Trivia: An alumnus of New York City's High School of Music and Arts and Bard College, actor/writer/director Christopher Guest made his initial Broadway appearance in the 1970 revival of Room Service; two years later, he co-starred in Moonchildren. Guest's early acting accomplishments have tended to become obscured in the light of his extensive work for the National Lampoon folks: he wrote several articles for the Lampoon magazine, and was a writer/performer for the organization's radio programs, record albums, and stage reviews. His extensive comic talents went largely untapped in such "mainstream" acting assignments as the made-for-TV Blind Ambition (1982), in which he portrayed Nixon intimate Jeb Stuart Magruder, and the theatrical feature The Long Riders (1982), in which he was co-starred with his younger brother Nicholas.In 1982, Guest played divorced suburbanite Bucky Frische in Million Dollar Infield (1982), a made-for-TV movie produced and co-written by Rob Reiner. His association with Reiner extended into appearances in the latter's big-screen directorial efforts: In This is Spinal Tap (1983), Guest not only penned the script but also played heavy metal rocker Nigel Tufnel; and in The Princess Bride (1986), cast as the evil Count Rubin, he offered a sly impression of British character actor Henry Daniell. Guest has since parlayed his "Spinal Tap" association into something of a second career, touring as Nigel Tufnel with fellow "Tap" members David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) and composing many of the group's "hits." On TV, Guest was a regular during the 1984-1985 season of Saturday Night Live and shared a scriptwriting Emmy for a 1976 Lily Tomlin special. Making his directorial debut with the Tinseltown satire The Big Picture (1989), Guest has gone on to helm the TV-movie remake of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1993), the "Johnny Appleseed" segment of Shelley Duvall's cable-TV anthology American Tall Tales and Legends, and most of the episodes of Rob Reiner's 1992 TV sitcom Morton and Hayes.After once again appearing as Nigel Tufnel in The Return of Spinal Tap (1992), the latter '90s found Guest expanding on his successes in the world of showbiz mockery by taking the directors chair with a few irreverent faux documentaries of his own. Re-teaming with fellow bandmates McKean and Shearer for the musical numbers in Waiting for Guffman (1996), the critically praised comedy proved that Guest's eye for satire was indeed as sharp as his pen. Following with some vocal work in Small Soldiers (1998), Guest returned to the director's chair for what would be comedian Chris Farley's last film, Almost Heroes (1998). Both of these projects proved to be brief diversions, though, and, as old habits die hard, Guest couldn't resist his urges for parody for long.Though not related (in a traditional sense) to show business, Best in Show targeted a subject that some may say was screaming for parody, the world of Championship Dog shows. His skills as a director more focused and refined than ever, Guest lead a talented cast of the usual suspects in creating yet another hilarious and scathing take on a what many considered to be well-deserving subject. After earning a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Comedy" at that year's ceremony, the film went on to live a healthy life on DVD and cable television. Guest's next film set its sights on a target that many may agree was begging for the treatment even more so than that of his last subject, and though A Mighty Wind's spot on folk song parodies would prove almost so effective as to be considered the real deal, the film itself differed from Best in Show in that it sharply divided its supporters and detractors as few of his films had. Guest worked as an actor, screenwriter, songwriter, and director for The Mighty Wind (2003), an award-winning mockuementary chronicling the ups and downs of a career in folk music, and again with For Your Consideration (2006). The actor would co-star with Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in Mr. Henderson Presents (2005), which followed a wealthy eccentric determined to transform a dingy London theater into a thriving hotspot for entertainment, and take on roles in 2009's The Invention of Lying and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Guest is married to actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

Trivia: You knew him as Lenny Koznowski, the nasal, nerdish pal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman (David L. Lander) on the hit TV series Laverne and Shirley. Show-biz insiders knew Michael McKean as an intelligent, versatile actor and writer. Shedding himself of the "Lenny" image after Laverne and Shirley folded in 1983, McKean became involved in several ensemble comedy projects with such kindred spirits as Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest. In the 1984 "rockumentary" spoof This Is Spinal Tap, McKean played the cockney-accented heavy metal musician David St. Hubbins. Apparently McKean enjoyed posing as an Englishman, inasmuch as he has done it so often and so well since Spinal Tap, most recently as Brian Benben's snippish boss on the cable TV sitcom Dream On. In the early '90s, McKean was one of the stars of another, less memorable TV comedy, Grand, and appeared for two season on Saturday Night Live. He continues to land film roles, usually in comedies, including the successful The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).

