Trivia: His role as the cherubic, bespectacled Dilbert-esque everyman on the long-running sitcom The Drew Carey Show has endeared comedian Drew Carey to the downtrodden cubicle-dwelling masses everywhere, making him one of the most beloved and popular characters in '90s and '00s television. However, Carey's massive success didn't come without some harrowing struggles with depression and numerous suicide attempts during his dark and directionless early years. Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, Carey suffered a devastating early blow when his father died of a brain tumor when Carey was only eight years old. Working long overtime hours to provide Drew and his brothers with the best childhood possible, his mother's frequent absence found the depressed youngster spending many nights home alone seeking solitude in cartoons and comedy albums.Upon entering Cleveland's Rhodes High School, Carey spent much of his free time playing coronet and trumpet in the school's marching band. Enrolling in Kent State and joining the Delta Tau Delta fraternity upon graduation, Carey found great difficulty balancing his studies and personal life, with his lack of direction compounding his depression and resulting in another suicide attempt before being expelled twice and dropping out of school with no degree. Subsequent years found the aimless youth drifting across the country with dreams of stability slowly fading from his horizon, but a return to Cleveland resulted in newfound hope when Carey decided to make a last-ditch effort and immerse himself in self-help books. Signing up with the Marine Corps Reserves in 1980 provided Carey with just the discipline that he needed, and following a six-year service and some newly instilled confidence, a close friend working in radio asked Carey to write some jokes to use on-air. Honing his skills and becoming increasingly focused on channeling his energy into humor, Carey took his act to local comedy clubs and, after winning an open-mic contest, began working as emcee at the Cleveland Comedy Club in 1986.The following years found Carey moving frequently between Cleveland and Los Angeles and gaining increasing recognition on the comedy circuits. Offered the rare privilege of joining Johnny Carson on the couch following a 1991 appearance on The Tonight Show proved a career-defining moment, and after a series of HBO specials and television appearances, Carey joined forces with writer/producer Bruce Helford (who had worked on such successful sitcoms as Family Ties and Roseanne), and in 1995 The Drew Carey Show was born. Endearing himself to television audiences with his small-town persona and everyman attitude, The Drew Carey Show quickly became one of the most popular sitcoms on television. Though his success may have been beyond any of his wildest dreams during his clouded formative years, Carey remained loyal to his hometown, always maintaining a level head. Serving as host of the American version of the massively popular British improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (frequently featuring his Drew Carey Show cohort Ryan Stiles), Carey's small-screen presence increased, and appearances on such television comedy specials as Drew Carey's Improv All Stars and The New York Friar's Club Roast of Hugh M. Hefner (both 2001) ensured audiences that Carey's humor was as sharp and in tune as ever. Aside from his small-screen work, Carey has appeared in such comic features as Coneheads (1993). The September 1997 release of his autobiography, entitled Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined, provided fans with detailed and humorous insight into Carey's sometimes dark past, and emergency angioplasty in mid-2001 found the well-loved comedian going under the knife but making a quick recovery. In the summer of 2007, Carey's emcee experience paid off, as he was named the host of the venerable game show The Price Is Right, replacing much-loved Bob Barker. He also hosted the game show Power of 10, and in 2011 he appeared in the Adam Sandler comedy Jack and Jill.

