Trivia: Born Carlos Ray Norris, Chuck Norris served in Korea in the Army. While there, he studied karate and later became the World Middleweight Karate Champion. He was encouraged by one of his karate students, actor Steve McQueen, to go into acting. He debuted onscreen in the enormously popular Bruce Lee vehicle Enter the Dragon (1973); since the death of Lee he has been the screen's premier martial arts star. He has appeared primarily in militaristic movies in which he single-handedly kills many enemies. His breakthrough film was Missing in Action (1984), in which he played an ex-POW in search of American prisoners still held in Vietnam.

Trivia: Formerly a schoolteacher, Texas-born Noble Willingham has been essaying crusty character roles since 1969. Willingham's resumé includes a brace of location-filmed Peter Bogdanovich films, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973), and the role of Clay Stone in both of Billy Crystal's City Slickers comedies. Among his TV-movie credits is the part of President James Knox Polk in 1985's Dream West. A regular on several TV series (The Ann Jillian Show, Texas Wheelers, Cutter to Houston, AfterMASH, When the Whistle Blows), Willingham is best known to 1990s viewers as Mr. Binford (of Binford Tools) in Home Improvement and C. D. Parker in Walker, Texas Ranger. Noble Willingham's most recent film assignments include Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994) Up Close and Personal (1996) and Space Jam (1996). In 2000, Willingham left Walker, Texas Ranger to run for Congress in Texas. After losing the election to his Democratic opponent, Max Sandlin, Willingham returned to acting with a supporting role in the Val Kilmer thriller Blind Horizon. Sadly, the part would be the actor's last. In early 2004, at the age of 72, Willingham passed away at home from natural causes.

Trivia: Daytime-drama addicts first became aware of American actress Gail Strickland when she was cast as Dorcas Trilling in the Gothic soaper Dark Shadows (1966-71). Strickland made her movie debut as villain Murray Hamilton's put-upon spouse in The Drowning Pool, sharing the film's soggy "thrill" highlight with star Paul Newman. She later played significant character roles in films like Norma Rae (1979) and Uncommon Valor (1981). On TV, she has been a regular on The Insiders (1985), What a Country (1986) and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (1992-). In the 1988 weekly series Heartbeat, Strickland played nurse-practitioner Marilyn McGrath, the first lesbian continuing character in Prime Time television. Gail Strickland continued to tote up impressive film credits into the 1990s, notably How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and An American President (1995).

Trivia: Gwen Verdon became a professional performer at 22 -- rather late for a dancer, though she managed to make up for lost time by becoming one of the top Broadway personalities of the 1950s and 1960s. Before this happened, however, Verdon was a "gypsy," bouncing around from one chorus job to another. She essayed brief dancing roles in such 20th Century Fox films as On the Riviera (1951), David and Bathsheba (1951), and Dreamboat (1952). Reportedly, she and Carol Haney worked as choreography assistants to Gene Kelly in 1952's Singin' in the Rain. (Verdon later claimed that she and Haney post-dubbed some of Kelly's taps in the title number, standing ankle-deep in a drum full of water to match the soggy onscreen action.) In 1953, Verdon went to Broadway to star in Cole Porter's Can Can, winning a Tony and Donaldson award as a result; likewise honored with Tonys were her subsequent performances as Lola in Damn Yankees (a role she repeated for the 1958 film version) and the title roles of New Girl in Town (a 1957 musical version of Anna Christie) and Redhead (1958). In 1968, she starred in Sweet Charity, which like many of her earlier Broadway triumphs was choreographed by her longtime husband Bob Fosse. Her last Broadway show was 1975's Roxie Hart, directed by her now ex-husband Fosse; after this, she gave her lovely legs a long rest and concentrated on straight acting. Returning to films in 1984, Gwen Verdon was seen in character parts in such films as Cotton Club (1984), Cocoon (1985), and Alice (1990). She died in October 2000 at the age of 75.

Trivia: Received a scholarship to UCLA but dropped out after just one semester to pursue a career in entertainment. Before embarking on her Hollywood career she was a featured member of the renowned performance troupe the Young Americans. Released her debut dance-pop album, Nothin' But Trouble, in 1988. Hosted a short-lived late-night musical variety show, The Party Machine With Nia Peeples, which was executive produced by Arsenio Hall. Volunteers for the American Heart Association and in 2011 participated in the AHA's "Go Red for Women Stiletto Strut" in Glendale, CA.