Trivia: A gifted comic actor who also won acclaim as a writer and director, Eugene Levy was born on December 17, 1946, in Hamilton, Ontario, the home of McMaster University, where he enrolled after graduating from Westdale High School in the same city. Levy studied film at McMaster, and, in 1967, became vice president of the McMaster Film Board, a student film group where he met fellow aspiring moviemaker Ivan Reitman. (Other McMaster students at the time included Martin Short and Dave Thomas.) In 1970, Reitman began work on a low-budget horror movie called Cannibal Girls and cast Levy as Clifford Sturges. One of his co-stars was a struggling actress named Andrea Martin, who would later work alongside Levy's old pals Short and Thomas -- as well as John Candy and Joe Flaherty -- on the short-lived Canadian sitcom The David Steinberg Show. Levy and Martin's paths crossed again when they were cast in the Toronto production of the musical Godspell; the cast also included Gilda Radner and Paul Shaffer, in addition to Short, Candy, and Thomas. After Godspell closed in 1973 (just in time for the long-delayed Cannibal Girls to finally hit the grind-house circuit), Levy joined the Toronto company of the famed improvisational Second City comedy troupe, in which Candy and Flaherty were already cast members. After two years as a part of Second City, Levy, Candy, and Flaherty decided to move to California to try their luck in the States; they didn't fare well at first, but their idea for a television series about a ramshackle, low-budget television station eventually blossomed into Second City TV, or (SCTV, for short). While the show, ironically, brought Levy and his friend's back to Toronto (where it was shot), it also became a solid hit in Canada and developed a loyal cult following in the U.S., and, moreover, launched the careers of Levy, Flaherty, Thomas, Candy, Short, Martin, and Catherine O'Hara in America. (After SCTV's initial run ended in 1981, NBC brought the show back in an extended version called SCTV Network 90, which featured a higher budget, more guest stars, and ran until 1983. Levy also won two Emmy awards as a member of the show's writing staff.) Levy and Candy also created an acclaimed spin-off from the show based around their characters of polka musicians Stan and Yosh Shmenge, a 1984 cable special entitled The Last Polka. By the mid-'80s, Levy had become a familiar face on both episodic television and in movies, albeit almost always in comic supporting roles. In 1989, he began working behind the camera again, directing a special for his old partner Martin Short, and, in 1992, made his feature directorial debut with the John Candy/Jim Belushi comedy Once Upon a Crime. In 1996, however, Levy scored a bigger breakthrough when he and Christopher Guest began writing a screenplay for a mockumentary about a small town theater troupe. Waiting for Guffman became a surprise hit and gave Levy a meaty comic role as stage-struck dentist Allan Pearl. In 1999, the actor won another high-profile success with the blockbuster hit American Pie, in which he played the understanding but terminally non-hip father of hormonally charged teenager Jim (Jason Biggs); Levy reprised the role in the 2001 sequel American Pie 2 and again in 2003's American Wedding. Levy and Guest teamed up again in 2000 for the comedy, Best in Show, for which the two received a Best Screenplay nomination from the Writers Guild of America. He and Guest also co-wrote and starred in another 2003 mockumentary, A Mighty Wind, a parody about '60s folk musicians who reunite for a tribute concert several years after their heyday.For a few years after, it began to look as if Levy's primary occupation was reprising his role as Jim's dad in a series of lackluster, straight-to-video American Pie sequels -- with appearances in high profile films like A Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock becoming few and far between. In 2011, however, the comedy veteran received the prestigious distinction of being appointed a Member of the Order of Canada -- one of the nation's highest civilian honors -- before rejoining his former SCTV castmates in the made-for-television movie I, Martin Short, Goes Home, serving up a slice of nostalgia in American Reunion, and appearing opposite Tyler Perry in the 2012 comedy Madea's Witness Protection.

Trivia: California native Harry Shearer was one of the busier child actors of the 1950s. He appeared in such films as The Robe (1953) (as the boy David) and Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953); he could be heard on such radio programs as Suspense, Lux Radio Theatre, and the Jack Benny Show; and among his many TV guest roles was the character who would evolve into Eddie Haskell in the 1955 Leave It to Beaver pilot. After attending U.C.L.A., Shearer flourished as a standup comedian and comedy writer. He was frequently employed on the writing staff for such TV laughspinners as Laverne and Shirley and America 2Night; he also worked both sides of the camera in the 1984 rockumentary parody This Is Spinal Tap, co-starring as rock idol Derek Smalls and co-writing the script with director Rob Reiner and fellow cast members Christopher Guest and Michael McKean. In league with another top satirist, Albert Brooks, Shearer concocted the screenplay for another faux documentary, 1979's Real Lampoon. During the 1984-1985 TV season, Shearer joined the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live. The soft-spoken, saturnine Harry Shearer is most famous however for lending his voice to the Fox Network cartoon series The Simpsons.