Trivia: An actor whose tall, rangy build and boyish good looks have made him a natural for comic roles, Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, VA, on Christmas Eve 1966; his father, William Bader, was Chief of Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the Carter administration, and his mother, Gretta Bader, was a sculptor of note. When Bader was two, he and his family moved to Paris, France, where the boy was exposed to a steady diet of classic American comedies; young Bader was especially fond of Charlie Chaplin, and appeared on-stage for the first time at the age of four, imitating the Little Tramp at a revival theater during an unexpected intermission after a rare Chaplin film jammed in the projector. Bader and his family returned to the United States in time for him to enter high school, and he later attended the North Carolina School for the Arts. While vacationing in Santa Fe, NM, during spring break, Bader met a casting agent who lined up an audition for a small role in a television pilot. Bader ended up winning the leading role instead, and while the pilot never sold, it did prompt Bader to relocate to Los Angeles and begin pursuing an acting career full-time. He began landing guest spots on episodic television shows, including Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. In 1993, Bader was cast as the Searcher on the television series Danger Theater, a short-lived spoof of action-adventure programs. Penelope Spheeris, who directed the Danger Theater episodes, remembered Bader when casting for her film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), based on the popular sitcom of the '60s and '70s. Bader won the role of cheerful but slow-witted Jethro Bodine, and his performance was one of the comic highlights of the film. The movie significantly raised Bader's visibility, and in 1995 he was cast as the logically challenged Oswald on The Drew Carey Show. Bader's success on The Drew Carey Show led to notable supporting roles in motion pictures, such as Office Space and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; he also began doing voice work for a number of animated television projects, including Pepper Ann, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Kim Possible. In his private life, Bader married actress Dulcy Rogers in 1998. As his run on The Drew Carey Show continued, he also appeared regularly in feature film such as The Country Bears, Napoleon Dynamite, Eurotrip, and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, as well as animated films like Ice Age and Bolt. In 2010 he landed a recurring role on the short-lived NBC sitcom Outsourced.

Trivia: A master of improvisational comedy, tall, rangy, and rubber-faced, Ryan Stiles is best known for playing comic Drew Carey's best friend in the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Born in Seattle, Stiles entered the entertainment industry as a standup comedian in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was not the career his parents had hoped he would choose, but Stiles managed to make a living for a few years. In the mid-'80s, Stiles switched gears and joined the Second City comedy group in Toronto, renowned for its highly topical and fast-paced sketches. There, Stiles grew adept at improvising; in 1990, he transferred to the Los Angeles Second City troupe and, before long, the six-foot, five-inch redhead was working on television and in feature films. He made his film debut in Rainbow War (1986). Stiles' early television credits include guest-starring roles on Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Mad About You. Outside of The Drew Carey Show, he had his greatest success as a regular on the British improvisational series Whose Line Is It, Anyway?, which found an American audience on the Comedy Central cable network. During the show's run (1988-1993), it won four CableACE awards. The show was revised and updated, as a replacement series on ABC, in the summer of 1998. The show was hosted by Drew Carey.

Trivia: Studied jazz drumming. Played as "Jeff Starship" in several bands before the Ramones. Cofounded the Ramones in 1974. Started off as the Ramones' drummer but soon shifted to lead vocals. Part of the legendary mid-'70s punk-rock scene at the Manhattan club CBGBs. Other future stars at the club included Blondie, Patti Smith and Talking Heads. Enjoyed better chart success with the Ramones in the U.K. than in the U.S. Inspired such British punk bands as the Clash and the Sex Pistols. Diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995 and was given three to six months to live, but survived for six more years. Retired from the Ramones in 1996 after 21 albums and 2263 concerts. May 19, 2001 was proclaimed Joey Ramone Day by Congress. Posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Ramones in 2002. The corner of Bowery and Second Street in New York City was named Joey Ramone Place in 2003.

