batinkoff in the telemovie Hefner: Unauthorized. In the 21st century he was the star of the reality series The Girls Next Door, which focused on his relationship with three former playmates, and in 2008 he played himself in the Anna Faris comedy The House Bunny.

Trivia: Family moved to California when she was a child so she could train as a gymnast, but injuries and operations forced her to turn to her other love: acting. First success came in a role on the sitcom Family Matters in the 1991-92 season, but she had an even bigger part as a college student on 3rd Rock From the Sun from 1996 to 2001. After she appeared in the UPN sitcom Second Time Around (2004-05), Entertainment Weekly named her the network's "breakout star." Is an advocate for prisoners who may have been wrongfully convicted.

Trivia: African-American actress Rhyon Nicole Brown established herself primarily as a television actress during the early to mid-2000s, gaining more success as she entered her teenage years. She guest-starred on a variety of series, including the hits Everybody Loves Raymond, Boston Public, and ER, as well as taking on a multi-episode arc on Judging Amy as Rebecca Van Exel. In 2007, she was cast in her first regular role, playing daughter Lizzie Sutton on the ensemble drama series Lincoln Heights.