Trivia: Playing a succession of bespectacled, soft-spoken, yet vaguely superior characters, Bob Balaban carved himself a niche as a reliable character actor in the last quarter of the 20th century, while also getting the occasional opportunity to write and direct for the screen. The nephew and cousin of industry personages, Balaban got the acting bug at Colgate University and N.Y.U., inspiring him to study with Uta Hagen and Viola Spolin. After some exposure on and off-Broadway in the late 1960s, Balaban made his film debut in Midnight Cowboy (1969), playing the high school student who meets Jon Voight in the movie theater for a tryst. Working sporadically through the '70s, more in theater and TV than film, Balaban developed a more familiar face with such roles as the cartographer and French translator from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978) and the attorney hired to help Richard Dreyfuss' quadriplegic choose to die in Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981). Balaban's major contribution to the industry in the 1980s was as a director, first of the disappointing Showtime movie The Brass Ring (1983) and then of the macabre weekly TV series Tales of the Darkside (1984) and Amazing Stories (1985). His big-screen directorial debut, the cannibal-themed black comedy Parents (1989), was considered either an objectionable failure by some or a devious cult classic by others; two later forays into directing (My Boyfriend's Back in 1993, The Last Good Time in 1994) were better received.In the 1990s, Balaban returned his focus to acting, especially as he caught on with more regular parts in the latter half of the decade. His most widely seen role was the NBC executive who accepts, then declines, then accepts again the pilot written by George and Jerry on the popular sitcom Seinfeld. His Russell Dalrymple appeared in only six episodes in the 1992-1993 season but was featured prominently in the season finale, lost at sea and presumed dead in his all-consuming quest to win Elaine's affections. It was this Seinfeld gig that netted Balaban the most regular and prominent work of his career in the years that followed. Although often still appearing in serious roles, Balaban indulged his talent for subtle comedy by linking up with actor/director Christopher Guest and appearing in two of his acclaimed faux documentaries, Waiting for Guffman (1996) and Best in Show (2000).Balaban scored a major art-house and critical successes producing and playing one of the main characters in Robert Altman's murder-mystery Gosford Park, and appearing as an ineffective father in Ghost World. That same year he appeared in important supporting roles in such big-budget fare as The Mexican and The Majestic. He maintained his carer in the independent world hooking up again with Christopher Guest for A Mighty Wind, and making a cameo appearance in the Oscar nominated Capote. Balaban appeared in and helped produce the animated Hollywood satire Hopeless Pictures, which ran on IFC in 2005. 2006 proved to be a very busy year for the multi-talented Balaban. In addition to another ollaboration with Guest, For Your Consideration, he played a film critic in M. Nght Shyamalan's The Lady in the Water. He also directed Ralph Finnes and Susan Sarandon in Doris and Bernard.Over the coming years, Balaban would continue to find outlets for his unique screen presence, appearing on the popular comedy series Web Therapy, and narrating the Wes Anderson comedy Moonrise Kingdom.

Trivia: Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, though her heritage may or may not be a contributing factor to the strange quality she brings to her dry comedic style on the Hollywood screen. While the inspiration for O'Hara's forthright straight-faced demeanor is unknown, she is arguably a one-of-a-kind presence in many American films.O'Hara began acting in her hometown in 1974, when she first appeared on Second City Television, where she distinguished herself through impersonations. She performed on the program regularly during the mid-'70s, and also wrote for it beginning in 1976. Later that decade, she continued her television experience with voice-overs for cartoons, an endeavor she would revisit throughout her career in some notable roles.In 1980, she played Audrey in Nothing Personal, and in the mid-'80s played several small roles in feature films, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985). In 1988, she made a parental splash as Delia Deetz in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, with Winona Ryder playing her morose young goth daughter. Mainstream Hollywood featured O'Hara again two years later in Dick Tracy with Warren Beatty and Madonna. Also in 1990, she returned to big-screen motherhood, this time as mother to Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone (and she would also later appear in the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in 1992).By this point, O'Hara was well established in American popular culture, and she continued to take on creative roles. Revisiting the bizarre darkness of Tim Burton's imaginative projects, she performed the character voices of both Sally and Shock in his animated feature The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. Two years later, her voice-over credentials increased when she played Calamity Jane in Walt Disney's Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill. Her voice work continued throughout the 1990s, and in 1996, O'Hara expanded her appeal to include the indie-film world when she starred in what became a revered independent feature, Christopher Guest's satirical mockumentary Waiting for Guffman. In Home Fries (1998) with Drew Barrymore, she played the role of Mrs. Lever.Satiric and campy, 2000's Best in Show showcased numerous strong performances, allowing for flamboyant and unique characterizations from all cast members, including O'Hara, whose pursed-lipped matter-of-factness instilled personality into Southern dog-owner Cookie Guggelman Fleck. In 2001, O'Hara appeared on the television shows Committed and Speaking of Sex, and she returned to the big screen in 2002 with a role in Orange County. Strong as ever in Guest's subsequent mock-docs A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006), she continued to impress with bit parts such features as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Penelope, and Away We Go while continuing to do impressive voice work in films like Monster House and Spike Jonze's Where the WIld Things Are. 2010 proved to be a good year thanks to an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Mick Jackson's made-for-HBO biopic Temple Grandin. While the award eluded her, O'Hara remained busy as ever thanks to her role in the cult Nickeledeon hit Glenn Martin DDS. Meanwhile, multiple voice roles in Burton's 2012 feature Frankenweenie offered her the opportunity to once again work with the quirky director who previously used her to striking effect in some of his most popular films.

