Trivia: Doing for bald men what no amount of Minoxodil ever could, Patrick Stewart won international fame for his portrayal of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the popular TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Before earning immortality for his ability to handle a phaser convincingly, Stewart was known as a stage actor of great talent in his native Britain, where he had been performing since he was a teenager.Born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England on July 13, 1940, Stewart was performing in various drama groups by the age of twelve. After leaving school at fifteen, he went to work as a junior reporter for a local newspaper. He quit the job after being told by the paper's editor that he was spending too much time at the theatre and not enough on the newspaper and worked for a year as a furniture salesman to pay for drama school. He was accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 1957, and two years later made his professional stage debut in a production of Treasure Island. Stewart went on to enjoy a prolific and acclaimed stage career, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and remaining with it for the next twenty-seven years. He also began to work on the big and small screens, and in the early 1980s started popping up in a number of popular films like Excalibur (1981) and Dune (1984). In 1987, he was chosen to play Picard on Next Generation. Certain that he would be fired from the series, Stewart reportedly refused to unpack his bags for six weeks. Although more than one snarky observer spent the first year of the series making idiot jokes about Stewart's bald pate, the actor--and the show--proved to be a hit. Stewart stayed with Next Generation for seven seasons, and then reprised his role for a string of successful Star Trek films: 1994's Star Trek Generations, 1996's Star Trek: First Contact, 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection and 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis.In addition to his work with the Next Generation series and films, Stewart also continued to work on the stage and in various films. In 1995, he had a hilarious turn as a flamboyant, acid-tongued interior decorator in Jeffrey, while in 1997 he tried his hand at intrigue with a part in The Conspiracy Theory. The following year, he appeared on the small screen, giving a terrific portrayal of the obsessive Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. Though a new Star Trek film every few years may not have been quite enough to keep the legions of sci-fi addicts satisfied, Stewart scored brownie points among fans by taking an impressive turn as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). On the stage, Stewart enjoyed acclaim for a number of productions, particularly a one-man production of A Christmas Carol, which he performed in numerous theatrical venues around the world, winning numerous awards for his portrayal. He also earned extensive praise for his portrayal of Prospero in the Broadway production of The Tempest in 1996. Interestingly, Stewart, though appreciative of his star status, has repeatedly bristled at the notion that his lack of hair is "sexy," à la Yul Brynner. In regards to his reluctant sex symbol status, he has stated that he would much rather be judged on the basis of his acting ability rather than his appearance.

Trivia: Handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed actor/director Jonathan Frakes is best known among Star Trek lovers for playing Commander William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and in the Star Trek feature films. Before joining the other legends of Gene Roddenberry's operatic future world, Frakes had worked on television and was a regular in two sudsy, short-lived series, Bare Essence (1983) and Paper Dolls (1984). The Pennsylvania native made his television debut in the 1979 movie Beach Patrol. Frakes has also appeared in numerous miniseries including Beulah Land (1980) and both installments of North and South (1985 and 1986). Frakes cut his directorial teeth with episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation and went on to helm other episodes in the Star Trek franchise, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. He has also directed episodes of Diagnosis Murder and University Hospital, as well as the CD-ROM Star Trek-Klingon (1996). Frakes made his feature-film debut as an actor in Star Trek: Generations (1994). He made his big-screen directorial bow in Star Trek: First Contact (1996). His fame from Star Trek has led Frakes to host various sci-fi/paranormal-oriented documentaries including the UPN network's series Paranormal Borderline and the Fox network's popular special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.

Trivia: African American actor LeVar Burton was a 19-year-old UCLA drama student when he was catapulted into international fame. On January 23, 1977, Burton made his professional debut as young Kunta Kinte, the protagonist of the classic TV miniseries Roots. He went on to give first-rate performances in such TV movies as Dummy (79) and One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story (78). Among LeVar Burton's more conspicuous TV appearances in the past decade have included his hosting chores on PBS' Reading Rainbow and his regular role as sightless Lieutenant Geordi LaForge on the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation (87-92). He has continued playing Lt. LaForge in the feature film versions of Star Trek. Burton is also a published author. Aside from the Star Trek films, his big-screen credits include the biopic Ali. Burton has also directed a handful of projects including episodic television, the senior-citizen romantic comedy Reach for Me, and Miracle's Boys - a drama about three brothers growing up in difficult circumstances.

