Trivia: Long before Eddie Murphy, Andrew Dice Clay, or Howard Stern raised the ire of censors and threatened the delicate sensibilities of mainstream American good taste, there was Redd Foxx, arguably the most notorious "blue" comic of his day. Prior to finding fame in the 1970s as the star of the popular sitcom Sanford and Son, Foxx found little but infamy throughout the first several decades of his performing career; salty and scatological, his material broke new ground with its point-blank riffs and brazen discussions of sex and color, and although his party albums were generally banned from white-owned record stores, the comedian's funky narrative style and raspy delivery proved highly influential on comic talents of all ethnic backgrounds.Foxx was born John Elroy Sanford in St. Louis on December 9, 1922. While still in his teens, he became a professional performer, working as both a comedian and actor on the so-called "chitlin circuit" of black theaters and nightclubs. He formulated his stage name by combining an old nickname, "Red" (given because of his ruddy complexion), with the surname of baseball's Jimmie Foxx. After cutting a handful of explicit blues records in the mid-'40s, beginning in 1951 he often teamed with fellow comic Slappy White, a partnership which lasted through 1955. Foxx was performing at Los Angeles' Club Oasis when a representative from the tiny Dooto label contacted him about cutting an album. The comedian agreed, and was paid 25 dollars to record Laff of the Party, the first of over 50 albums of Foxx's racy anecdotes. An onslaught of Dooto releases followed, among them over half a dozen other Laff of the Party sets, The Sidesplitter, The New Race Track, Sly Sex, and New Fugg. His records were poorly distributed, and offered primarily in black neighborhoods. When they did appear in white record stores, they were sold under the counter. In the 1960s, Foxx signed to the MF label and his routines became even more explicit, as evidenced by titles like Laff Your Ass Off, Huffin' and a Puffin', I'm Curious (Black), 3 or 4 Times a Day, and Mr. Hot Pants. After a brief tenure on King, he signed to Loma, a division of Frank Sinatra's Reprise imprint. With records like Foxx A Delic and Live at Las Vegas, he became one of the very first performers to use four-letter words on major-label releases.As the 1960s wore on and long-standing cultural barriers began to crumble, Foxx's audience expanded, and he made a number of television appearances. In 1970, he made his film debut in Ossie Davis' Cotton Comes to Harlem. When the film became a surprise hit, Foxx became a hot talent, and soon signed to star in Sanford and Son, a retooled sitcom version of the British television hit Steptoe and Son. The series, which starred Foxx as junk dealer Fred Sanford, premiered in 1972 and became a huge hit, running through 1977. He also continued recording, issuing You Gotta Wash Your Ass, a live set taped at the Apollo Theater, in 1976. The short-lived programs Sanford, The Redd Foxx Show, and The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour followed; additionally, he starred in the 1976 feature Norman, Is That You?, and became a Las Vegas headliner.By the early '80s, Foxx's career hit the skids. By the end of the decade, however, his influence on the new breed of African-American comedians was openly acknowledged, and in 1989 Eddie Murphy tapped him to co-star in his black-themed crime-noir film Harlem Nights. Although the film flopped, Foxx's career was renewed, and in 1991 he began work on a new sitcom, The Royal Family. Tragically, he suffered a heart attack on the series' set and died on October 11, 1991. Still, even in death, Foxx's name remained synonymous with off-color comments; on an episode of the hit show Seinfeld broadcast several years later, Jason Alexander's character, George, was chastised for the "curse toast" he delivered at a friend's wedding, prompting an exasperated Jerry Seinfeld to exclaim, "You were like a Redd Foxx record up there!"

Trivia: Began his acting career at the age of 4 with an appearance in the Broadway play Green Pastures. Was drafted by the Army and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. Guest-starred on an Emmy-winning episode of All in the Family, which helped him earn a lead role on the popular sitcom Sanford and Son. Scaled back his acting work after experiencing a spiritual awakening and becoming a minister in 1983. Is also a writer whose works include several children's books and the memoir Second Banana: The Bitter Sweet Memoirs of the Sanford & Son Years.