Trivia: Displaying an off-kilter beauty and an ability to embrace the comically bizarre, Parker Posey has been repeatedly referred to as "The Queen of the Indies." Following her indie debut in Richard Linklater's 1993 Dazed and Confused, Posey went on to star in no less than 15 independent features over the next five years, proving time and again how worthy she was of her royal title.Born in Baltimore on November 8, 1968, Posey was named after '50s model and sometimes-actress Suzy Parker. At the age of 12, she moved with her parents and twin brother to Laurel, MS, where her father owned a Chevrolet dealership. After attending the North Carolina School of the Arts, Posey enrolled at S.U.N.Y. Purchase, where she studied acting and roomed with future ER doctor Sherry Stringfield. She dropped out just three weeks before graduation when opportunity came knocking in the form of a role on As the World Turns. As bad girl Tess Shelby, Posey stayed with the show from 1991 until 1992. The following year, Posey crossed over to celluloid with roles in three movies. Two of these, The Coneheads and Joey Breaker, featured the actress as little more than a glorified extra, but the third, Linklater's Dazed and Confused, allowed Posey to make a distinct impression. As cheerleader Darla, she used her relatively brief screen time to display the nastier side of teen popularity. She played a similar character the same year on the small screen, taking a memorable turn as ex-pep queen turned good-time girl Connie Bradshaw in PBS' Tales of the City (she would later reprise the role for More Tales of the City in 1998).Following secondary to miniscule parts in films like Sleep With Me, Amateur, and Mixed Nuts (all 1994), Posey had her breakthrough role as the titular heroine of Daisy von Scherler Mayer's Party Girl in 1995. She caused an art-house sensation with her portrayal of Mary, a downtown diva forced to take a day job as a librarian and began to ascend the ranks of indie royalty. Appearances in Hal Hartley's Flirt, Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation, and Noah Baumbach's Kicking and Screaming the same year further enhanced her reputation. Posey's work over the next two years reads like a Sundance Film Festival program: in 1996, she could be seen as a Dairy Queen waitress in the ensemble-driven Waiting for Guffman, famed gallery owner Mary Boone in Basquiat, and Hope Davis' sister in The Daytrippers. In 1997, Posey starred in no less than five independent films, including Henry Fool, her third Hartley outing; the temps-in-hell comedy drama Clockwatchers; Linklater's adaptation of Eric Bogosian's SubUrbia; and The House of Yes. For this last film, Posey garnered particular acclaim as the film's fabulously demented focal point. She shined as a young woman obsessed with both Jackie Onassis and her own twin brother (Josh Hamilton). Her performance, which perfectly displayed the hyperkinetic comic energy and sardonic wit that came to characterize many of the actress' portrayals, won her a "special recognition for acting" at Sundance that year.The year 1998 brought more independent work in the form of The Misadventures of Margaret, a romantic comedy in which Posey had the title role and a foray into mainstream features with a turn as Tom Hanks' book-editor girlfriend in Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail. The following year, she took another stab, so to speak, at mainstream fare with a part in Wes Craven's third installment of his Scream series, the aptly titled Scream 3. Though she wasn't necessarily known as a "method" actress to this point, Posey actually had real braces installed for her subsequent role in Waiting for Guffman and director Christopher Guest's popular dog show comedy Best in Show. Cast as the better half of a neurotic, hypertensive couple who will stop at nothing to see their pet win the number-one spot in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, Posey nearly stole the show with her hysterical, shrieking performance. Best in Show was immediately embraced by critics and audiences and went on to live a long and prosperous life on cable and DVD. By this point, Posey had gained quite a reputation for her effortless transitions between indies and blockbusters, and a role as a malicious recording industry boss in Josie and the Pussycats (2001) added much flavor to the energetic, pop-flavored comedy. If Posey was somewhat lost in the cast of the 2001 miniseries Further Tales of the City, she would certainly go on to impress in the popular indies The Anniversary Party (2001) and Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002). Her role as a philandering housewife in Personal Velocity in particular gave Posey an opportunity to truly shine.Her profile would fade a bit in the following few years despite a role in the widely released (but ill fated) comedy The Sweetest Thing (2002), and after performing at her bitchy best in the made-for-television Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2003) she was included in Reuters 2003 "What Ever Happened to" list. Ironically, it was that same year that Posey essayed her first lead role in quite some time with the independent drama The Event. Cast as a district attorney who is investigating a mysterious suicide, Posey was backed by a stellar cast that included Sarah Polley and Olympia Dukakis. Though she would once again join Guest for the 2003 mockumentary A Mighty Wind, she was pretty much lost in the shuffle in the divisive effort. With the approach of 2004, audiences were no doubt set to find out "What Ever Happened to" Posey with her roles in the high-profile efforts The Laws of Attraction and Blade: Trinity. Posey continued her work in independent films with large parts in The Oh in Ohio, The Sisters of Mercy, and Adam & Steve, but once again appeared in a Hollywood blockbuster as Lex Luthor's significant other in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. At the end of 2006 she once again collaborated with Christopher Guest on his Hollywood satire For Your Consideration.Posey continued to build on her affinity for independent films by reteaming with Hal Hartley for 2006's Fay Grim, in which she reprised the self titled role from 1997's Henry Fool. Critical response to the film was mixed, but Posey was balancing her career with other projects, some of which had a broader audience, like the recurring role of Marlene Stanger on the hit show Boston Legal. She balanced her indie side with her Hollywood side once again the next year, appearing both in the Jessica Alba thriller The Eye, and in the indie dramedy Broken English. Posey spent much of 2011 working in television, appearing on the popular NBC series Parks and Recreation, Showtime's The Big C, and CBS' The Good Wife.