Trivia: African-American actor Michael Dorn received much of his on-the-job training as a semi-regular on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives. In the prime-time hours, Dorn was seen as Officer Turner during the final two seasons (1980-1982) of the weekly cop series CHiPs. He went on to a flurry of supporting-cast activity in such theatrical features as The Jagged Edge (1985). Then, in 1987, Michael Dorn donned mounds of facial makeup for what was to be his signature role: the U.S.S. Enterprise's Klingon officer Lt. Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994).

Trivia: A black-eyed, exotic beauty from Great Britain, supporting actress Marina Sirtis is best known for playing the empathic Lt. Commander Deanna Troi on the Star Trek: The Next Generation series and in the feature films it spawned. Of Greek heritage, Sirtis was born in East London but raised in North London. Before launching her acting career with the Worthing Repertory Theatre, she studied at the Guild Hall School of Music and Drama. She appeared in many classical dramas with the theater, including Hamlet. A versatile performer, she has also appeared in musicals and, at one time, toured Europe in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Sirtis has extensive experience on British television and made her film debut in The Wicked Lady (1983) opposite Faye Dunaway. She had a major role in the Charles Bronson revenge vehicle Death Wish III (1985).

Trivia: Gates McFadden (aka Cheryl McFadden) primarily works in television and is best known for playing Dr. Beverly Crusher on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), but she has also done some film work, including the Star Trek film series. McFadden has also worked as a choreographer on The Dark Crystal (1982), Dreamchild (1985), and Labyrinth (1986). McFadden made her film debut in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). In the thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990), she played Caroline Ryan, the wife of Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) (in the sequel, McFadden was replaced by Ann Archer). In addition to Star Trek: The Next Generation, McFadden has been a semi-regular on Mad About You, The Cosby Show, and Party of Five.

Trivia: Best known for playing the android Data on the syndicated television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and in its feature film spin-offs, Brent Spiner is also a talented singer. Before agreeing to play Data, Spiner had spent a decade on the New York stage. A native of Houston, TX, he was raised by his mother and her second husband (Spiner's real father died when he was a baby). The Quaid brothers Randy and Dennis were among his high school classmates and the three learned about acting under Cecil Pickett. Eventually Pickett would leave the school to take a teaching job at the University of Houston. Spiner enrolled there soon after graduation, but only remained at the university through 1974 when he decided to become a professional actor in New York City. Like many other aspiring thespians, Spiner had dues to pay in the form of taking a job as a cab driver before launching his career off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut with Sunday in the Park With George opposite Mandy Patinkin. He made his television debut in a miniseries, The Dain Curse, and first appeared in films with a bit part in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980). Spiner had a rare starring role in Rent Control (1981). He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and launched a career as a television guest star on series and as a supporting actor in telemovies and miniseries. He most frequently appeared on the sitcom Night Court as the man who establishes a snack bar in the courthouse. He then successfully auditioned for the role of Data. Interestingly, Spiner claims no particular love for science fiction and was not a big fan of the original Star Trek. He says he mainly took the job because he didn't think the new series would last and because he needed to pay a few bills. The show lasted seven years also spawning a successful film series, and from the start, his was the most popular character on the show. In an effort to capitalize and satirize his nonhuman role on the show -- and perhaps to poke fun at actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy who capitalized on their Star Trek fame by each recording equally awful albums (can anyone forget Nimoy's bouncy rendition of "Bilbo Hobbitt"?) -- Spiner recorded his own album, Old Yellow Eyes Is Back (1991), with an 80-piece orchestra and fellow castmates Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn. Though the bulk of his fame comes from being Data, Spiner is not content to spend the rest of his career typecast and so occasionally plays other characters. His portrayal of prissy singing cruise director Gil Godwin was the funniest thing about Martha Coolidge's waterlogged Out to Sea (1997).

Trivia: Best remembered for his work on the long-running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live between 1980 and 1984, comedian Joe Piscopo has also had a sporadic movie career. Heralding from Passaic, NJ, he started out in standup and also worked in regional and improvisational theater before joining the show. On SNL, Piscopo was famed for his dead-on parody of Frank Sinatra and other celebrities ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Leonard Nimoy to Barbra Streisand. He made his feature-film debut (not counting an unbilled appearance in Dino De Laurentis' King Kong) in Johnny Dangerously (1984).

