Trivia: Rotund comedian-actor Jackie Gleason (born Herbert John Gleason) broke into show business at age 15 by winning an amateur-night contest and went on to perform in vaudeville, carnivals, nightclubs, and roadhouses. In 1940 he was signed to a film contract by Warner Bros., and he debuted onscreen in Navy Blues (1941). His career was interrupted by World War II, but at the war's end, Gleason returned to Hollywood, this time playing character roles in a number of films. His film work, however, lent little strength to his career, and he performed in several Broadway shows before achieving major success as the star of such TV comedy series as The Life of Riley, The Honeymooners, and The Jackie Gleason Show. It was during his reign on television that Gleason created such enduring characters as Ralph Kramden (the loud-mouth busdriver from The Honeymooners), Reggie Van Gleason, and Joe the Bartender. As a result of the comedic talents he displayed on TV, he became known as "The Great One." Gleason returned to films in the early '60s in lead roles, both comic and dramatic (he earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Hustler [1961]), but he never had as much success in movies as he did on TV. He did have some success in the late '70s and early '80s playing a good-ole'-boy Southern sheriff in the Smokey and the Bandit series of action-comedies. His long career also included a period when he composed, arranged, and conducted recordings of mood music. Gleason died in 1987 of cancer. His grandson is actor Jason Patric.

Trivia: French actress Katherine Kath made her first English-language screen appearance in Moulin Rouge (1952). She went on to appear in several films set in Paris, among them Anastasia (1956) and Gigot (1962). In the latter film, she was afforded second billing -- right after Jackie Gleason -- as Colette, the streetwalker mother of innocent little Nicole (Diane Gardner). She was briefly married to British filmmaker Jack Clayton, though curiously was never directed by him. Active until 1987, Katherine Kath's later screen roles included Catherine de Medici in 1971's Mary Queen of Scots.

Trivia: From 1922, French supporting actress Gabrielle Dorziat appeared in over 70 films. She was typically cast as a stern character. Prior to coming to films she worked in Parisian theater.

Trivia: French character actor in international films, onscreen from the '50s.

Trivia: French supporting actor.

Trivia: French actor Frank Villard (born Francois Drouineau in Saint-Jean-d'Angely) frequently played leading roles in average-quality French films. Before becoming an actor, Villard was a painter.