Trivia: Born in the Midwest and educated in the military, actor Fred Willard has proven his talent for improvisational comedy on the stage, television, and the big screen. His characters are frequently grinning idiots or exaggerated stereotypes, but Willard's skillful timing has always added a unique spin. An alumni of Second City in Chicago, he's worked with many of the biggest-named comedians of his time. His early TV credits include a regular stint on The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour, a supporting part on the sitcom Sirota's Court, and the role of Jerry Hubbard, sidekick of TV talk-show host Barth Gimble (Martin Mull) in the satirical Fernwood 2Night. He went on to appear in subsequent incarnations of Fernwood and continued to work with Mull and his gang for the next few decades. In the early '80s, he hosted the actuality series Real People and co-hosted the talk show Thicke of the Night. Some of his small, yet memorable, performances in feature comedies included President Fogerty in National Lampoon Goes to the Movies; the garage owner in Moving Violations who's mistaken for a doctor; the air force officer in This Is Spinal Tap; and Mayor Deebs in Roxanne. Doing a lot of guest work on television, he was also involved in Martin Mull's The History of White People in America series and was the only human actor amid a cast of puppets on the strange show D.C. Follies. In the '90s, he worked frequently in the various projects of fellow satirists Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and the like. He was travel agent Ron Albertson in Waiting for Guffman, TV announcer Buck Laughlin in Best in Show, and manager Mike LaFontaine in A Mighty Wind. He also appeared in Eugene Levy's Sodbusters, Permanent Midnight with Ben Stiller, and showed up in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. On television, he picked up a regular spots on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Roseanne (as Martin Mull's lover), and Mad About You, along with voice-over work on numerous cartoons. He also received an Emmy nomination for his role as Hank McDougal on Everybody Loves Raymond. Since 2000, he has shown up in quite a few mainstream commercial films, including The Wedding Planner, How High, and American Wedding; but he also played Howard Cosell in the TV movie When Billie Beat Bobby. Projects for 2004 include Anchor Man: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.IHe also joined up with his Mighty Wind and Waiting for Guffman castmates again in 2006 with For Your Consideration, a satire of Hollywood self importance injected with Willard's trademark clever silliness. The next year he appeared in the spoof Epic Movie, as well as the romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman. He was in the Pixar sci-fi film WALL-E, and had a role in the 2009 comedy Youth In Revolt. In 2012 he starred in Rob Reiner's The Magic of Belle Isle opposite Morgan Freeman.

Trivia: Writer, actress, and comedian Jane Lynch is a slim six-feet-tall and usually wears her blonde hair cropped in a pixie cut. Born in Illinois, she went to a public university and got her M.F.A. in theater from Cornell. Her extensive theater background involved touring with the Second City comedy troupe and playing Carol Brady in The Real Live Brady Bunch. She also wrote and starred in the award-winning play Oh Sister, My Sister. Originally produced in 1998, the play kicked off the Lesbians in Theater program at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center in 2004. Lynch's other stage credits include Tales of the Lost Formicans, Ennui, and Waiting for Iggy. She made her film debut in 1988 with a small role in the body-switching comedy Vice Versa. On television, she was in the Lifetime movie In the Best Interest of the Children and made numerous guest appearances on sitcoms. After some meager roles in Straight Talk, The Fugitive, and Fatal Instinct, she had the good fortune to join Christopher Guest's gang of improvisational comic actors. Her breakthrough role was butch Christy Cummings, the personal dog handler to trophy wife Sheri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge) in the 2000 mockumentary Best in Show. Over the next two years, she played a government agent in the action movie Collateral Damage, a sarcastic nurse in the ABC medical comedy MDs, and a 1940s-style receptionist in the TNT movie The Big Time. In 2003, she reunited with the cast from Best in Show for the musical spoof A Mighty Wind. She performed her own music in the role of Laurie Bohner, the former porn star and member of the New Main Street Singers. In 2004, Lynch appeared in Sleepover, Little Black Boot, and The Californians. Over the course of the next few years, Lynch remained one of the comedy world's best kept secrets while getting steady work in film and television. But that secret wouldn't be kept for long, because in 2009, after essaying a recurring role on the hit Showtime series The L Word, Lynch made a major impression on television viewers as villainous cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on the hit musical series Glee -- a role for which she was awarded both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Trivia: Born February 12, 1963, John Michael Higgins is a character player who evinced a flair for comedic portrayals of middle-aged types, actor John Michael Higgins jump-started his career with a dead-on evocation of David Letterman in the made-for-cable comedy The Late Shift -- a picture about the cutthroat war between Letterman and Jay Leno to be crowned "King of Late Night Talk." Higgins followed this auspicious and covetable assignment with small roles in Barry Levinson's scathing political satire Wag the Dog (1997) and a guest appearance as one of Elaine's issue-ridden boyfriends on Seinfeld, but made his most substantial impression as an occasional character on Ally McBeal -- that of Steven Milter, an attorney who doubled as a psychoanalyst of Ally's. Beginning with Best in Show (2000), Higgins enjoyed a multi-film run on the big screen with Christopher Guest and his regular mockumentary collaborators that also included the farces A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006). He also had a recurring role as an attorney Wayne Jarvis on the critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development and supplied the voice of Mentok the Mindtaker for the animated comedy series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Back on the big screen, Higgins essayed two A-list supporting roles in 2007, in the Steve Carell-headlined farce Evan Almighty and the holiday-themedFred Claus starring Vince Vaughn. Higgins joined Vaughn again in Couples Retreat (2009), a romantic comedy following a group of couples who arrive on a tropical island only to find out they are required to participate in couples therapy in order to stay. He appeared on the FX television series Wilford in 2011, and joined the cast of the sitcom Happily Divorced, in which he co-stars with Fran Drescher (his real life ex-wife) as a man who amicably ended his marriage after coming to terms with his homosexuality. After working with Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz in the moderately successful comedy Bad Teacher in 2011, the actor played a small role in the 2012 adventure drama Big Miracle, which follows the plight of a journalist and volunteer who go to extreme lengths to save a beached whale.