Trivia: Initially winning fame for his role as Luke Fuller on Dynasty from 1984 to 1985, Bill Campbell went on to a career mainly comprised of television roles, but including the occasional foray into film as well. The oldest of seven children, Campbell was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on July 7, 1959. After making his TV debut on Dynasty, he gained a substantial role in Abel Ferrara's made-for-TV Crime Story and appeared in a number of forgettable films. In 1991, he won notice for his title role in The Rocketeer, and the following year had a supporting part in Bram Stoker's Dracula. However, he continued to do his best work on TV, appearing in the acclaimed PBS series Tales of the City (1993) and its 1998 sequel More Tales of the City as the gay gynecologist lover of one of the show's protagonists. In 1999, he could again be seen on television, starring opposite Sela Ward on the series Once and Again. The credits listed him as "Billy Campbell;" the actor has also been credited in the past as "William Campbell." In 2002 Campbell had the tables turned on him as a menacing husband whose wife (portrayed by pop-diva Jennifer Lopez) takes the situation into her own hands in Enough.

Trivia: Though best known as an outspoken comedienne, Whoopi Goldberg is also a talented dramatic actress. By virtue of her distinctive appearance and a persona that is both no-nonsense and empathic, Goldberg has emerged as one of the most recognizable celebrities of the '80s and '90s.Born Caryn Johnson on November 13, 1955 in New York City, Goldberg began her long career when she was eight years old, performing with New York's Helena Rubenstein Children's Theater. She then went on to study with the Hudson Guild children's arts program and attended the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts. After graduating, Goldberg occasionally won small parts in Broadway productions such as Hair, Pippin and Jesus Christ Superstar, but also supported herself doing odd jobs like bricklaying and serving as a funeral parlor make-up artist. In 1975, Goldberg moved West and helped found the San Diego Repertory Theater, where she appeared in a number of plays, including Brecht's Mother Courage and Marsha Norman's Getting Out. After several stints with the Spontaneous Combustion improvisational troupe and work in avant-garde productions at Berkeley's Blake Street Hawkeyes theater, Goldberg devised The Spook Show, a one woman satirical production in which she played several characters. The show, which originated in San Francisco, eventually toured the U.S. and Europe, earning acclaim and the attention of director Mike Nichols. Nichols went on to direct a 1984 Broadway version of the show, which earned Goldberg Drama Desk and Theatre World awards, as well as a Grammy for the album recording.Goldberg made an auspicious Hollywood debut with her portrayal of Celie, the lead character in Steven Spielberg's controversial 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's novel. Goldberg's moving performance was rewarded with an Oscar nomination and Best Actress Golden Globe, as well as instant stardom for the actress. Although Goldberg's film career looked promising, the actress unfortunately spent much of the decade's remainder appearing in terrible action comedies such as Fatal Beauty and Burglar (both 1987) that did not do her comic gifts justice. Her one partial success during this period was her first action comedy, Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), which did relatively well at the box office and gave her a certain cult status. In 1988, Goldberg took a break from comedy with a memorable turn as a worldly Jamaican nanny in the otherwise unremarkable Clara's Heart. She also made numerous appearances in television specials, most notably as a co-host for the annual Comic Relief benefit for the homeless. Her attempt at sitcoms failed with the short-lived series Bagdad Cafe, but she did find greater television success with a small but crucial recurring role as the sagacious intergalactic bartender Guinan on the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation. Around the same time, Goldberg's film career underwent a sharp turn-around. She won acclaim playing a selfless housekeeper opposite Sissy Spacek in the provocative Civil Rights drama The Long Walk Home (1989), and then played an eccentric con artist possessing unexpected psychic powers in the 1990 smash hit Ghost. Goldberg's funny yet moving performance earned her her first Oscar and the widespread opinion that this marked her comeback performance. After a couple of missteps that had a few people rethinking this verdict, Goldberg scored again with the 1992 hit comedy Sister Act. Nominated for Golden Globes and two NAACP awards, the film spawned mass ticket sales and an unsuccessful 1993 sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Meanwhile, Goldberg also continued her television work with a 1992 late night talk show. A laid back affair that ran for 200 episodes, it was praised by critics but failed to secure high ratings and went on permanent hiatus after only six months. However, Goldberg continued to appear on TV with her recurring role as a Comic Relief co-host and as an MC for the Academy Awards ceremony, a role she reprised multiple times. At the same time, Goldberg continued to work in film, doing both comedy and drama and experiencing the obligatory highs and lows. Some of her more memorable roles included that of a single mother who discovers that Ted Danson, not a black genius, fathered her daughter in Made in America (1993), a lesbian lounge singer in Boys on the Side (1995), a white-middle-aged corporate executive in The Associate (1996), Angela Bassett's best friend in the 1998 hit How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and a private detective in the drama The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). In addition, Goldberg also appeared in two notable documentaries, The Celluloid Closet (1995), and Get Bruce! a piece about comedy writer Bruce Vilanch that also featured fellow comedians such as Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Nathan Lane and Bette Midler.As the new decade dawned, Goldberg could be seen in supporting roles in projects like Rocky and Bullwinkle and the ensemble comedy Rat Race. Then, in 2003, she tried her hand at a starring sitcom role for the first time with Whoopi. The show found Goldberg playing an irreverent hotel owner and was met with mixed reviews before being cancelled mid-season.In 2004, Goldberg focused her career on voice work with appearances in Doogal, The Lion King 1 1/2, and P3K: Pinocchio3000. She continued this trend in the following years with such films as Racing Stripes and Everyone's Hero. Then, in 2007, Goldberg returned to the small-screen, replacing Rosie O'Donnell on the ABC panel show The View. Goldberg lent her voice to Pixar's Toy Story 3 in 2010, and as the narrator for 2011's documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey.