Trivia: A versatile director and actor with roots on stage, screen, and film, Edmund Cambridge was a founding member of New York's renowned Negro Ensemble Company, which smashed color barriers in the 1940s, in addition to serving as stage manager of Jean Genet's off-Broadway smash The Blacks, which featured some of the most legendary African-American names in show business.Born September 18, 1920, in New York's Harlem Hospital, Cambridge began his theatrical career as a dancer and eventually worked his way to directing. Often the sole African-American face in numerous stage productions, it was Cambridge's dedication to the craft that drove him to collaborate with Douglas Turner Ward, Robert Hooks, and others in the founding of the Negro Ensemble Co. In addition to his role in founding that particular organization, he was also instrumental in the founding of Hollywood's Kirkpatrick-Cambridge Theater Arts School alongside fellow thespian Lincoln Kirkpatrick. As a director, Cambridge's work included Lonne Elder III's Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, James Baldwn's Amen Corner, and 227, a play that would later spawn a popular television series of the same name. With over 80 film and television credits to his name, the popular actor appeared on television in Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and ER, with feature credits including Friday Foster (1975), Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), and Waking the Dead (2000). Cambridge's later work included an appearance on television's The Bernie Mac Show and in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. On August 18, 2001, Edmund Cambridge died in the same hospital he was born following complications after an accidental fall. He was 81.

Trivia: Having worked steadily through the '70s on television and in blaxploitation films, African-American actress Margaret Avery did not become a star until she was cast as Shug in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of The Color Purple (1985), a performance that won her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Though the quality of her films briefly improved, her stardom was only fleeting and she returned to less visible work.

Trivia: Marlene Clark, a black supporting actress and occasional lead, appeared on screen beginning in the '70s.

Trivia: A comedienne turned actress who rose to fame as outspoken bible-thumper Aunt Ester in Redd Foxx's hit sitcom Sanford and Son, LaWanda Page performed with such other famous contemporaries as Richard Pryor and Rudy Ray Moore before finding success on the small screen. A native of Cleveland who grew up in St. Louis, Page first hit the stage as an exotic dancer and chorus girl billed "the Bronze Goddess of Fire" (due to her penchant for playing with fire on-stage) before fully realizing her talents as a standup comic. Subsequently approached by Foxx to star in Sanford and Son, Page tickled television viewers' funny bones with her memorable role as Foxx's aggressively religious sister-in-law in the original series' spin-off The Sanford Arms, and the 1980 revival Sanford. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, Page crafted a feature-film career with minor roles in such comedies as Zapped! (1982), My Blue Heaven (1990), Friday (1995), and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996). Always retaining her fiery approach to comedy, Page also performed on-stage in productions of The Inquest of Sam Cooke and Take It to the Lord...Or Else. On September 14, 2002, LaWanda Page died from complications of diabetes in Los Angeles, CA. She was 81.

Trivia: Best known to audiences as Mr. Miyagi, Ralph Macchio's mentor in the "wax on, wax off" school of combat in the 1984 hit The Karate Kid, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita is the most prominent Japanese-American actor of his generation. Morita is also well known for having played Arnold, the amiable diner owner on the hit television series Happy Days, for two non-consecutive seasons (1975-1976 and 1982-1983). His status as one of the most familiar actors of Asian descent kept him working in a variety of projects throughout the 1980s and '90s.Having spent part of his youth in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, Morita nonetheless emerged with his sense of humor intact, giving up work as a computer programmer to concentrate on stand-up comedy in the early '60s. After a number of nightclub and TV variety show appearances, Morita found his first film role in 1967's Thoroughly Modern Millie as a stereotypical ethnic henchman. His natural affability soon began shining through, winning Morita his role on Happy Days for the 1975-1976 season. As Arnold, Morita interacted with Richie, Fonzie, and company with a memorable combination of good humor and exasperation. He returned to the gig in 1982-1983 after a failed attempt to front his own series (the critically lambasted Mr. T and Tina in 1976), a number of small film roles, and guest appearances on such shows as The Love Boat and Magnum P.I. His major pop culture breakthrough was the role of janitor and karate master Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. An eccentric tutor who at first appears to be using his student for an endless variety of household chores, Miyagi soon reveals the method behind his training, turning the scrawny Daniel (Macchio) into a confident fighter, while also instilling an important message that violence should remain a last resort. The exceedingly popular film made Morita a household name, and audiences were left with the indelible image of a jolly and wise old soul trying desperately to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks. Morita reprised the role for the two sequels starring Macchio in (1986 and 1989), as well as The Next Karate Kid, which starred future Oscar winner Hilary Swank, in 1994.In the late '80s, Morita found the success that had previously eluded him in television solo efforts with the two-season detective series Ohara (1987-1989). In 1987, he also wrote and starred in the World War II romance Captive Hearts, a film about a pilot shot down over Japan who falls in love with a village woman. Morita plays the village elder who saves the young pilot from execution.Morita spent the 1990s continuing to work regularly as a character actor in both television and movies. His film roles included Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993,) and vocal work as the Emperor in Disney's Mulan (1998). He guest starred on such shows as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Diagnosis Murder, and The Hughleys, and had a recurring role as Mr. Tanaka on Baywatch.