Trivia: The son of character actor Ed Begley, Sr., he began acting while still a teenager, appearing on the TV series My Three Sons when he was 17. Begley performed as a stand-up comic at colleges and nightclubs and worked briefly as a TV cameraman before landing a string of guest appearances on TV series such as Happy Days and Columbo. He debuted onscreen in Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), going on to play small roles in a number of minor films; by the mid '70s he was getting somewhat better roles in better films. Begley became well-known in the '80s, portraying Dr. Erlich on the TV series St. Elsewhere; for his work he received an Emmy nomination. His success on TV led to much better film roles, but he has never broken through as a big-screen star.

Trivia: Paul Dooley is fondly remembered by fans of '80s cinema as the forgetful but well-intending father of a disgruntled Molly Ringwald in the John Hughes teen classic Sixteen Candles (1984). The longtime character actor's droopy, distinctive features and endearing onscreen warmth have kept him a familiar figure in both film and television. A Parkersurg, WV, native who originally aspired to become a cartoonist, Dooley drew comic strips for a local newspaper before entering the navy. Upon discharge, the future actor entered college, where he discovered his passion for the stage. A move to New York found the aspiring actor landing frequent stage work, and after discovering a previously untapped ability for comedy, Dooley tried his hand at standup for about five years. Always looking to expand his skills, he made his film debut in the 1970 comedy The Out-of-Towners. From 1971 to 1972, Dooley was also head writer for the popular children's television series The Electric Company. After showing promise in such late-'70s efforts as Slap Shot (1977) and A Wedding (1978), Dooley made a big impression with his supporting role as the lead character's worrisome father in Breaking Away (1979). Though he was overlooked at Oscar time, he was nominated for a New York Film Critics Circle award and won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actor. He kicked off the most successful decade of his film career with a performance as Wimpy in the much-maligned Robert Altman musical comedy Popeye (1980). Besides his memorable turn in Sixteen Candles, Dooley also delivered hilarious performances in the 1980s films Strange Brew (1983) and John Cassavetes' Big Trouble (1985). Fans of the extraterrestrial comedy series ALF will also remember him as the curiously named Whizzer Deaver.Though his feature roles through the 1990s largely consisted of such B-grade fare as My Boyfriend's Back (1993) and Error in Judgment (1998), Dooley managed to stay on top thanks to parts in such popular television series as Mad About You, Dream On, Grace Under Fire, and The Practice. He also took on occasional roles in more notable films, including Waiting for Guffman (1996), Clockwatchers (1997), Happy, Texas (1999), and Runaway Bride (also 1999), which served to remind movie buffs just how funny the talented comic actor could be when given the opportunity. Dooley's performances in such later efforts as Insomnia (2002) hinted at a darker side rarely explored by the usually jovial actor. In 2003, after re-teaming with Waiting for Guffman cohort Christopher Guest to blow A Mighty Wind, he took a supporting role in former MTV beauty queen Jenny McCarthy's comedy Dirty Love.

Trivia: A character actress who has used her blond, voluptuous features to shrewd comic effect, Jennifer Coolidge appeared in some of the most celebrated film and TV comedies of the 1990s. Perhaps best known by mainstream audiences for her role as Stifler's mom in American Pie (1999), she has also done equally memorable work in films like Christopher Guest's Best in Show (2000), which cast her as the lesbian trophy-wife of a frail and oblivious old multimillionaire.Originally hailing from Boston, Coolidge began her professional acting career when she moved to New York, where she became a member of the Gotham City Improv group. Work with the group led her to Los Angeles, where she continued to nurture a career in improvisational acting as a member of the Groundlings, the city's legendary improv troupe. In the early '90s, Coolidge broke into television-acting through spots on various shows, including Seinfeld and the animated King of the Hill, and segued into films with her debut in the forgettable 1997 comedy Trial and Error. The actress earned her first dose of recognition for her scene-stealing cameo as a high school student's seductive mother in the blockbuster comedy American Pie. The breakout role made Coolidge a mainstay in the realm of comedy, and she would henceforth appear in numerous projects a year, most memorably in Best in Show, Zoolander, Legally Blonde, A Cinderella Story, For Your Consideration, and on shows like 2 Broke Girls and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Trivia: As both a frequent onscreen presence in Hollywood comedies and the occasional writer of a daft and pickled Hollywood laugh-fest, Ohio-born Michael Hitchcock began his career in the early '90s as a screenwriter. Though Hitchcock actually debuted as co-scenarist with Marc Rocco's 1992 urban drama Where the Day Takes You, he failed to break through to the American public prior to his critically maligned but lucrative authorship of such comic vehicles as Problem Child 3 (1995) and House Arrest (1996). Aside from periodic contributions to the long-running sketch comedy series MADtv, Hitchcock then abandoned scriptwriting for many years to focus exclusively on acting.Hitchcock established himself as a character player, demonstrating solid comedic timing, a genial humorous presence, and an actor's raw instinct. His appearances include supporting roles in such comedies as the well-received Happy, Texas (1999) and the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Best in Show (2000) and For Your Consideration (2006). Though Hitchcock occasionally attempted to expand his range, with such projects as a supporting turn on an episode of NYPD Blue and a small role in the space adventure Serenity (2005), he generally clung to his comedic roots and found greatest success in that arena.