Trivia: Educated at Sweet Briar College, Diana Muldaur began her New York stage career in 1963, appearing in three Broadway plays--Seidelman and Son, Poor Biros and A Very Rich Woman--back to back. She also played a regular role in the Manhattan-based soap opera The Secret Storm. In 1968, Muldaur appeared in her first film, The Swimmer. Exuding a serenity and maturity beyond her years, she was generally cast in cool, sophisticated roles, often as a deliberate contrast to her less-polished male co-stars: for example, she was a regular on the TV series McCloud (1970-77) cast as rambunctious Marshal Sam McCloud's(Dennis Weaver) low-key lady friend Chris Coughlin. Conversely, she was vitriol personified as barracuda lawyer Rosalind Shays in LA Law (1989-91)--at least she was until her character took a spectacular season--ending plunge down an empty elevator shaft. Other TV programs that have utilized Muldaur on a weekly basis have included The Survivors (1970), Black Beauty (1972), Born Free (1974), The Tony Randall Show (1976), Hizzoner (1979), Fitz and Bones (1981) and A Year in the Life (1987). In addition, she is among the few actors who have shown up in both the original Star Trek (in two guest-star assignments) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (as Dr. Katherine Pulaski). Undoubtedly one of her more enjoyable (and least taxing) assignments was as the voice of Dr. Leslie Thompson on Batman: The Animated Series. Equally busy when not performing before the cameras, Muldaur is a past member of the SAG board of the directors. Diana Muldaur is the widow of actor James Mitchell Vickery.

Trivia: A star of television and feature films, Teri Hatcher also holds the distinction of being the woman whose photographs were most frequently downloaded from the Internet in the late '90s. With her brunette hair, beautiful brown eyes, mischievous smile, and petite but curvaceous figure, it isn't difficult to imagine why. While Hatcher could probably thrive for years as a virtual pinup, there is more to her than drop-dead gorgeous looks. The daughter of a physicist and a computer programmer, she initially studied math and engineering at a San Francisco area community college before the acting bug bit. She later enrolled at the American Conservatory Theatre. At age 20, she was a cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers. Hatcher made her television debut in 1985, playing Amy, one of the singing/dancing Mermaids on the revived anthology series Love Boat. Shortly thereafter, she became a regular on the action-adventure series MacGyver and more guest-starring roles on other shows followed, but she did not become a bona fide star until 1993, after she was selected to star opposite Dean Cain in the television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Hatcher stuck with the show until it ended its run in 1997, and though she would lay low for a few subsuquent years, Hatcher's career caught a second wind and a half with her starring role on the comedy Desperate Housewives, a phenomenally successful show that made the actress a bigger star than ever.

Trivia: Like his brother Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney is also an actor. He made his debut in the television movie Bluegrass (1988) and his feature debut the same year in Nowhere to Run. He and his brother appeared together in Career Opportunities (1991). As the '90s progressed, Mulroney primarily played supporting roles.