Trivia: Musician Lisa Loeb has the unique distinction of being the first person to score a number one single without having a record contract, and she has the movies to thank for it. In 1994, Loeb was a singer and songwriter who had a small but loyal following and had yet to attract the attention of a major record label. However, one of Loeb's fans was actor Ethan Hawke, who had purchased a self-released cassette-only album Loeb sold at her live shows. Hawke was quite fond of Loeb's songs, and while working on the film Reality Bites, he suggested to director and co-star Ben Stiller that one of Loeb's new tunes, "Stay," might be a good fit for the film's soundtrack. "Stay" appeared in the movie and made the cut for the soundtrack album; released as a single, the tune became a sensation on radio, and stayed at the top of the Billboard Top 40 Singles chart for three weeks, landing Loeb in the record books. Lisa Loeb was born in Maryland on March 11, 1968, and raised in a suburb of Dallas, TX, where her father was a doctor. Loeb developed a passionate interest in pop music early on, cutting her teeth on the records of Elton John, Olivia Newton-John, and Kiss, and as a student at the prestigious Hockaday School, she studied music theory, piano, and dance, as well as spinned records at the school's radio station and appeared in school musicals. While in high school, Loeb picked up the guitar, in part because her older sibling, an accomplished classical pianist, was dominating the family piano, and the guitar was something she could practice in her own room. Loeb went on to attend Brown University, where she formed a pop group called Liz and Lisa (another member of the group was Duncan Shiek, who later enjoyed success of his own as a singer/songwriter). After graduating from Brown, Loeb moved to New York City, and formed a group called Nine Stories, named for the short story collection by J.D. Sallinger. Loeb and Nine Stories began gigging steadily around the East Coast and Midwest, and with the help of her friend Juan Patino (a recording producer and engineer), she recorded her so-called "Purple Tape," which attracted the attention of Ethan Hawke and led to her appearance on the soundtrack of Reality Bites. After the success of "Stay," a number of major labels were bidding for Loeb's services, and she eventually signed with Geffen Records, who released her first full-length album, Tails, in 1995. Firecracker followed in 1997, then Cake and Pie's American release in 2002. In addition to Reality Bites, Loeb's songs have been used in the films Twister and Anywhere but Here; her song "Truthfully" was written for One Fine Day, though the producers opted not to use it (it appeared instead on the Firecracker album). Loeb also played small roles in the films Black Circle Boys and House on Haunted Hill, and she's done guest shots on the television series The Nanny and The Drew Carey Show.

Trivia: Met future Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler in junior high, and the two formed a band called Road Crew. High-school classmates included Lenny Kravitz and future Lone Justice singer Maria McKee. Knew such rock-and-roll luminaries as David Bowie and Joni Mitchell as a child due to his parents: his mom was a costume designer and his dad created album covers. Left Guns N' Roses in 1996 due to creative differences with lead singer Axl Rose. Has sold more than 100 million albums with Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver and other musical acts. Formed Velvet Revolver in 2003 with former Guns N' Roses bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. Served as musical director for the 2005 Grammy Awards telecast, during which he led a rendition of the Beatles' "Across the Universe" that featured Bono, Steven Tyler, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder. Published a self-titled autobiography in 2007. Scored the music for the "Viper" pinball machine as well as a Guns N' Roses-themed pinball machine. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Guns N' Roses) in 2012.

Trivia: Met wife Nia Vardalos when both were in Chicago performing with the Second City comedy group. Says the day he was hired for Second City (which also featured Chris Farley at the same time) was one of the happiest of his life. Made film debut in 1993's Rookie of the Year. His endearing performance as Javier, the flamboyant coffee-shop manager on The WB's Felicity, was originally supposed to be temporary. His character became so popular that he was rescued from deportation and made a permanent fixture. During the same period when he was appearing on Felicity, he held roles as a goofy sidekick on ABC's Norm and as a conniving ladder-climber on The Drew Carey Show. Appeared in wife Nia Vardalos' hit comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), a film she wrote and based on their relationship. In 2008, he and his wife adopted a daughter.

Trivia: American actress Nan Martin's first burst of activity was in the late '50s, when TV anthology work abounded. Her film appearances commenced with The Buster Keaton Story in 1957. She remained a busy character actress into the mid '70s, playing such roles as the mother of paralyzed skiier Jill Kinmont (Marilyn Hassett) in The Other Side of the Mountain (1975) and its 1978 sequel. In 1986, Nan Martin had a recurring TV role as typist Grace D'Angelo on the Jeffrey Tambor sitcom Mr. Sunshine.

Trivia: Going under the name Pauley P., actress Pauley Perrette (born March 27th, 1969) first gained notoriety with an extended arc on the acclaimed ABC drama Murder One. She followed that with guest spots on such shows as The Drew Carey Show and Frasier before landing a gig as a regular (using her full moniker) on the short-lived Party of Five spin-off Time of Your Life. After that series bowed, Perrette could be seen in small capacity in the big-screen hits Almost Famous and The Ring. In 2003, she finally landed in a series with staying power. This time it was the JAG spin-off Navy NCIS, a CBS drama that cast Perrette in a lead role alongside Mark Harmon.