Trivia: A capable comic actor whose regular-guy looks and sharp wit have made him a popular character performer in both movies and television, Larry Miller was born on October 15, 1953 on Long Island, NY. Miller grew up with a keen interest in music, and graduated with honors from Amherst College, receiving a degree in music. Hoping to make a career as a musician, Miller moved to New York City and began playing the nightclub circuit as a pianist and drummer. Working the clubs inspired Miller to take a stab at comedy, and he began performing occasional sets at comedy clubs such as the Comic Strip and Catch a Rising Star. Within two years, Miller had put his musical career on the back burner and was touring full-time as a comic. Miller made his film debut in 1978 in the film Take Down, but it would be several more years before Miller found himself before the camera again; as his career as a standup comic rose, Miller began landing occasional television guest shots and bit parts in films, as well as appearing on several cable television specials devoted to comedians. But it was Miller's appearance in the 1990 film Pretty Woman that kick-started his screen career; playing an arrogant but all-too-eager-to-please salesman, Miller's brief moment in the film earned big laughs, and he soon became a frequent presence in movies and television. Miller was a regular on the TV series The Pursuit of Happiness, Life's Work, and Michael Hayes -- all three of which only lasted a season -- and played recurring roles on Mad About You, Dream On, DAG, and My Wife and Kids. Miller also made a surprising appearance in a dramatic role on Law & Order, in which he played a man accused of murder. Miller played a number of showy supporting roles in theatrical films, including Waiting for Guffman, The Minus Man, The Nutty Professor, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind. His comedy chops only gaining more bite with the passing years, Miller would find only increasing success when he appeared on such small screen hits as Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal in the mid-00s. Of course Miller was still very much a feature man, with roles in the underseen sleeper Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Any Bully providing plenty of room for the comic talent to shine. When not busy with his acting career, Miller still performs as a standup comic, and writes a humor column for The Daily Standard.

Trivia: Appeared as Jeff in the U.S version of the British series Coupling after the original actor was recast. Is a writer-producer-actor who began his career on screen and later expanded his career to include behind-the-scenes roles.

Trivia: Well-trained in the exacting school of improvisational comedy, Mary Gross was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985. Her later series-TV credits include the roles of Abigail McIntyre Kellogg in The People Next Door (1989-90) and Phoebe in the 1992 Billy Connolly vehicle Billy. Mary Gross has made many a welcome comic visit to such big-screen fare as Troop Beverly Hills (1988) and The Santa Clause (1994). Actress Mary Gross is the sister of actor Michael Gross, with whom she appeared in the 1988 film Big Business.

Trivia: Exuding a unique sense of personable warmth despite her characters' loud and often aggressively outspoken attitudes, sci-fi fans may recognize Laura Harris from her frequent appearances in such popular shows as The X-Files, Sliders, and The Outer Limits.Born in British Columbia, Canada, Harris began acting at age six, working professionally in Vancouver for 14 years before focusing on feature film work. Following her television debut on Nickelodeon's popular teen soap opera Fifteen, Harris ironically landed her feature debut in Stay Tuned, a comical satire of bad television. Moving back to television with Sabrina, the Teenage Witch in 1996, Harris received her first susbtantial feature role in the botany-gone-bad scare-fest Habitat. Moving to Los Angeles soon after her role in the satirical Kitchen Party (1997), Harris next appeared with Christopher Walken and Henry Thomas in the darkly comical psychological thriller The Suicide Kings (also 1997) and in Robert Rodriguez's The Faculty the following year. Harris' cool demeanor lent itself well to the chilly offbeat humor of the former and the self-aware and slyly mocking thrills of the latter, leading her to be cast in starring roles as a fraternity-hating college student in Going Greek (2001) and as a key player in preventing the destruction of mankind in the apocalyptic thriller in The Calling (2000). Over the next several years, Harris would remain active on screen, starring on shows like 24, Dead Like Me, Women's Murder Club, and Defying Gravity, as well as in films like A Mighty Wind, Severance, A Borrowed Life, and Final Sale.