Trivia: Wil Wheaton was eight years old when he got his first showbiz break, appearing with Bill Cosby in a Jell-O pudding commercial. The following year (1982), Wheaton was prominently featured in the voiceover cast of the animated The Secret of NIMH. During this same period, he made his Los Angeles stage debut in a Company of Angels Theatre production of All My Sons. His starmaking turn was as Gordie Lachance, the Stephen King alter-ego, in the 1986 feature Stand By Me (1986). He then went on to play the title role in the 1987 Disney TV-movie Young Harry Houdini. Wheaton gained worldwide fame (and a worldwide website) as ensign Wesley Crusher in the weekly TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he played from 1987 to 1990. After leaving STNG on his own accord, Wheaton transitioned into adult roles with appearances in Flubber and a slew of independent films, and in 2001 he launched Wil Wheaton Dot Net, a blog that quickly gained a considerable following while turning the veteran actor into something of a geek icon. Meanwhile, in addition to staying busy with voice roles in such popular videogames as the Grand Theft Auto series and Fallout: New Vegas, Wheaton also contributed vocally to such animated television series' as Naruto, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In 2009 he began riffing on his own public persona with a recurring role as a fictional version of himself on The Big Bang Theory, and in 2010 he joined the cast of the quirky Sci-fi Channel series Eureka as Dr. Isaac Parrish. The author of both Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, Wheaton is the brother of actress Amy Wheaton.

Trivia: For an actor almost universally associated with a single character -- Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise -- William Shatner has found diverse ways to stay active in the public eye, even spoofing his overblown acting style in a way far more hip than desperate. Years after he last uttered "warp speed," Shatner remains a well-known face beyond Star Trek conventions, re-creating himself as the spoken-word pitchman for priceline.com, and starring in a popular series of smoky nightclub ads that featured some of the most cutting-edge musicians of the day.The Canadian native was born on March 22, 1931, in Montréal, where he grew up and attended Verdun High School. Shatner studied commerce at McGill University before getting the acting bug, which eventually prompted him to move to New York in 1956. He initially worked in such live television dramatic shows as Studio One and The United States Steel Hour in 1957 and 1958, as well as on Broadway. His big screen debut soon followed as Alexei in the 1958 version of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.Throughout the 1960s, Shatner worked mostly in television. His most memorable appearance came in a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone entitled "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," in which he plays a terrified airline passenger unable to convince the crew that there's a mysterious gremlin tearing apart the wing. He also appeared in such films as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and the bizarrely experimental Esperanto-language horror film Incubus (1963). In 1966, he got his big break, though neither he nor anyone else knew it at the time. Shatner was cast as the macho starship captain James Kirk on Star Trek, commanding a crew that included an acerbic doctor, a Scottish engineer, and a logician with pointy ears, on a mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before." However, the show lasted only three seasons, considered by many to be high camp. After providing a voice on the even shorter-lived animated series in 1973, Shatner must have thought Star Trek too would pass. A costly divorce and a lingering diva reputation from Star Trek left him with few prospects or allies, forcing him to take whatever work came his way. But in 1979, after a decade of B-movie labor in such films as The Kingdom of Spiders (1977) and a second failed series (Barbary Coast, 1975-1976), Shatner re-upped for another attempt to capitalize on the science fiction series with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This time it caught on, though the first film was considered a costly disappointment. With dogged determination, the producers continued onward with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), at which point fans finally flocked to the series, rallying behind the film's crisp space battles and the melodramatic tête-à-tête between Shatner and Ricardo Montalban.Shatner had to wrestle with his advancing age and the deaths of several characters in Star Trek II and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), but by Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), the actor got to indulge in his more whimsical side, which has since characterized his career. As the series shifted toward comedy, Shatner led the way, even serving as director of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), which many considered among the series' weaker entries. During this period, Shatner also began parodying himself in earnest, appearing as host of Saturday Night Live in a famous sketch in which he tells a group of Trekkies to "Get a life." He also turned in a wickedly energetic mockery of a moon base captain in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). Shatner made one final appearance with the regular Star Trek cast in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), then served as one of the crossovers to the new series of films in Star Trek: Generations (1994), in which endlessly theorizing fans finally learned the fate of Captain Kirk.The success of the Trek movies reenergized Shatner's TV career, even if it didn't immediately earn him more film roles. Shatner played the title role on the successful police drama T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1987, directing some episodes, then began hosting the medical reality series Rescue 911 in 1989. Shatner returned to the movies with another parody, Loaded Weapon I, in 1993, and in 1994 began directing, executive producing, and acting in episodes of the syndicated TV show TekWar, based on the popular series of Trek-like novels he authored. In the later '90s, Shatner was best known for his humorously out-there priceline.com ads, but also guested on a variety of TV shows, most notably as the "Big Giant Head" on the lowbrow farce Third Rock From the Sun. He also appeared as game show hosts both in film (Miss Congeniality, 2000) and real life (50th Annual Miss America Pageant, 2001). In 1999, Shatner suffered public personal tragedy when his third wife, Nerine, accidentally drowned in their swimming pool. The champion horse breeder and tennis enthusiast owns a ranch in Kentucky and remains active in environmental causes. Shatner took on a small role for 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and voiced the villainous wildebeest Kazar in Disney's animated adventure The Wild in 2006. Shatner returned to television for a starring role on the popular dramady Boston Legal, in which he plays Denny Crane, a once unbeatable lawyer who co-founded the successful law firm where he continues to work despite his reputation as an eccentric old man.

Trivia: The son of a Boston barber, Leonard Nimoy was a star at the age of 8, when he played Hansel in a children's theatre production of Hansel and Gretel. Nimoy remained with his local kiddie theater troupe until 16 (one of his directors during this period was Boris Sagal). After studying drama at Boston College and Antioch College, he took acting lessons from Jeff Corey at the Pasadena Playhouse. In films from 1950, Nimoy played the title character in the low-budget Kid Monk Baroni and essayed bits and minor roles in such productions as Zombies of the Stratosphere (1951), Rhubarb (1951) and Them! (1954). In between acting assignments, he held down a dizzying variety of jobs: soda jerk, newspaper carrier, vacuum-cleaner salesman, vending machine mechanic, pet-shop clerk, cabbie and acting coach. During his 18 months in Special Services at Fort McPherson, Georgia, he acted with Atlanta Theater Guild when he could spare the time. Back in Hollywood in 1956, he became virtually a regular at the Ziv TV studios, playing villains in programs like Highway Patrol and Sea Hunt. For a short while, he specialized in the plays of Jean Genet, appearing in both the stage and film productions of The Balcony and Deathwatch. Impressed by Nimoy's guest turn on a 1963 episode of The Lieutenant, producer Gene Roddenberry vowed to cast the saturnine, mellow-voiced actor as an extraterrestrial if ever given the chance. That chance came two years later, when Roddenberry signed Nimoy to play Vulcanian science officer Spock on Star Trek. At first pleased at the assignment, Nimoy came to resent the apparent fact that the public perceived him as Spock and nothing else: indeed, one of his many written works was the slim autobiography I Am Not Spock. After Star Trek's cancellation, Nimoy joined the cast of Mission: Impossible in the role of "master of disguise" Paris (he replaced the series' previous master of disguise Martin Landau, who ironically had originally been slated to play Spock). In the early 1970s, Nimoy began racking up directorial credits on such series as Night Gallery. He also made his first Broadway appearance in 1973's Full Circle. And, perhaps inevitably, he returned to Spock, thanks to the popular demand engendered by the then-burgeoning Star Trek cult. His initial reacquaintance with the role was as voiceover artist on the 1973 Saturday-morning cartoon version of Star Trek. Then Spock went on the back burner again as Nimoy devoted himself to his theatrical commitments (a touring production of Sherlock Holmes, his one-man show Vincent), his writing and directing activities, and his hosting chores on the long-running (1976-82) TV documentary series In Search Of.... Finally in 1978, Nimoy was back in his Enterprise uniform in the first of several Star Trek theatrical features. The Spock character was killed off in the second Trek picture The Wrath of Khan, but Nimoy stayed with the franchise as director of the next two feature-length Trek entries (PS: Spock also came back to life). He went on to direct such non-Trek filmic endeavors as 3 Men and a Baby (1987), The Good Mother (1988), Funny About Love (1990) and Holy Matrimony (1994). He also produced and acted in the 1991 TV movie Never Forget, and served as executive producer of the 1995 UPN network series Deadly Games. Perhaps because he will always have dozens of professional irons in the fire, Leonard Nimoy now seems resigned to being forever associated with the role that brought him international fame; his most recent autobiographical work was aptly titled I Am Spock. In 2009 he returned to his iconic role portraying Spock in J.J. Abrams smash-hit reboot of the Star Trek franchise. He next took on a recurring role in the sci-fi series Fringe, playing scientist William Bell. Nimoy made a final cameo appearance in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He died in 2015, at age 83.