Trivia: Comedic blonde actress Rachael Harris has found plenty of ways to make audiences laugh, whether it meant commenting on pop culture for VH1's I Love the '80s or appearing in quirky commercials for Quaker rice cakes. A veteran of the Los Angeles improve troupe the Groundlings, Harris transitioned to the screen as a correspondent for the popular news-parody The Daily Show. With her horn-rimmed glasses and tightly wound persona, Harris immediately found her niche in on-screen comedy, garnering fans with her own brand of straight-faced delivery. Harris would occasionally take on completely different characters for TV and film roles like her part in 2009's The Soloist, but the comedian more often played off of her own signature style, especially for comedies like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, The Hangover, and Evan Almighty. In 2010, she played the lead character's mother in Diary of Wimpy Kid, reprising the role in two sequels. Harris would also find continued success on the small screen,on shows like Reno 911!, In the Motherhood, and Notes from the Underbelly and as a prolific guest star on a number of series. In 2016, Harris landed a series regular role on Lucifer, playing Lucifer's theraprist.

Trivia: Though his melodiously accented speech pattern has led many to assume that actor Paul Benedict is British, the actor was actually born in New Mexico. Benedict's oversized jaw and angular features won him several character roles once he decided upon a theatrical career. One evening, a doctor who had seen Benedict on stage warned the actor that his elongated facial structure was due to a rare bone disease called acromegaly, which ultimately distorts the face into grotesqueness and can result in early death (filmdom's most famous victim of acromegaly was horror star Rondo Hatton). Undergoing medical treatment to prevent the spread of the disease, Benedict continued acting, utilizing his odd facial features for comic rather than tragic effect. While appearing in featured roles in such films as The Goodbye Girl (1977), Paul Benedict was cast as next-door neighbor Harley Bentley, an eccentric UN translator, on the long running TV series The Jeffersons. He played Harley steadily from 1975 to 1981, left for two years to pursue other projects (including the Steve Martin comedy The Man With Two Brains [1983]), but returned in 1983 to remain with The Jeffersons until its final episode two years later. He died in 2008 at age 70.

Trivia: Was raised in a large catholic family.Started in television in a teenage dance show.Had her first date with her future husband in the Compass, an improvisational theatre.In 1959, was cast as a member of The Second City, an improvisational comedy enterprise.In 1961, she moved to Los Angeles, California.

Trivia: Character actor Bill Cobbs began his acting career relatively late in life after working odd jobs in Cleveland, OH. At the age of 36, he moved to New York and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, making his Broadway debut in First Breeze of Summer. His film career started in the late '70s with small film roles and guest appearances on television. In the early '80s, he worked on several performances for the NBC Live Theatre series and a PBS anthology with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Usually cast as the token old black man dispensing words of wisdom, Cobbs' weathered-yet-honest looks got him several guest spots on TV shows from Good Times to The West Wing. He did end up with a few reoccurring roles on sitcoms like The Slap Maxwell Story, The Gregory Hines Show, and The Michael Richards Show. He even had a part in The Others, the NBC sci-fi drama answer to The X-Files. Perhaps his most memorable television appearance is his role as Regina Taylor's father on I'll Fly Away as well as in the TV movie version I'll Fly Away: Then and Now. Throughout his film career, he has built a long list of credits playing kindly fathers, grandfathers, and even Moses (in The Hudsucker Proxy). He was Whitney Houston's manager in The Bodyguard, an old man in New Jack City, and Grandpa Booker in The People Under the Stairs. Though he appears in nearly all genres of Hollywood films, he occasionally gets meatier roles in made-for-TV dramas like Carolina Skeletons, Nightjohn, and Always Outnumbered. In 2002, he played wisened elders in Sunshine State, Enough, and Sweet Deadly Dreams.

Trivia: Actress Diane Baker's well-scrubbed, all-American beauty has frequently been employed as a cool veneer for film characters of smoldering passions. The daughter of actress Dorothy Harrington, Diane was studying at USC when she was tapped for her first film role as Millie Perkins' sister in 20th Century-Fox's The Diary of Anne Frank (1959); the studio then cast Diane as Pat Boone's "girl back home," who didn't get to go along on Boone's Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). She remained at Fox until 1962, essaying the title role in the studio's re-remake of Tess of the Storm Country (1961). Her most famous screen assignment was at Columbia, where she portrayed axe murderess Joan Crawford's supposedly well-balanced daughter in Straitjacket (1963). Diane became a documentary director in the 1970s with Ashanya, and a producer with Never Never Land (1982). The best of Diane Baker's latter-day roles was the media-savvy politico mother of the kidnap victim in Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Trivia: Studied at The Second City in Toronto.Portrayed the Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese Angel in one of Canada's most successful advertising campaigns that ran for 16 years.Had only 40 minutes to prepare for her Seinfeld audition because she had been body surfing in Malibu when she found out.Has taught corporate workshops at Beyond The Box, and improvisation and sketch writing at Humber College and Fleming College.Co-founder, along with her late husband Paul O'Sullivan, of The Peterborough Academy of Performing Arts.

Trivia: Grandfather Harry Piddock had a music-hall act with Charles and Sydney Chaplin, before Charles left for the U.S. Was in the original Broadway production of Noises Off (1983). Created, produced and wrote the BBC series Too Much Sun. Has appeared in a number of Christopher Guest comedies, including Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006), and teamed with Guest to create and star in the cable comedy Family Tree. Provides a faux commentary extra in the director's cut of Joel and Ethan Coen's Blood Simple.