Trivia: Canadian-born actor James Doohan trained for his career at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and built much of his reputation upon his uncanny skill at foreign dialects. It was director James Goldstone who in 1965 suggested that Doohan audition for the supporting role of chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise on Star Trek. After trying out a variety of accents during the audition, Doohan latched onto a Scottish brogue which tickled the fancy of Trek producer Gene Roddenberry. Thus, the chief engineer was dubbed Scotty -- or, more formally, Lt. Montgomery Scott (Montgomery happened to be Doohan's middle name). The actor remained in the role until Star Trek's cancellation in 1969, subsequently reviving the character for the 1974 cartoon series and the many theatrical films. Though he most assuredly had a career outside of Scotty (among many other projects, he was one of the stars of the 1979 Saturday-morning TV series Jason of Star Command), Doohan has frequently been called upon to play variations of the character in film and TV projects ranging from National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 to Knight Rider 2000.

Trivia: African American actress/singer Nichelle Nichols was born in Robbins, a progressive Illinois community founded by blacks in the 1890s. Nichelle sang with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands, then performed as a single in nightclubs. Garnering acting experience in supporting roles in such films as Mister Buddwing (1965) and Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!(1966), Ms. Nichols was cast in her signature role in 1966: Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek. Much was made in the mainstream press over the fact that here was the first TV science-fiction series to feature a black regular. Much more was made on the set of Trek by Nichols, who issued public complaints about the paucity of her character's screen time. She also seethed inwardly whenever star William Shatner, laboring under the assumption that every move he made was for the good of the series, ordered that Nichelle's lines be cut or altered because they "didn't fit her character." At the end of the first season, Nichols was poised to quit the series. She was persuaded to stay--by one of Star Trek's biggest fans: Dr. Martin Luther King, who felt that Uhura was a positive role model for black women. Before the series' three-year run was out, Nichols made television history by participating in an interracial kiss with William Shatner (though the scene itself was "fudged" so as not to offend those bigots who found such things offensive). In all her subsequent Trek endeavors, including the six theatrical features and the 1972 animated cartoon spin-off, Nichols saw to it that Uhura's contributions were of ever-increasing importance. In recent years, Nichelle Nichols has been active in several educational and pro-social organizations, and has been a guest host on the Sci-Fi cable channel's Inside Space; in 1994, she published her autobiography, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories. In 1996 she made a memorable appearance at a roast of her former captain William Shatner.

Trivia: Asian-American actor George Takei studied architecture at the University of California and theatre arts at UCLA. Takei's first film appearance was in the 1960 Warner Bros. feature Ice Palace He appeared with regularity on series television in the early 1960s; his most controversial TV role was the son of a World War II traitor in the 1964 Twilight Zone episode "The Encounter," which was withdrawn from the series' syndicated package due to charges of misrepresentation from several Japanese-American groups. In 1966, Takei began what was to become a lifelong assignment when he was cast as chief navigator Hikaru Sulu on the evergreen science-fiction series Star Trek. He has extended this characterization into seven Star Trek feature films, as well as a Saturday morning cartoon series. Erudite and socially correct at all times, Takei nonetheless enjoyed a reputation as Star Trek's most aggressive on-set practical joker. The show's three-year run ended, and although Takai appeared in a smattering of pictures including The Green Berets and Which Way to the Front?, he didn't find steady work on screen until the Star Trek film franchise got under way in 1979. The ongoing love for the series, and Takai's own ability to stay in the public eye thanks in part to his ongoing association with Howard Stern's radio show, helped him find steady work throughout the nineties, eventually finding a very lucrative career using his quite recognizable, resonant voice in a variety of animated endeavors. He announced in a 2005 interview that he's been in a long-term relationship with another man for nearly 20 years, and this news did nothing to halt his career or the public's goodwill toward him. Among his most high-profile acting gigs apart from Star Trek have been the television show Heroes, okaying Le Duc Tho in Kissinger and Nixon, and playing a quirky economics teacher in the Tom Hanks directed Larry Crowne.