Trivia: African-American comedian Richard Pryor grew up bombarded by mixed messages. Pryor's grandmother owned a string of brothels, his mother prostituted herself, and his father was a pimp. Still, they raised Richard to be honest, polite, and religious. Living in one of the worst slums in Peoria, IL, Pryor found that he could best defend himself by getting gang members to laugh at instead of pummeling him. This led to his reputation as a disruptive class clown, although at least one understanding teacher allowed Pryor one minute per week to "cut up" so long as he behaved himself the rest of the time. At age 14, he became involved in amateur dramatics at Peoria's Carver Community Center, which polished his stage presence. In 1963, Pryor headed to New York to seek work as a standup comic; after small gigs in the black nightclub circuit, he was advised to pattern himself after Bill Cosby -- that is, to be what white audiences perceived as "nonthreatening." For the next five years, the young comic flourished in clubs and on TV variety shows, making his film bow in The Busy Body (1967). But the suppression of Pryor's black pride and anger by the white power structure frustrated him. One night, sometime between 1969 and 1971, he "lost it" while performing a gig in Las Vegas; he either walked off-stage without a word or he obscenely proclaimed that he was sick of it. Over the next few years, Pryor found himself banned from many nightclubs, allegedly due to offending the mob-connected powers-that-be, and lost many of his so-called friends who'd been sponging off of him. Broke, Pryor went underground in Berkeley, CA, in the early '70s; when he re-emerged, he was a road-company Cosby no more. His act, replete with colorful epithets, painfully accurate character studies of street types, and hilarious (and, to some, frightening) hostility over black-white inequities, struck just the right note with audiences of the committed '70s. Record company executives, concerned that Pryor's humor would appeal only to blacks, were amazed at how well his first post-Berkeley album, That Nigger's Crazy!, sold with young white consumers. As for Hollywood, Pryor made a key early appearance in the Diana Ross vehicle Lady Sings the Blues. But ultra-reactionary Tinseltown wasn't quite attuned to Pryor's liberal use of obscenities or his racial posturing. Pryor had been commissioned to write and star in a Mel Brooks-directed Western-comedy about a black sheriff, but Brooks replaced Pryor with the less-threatening Cleavon Little; Pryor nonetheless retained a credit as one of five writers on the picture, alongside such luminaries as Andrew Bergman. When Pryor appeared onscreen in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings and Silver Streak (both 1976), it was as a supporting actor. But Pryor's popularity built momentum, and by the end of the '70s he became the highest-paid starring comedian in films, with long-range contracts ensuring him work well into the next decade - when such efforts as Stir Crazy, Bustin' Loose, and The Toy helped to both clean up the foul-mouthed comic's somewhat raunchy public image, and endear him to a whole new generation of fans. His comedy albums -- and later, videocassettes -- sold out as quickly as they were recorded. The only entertainment arena still too timid for Pryor was network television -- his 1977 NBC variety series has become legendary for the staggering amount of network interference and censorship imposed upon it.By the early '80s, Pryor was on top of the entertainment world. Then came a near-fatal catastrophe when he accidentally set himself afire while freebasing cocaine. Upon recovery, he joked liberally (and self-deprecatively) about his brush with death, but, otherwise, he appeared to change; his comedy became more introspective, more rambling, more tiresome, and occasionally (as in the 1983 standup effort Richard Pryor: Here and Now) drew vicious heckling and catcalls from obnoxious audiences. His cinematic decline began with a thinly-disguised film autobiography, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986), which Pryor starred in and directed; it met with critical scorn. Pryor's films declined in popularity, the audiences grew more hostile at the concerts, and Pryor deteriorated physically. Doctors diagnosed him with multiple sclerosis in the late '80s, and, by 1990, it became painfully obvious to everyone that he was a very sick man, although his industry friends and supporters made great effort to celebrate his accomplishments and buoy his spirits. The twin 1989 releases Harlem Nights and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (the latter of which re-teamed Pryor with fellow Silver Streak alums Arthur Hiller and Gene Wilder) failed to reignite Pryor's popularity or draw back his fanbase.Pryor's ill-fated attempt to resuscitate his stand-up act at L.A.'s Comedy Store in 1992 proved disastrous; unable to stand, Pryor was forced to deliver his monologues from an easy chair; he aborted his planned tour soon after. He appeared in television and films only sporadically in his final decade, save a rare cameo in David Lynch's 1997 Lost Highway. These dark omens foretold a sad end to a shimmering career; the world lost Pryor soon after. On December 12, 2005, the comedian - only 65 years old -- died of a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital. But he left a peerless legacy behind as a stand-up comic and black actor.

Trivia: Anglo-Latino actress Rachel Ticotin made her first film appearance in a bit role in 1978's King of the Gypsies. Rachel has since contributed well-rounded characterizations in a number of stage and TV productions, as well as a handful of films. She made one of her most vivid cinematic impressions as Melina, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "can she be trusted?" vis-a-vis in 1992's Total Recall. On television, Rachel was seen as Puerto Rican non-com Grave Pravlik in the military drama For Love and Honor (1983), DA Teresa Storm on the Pat Morita detective weekly Ohara (1987) and as LAPD detective Annette Ray on Crime & Punishment. Rachel Ticotin is married to actor David Caruso.

Trivia: The quiet yet dynamic screen presence of actor Joe Mantegna has made him one of the most powerful supporting actors in Hollywood. Born in Chicago, Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 production of Hair. He then joined Chicago's Organic Theatre Company. In 1978, he debuted on Broadway in Working; he also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play. Still, he did not become well-known until he played a recurring role on the TV show Soap. By 1983 he'd returned to Chicago, where he began working with playwright David Mamet. While playing the lead in Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross (1983), Mantegna won a Tony. When Mamet began making films, Mantegna became his actor of choice in works such as House of Games (1987) and Homicide (1991). Prior to that, the actor had played small roles in a number of other films. He also continues to play in a variety of movie genres, working with some of Hollywood's top directors. Mantegna turned producer in 1998 with the crime comedy Jerry and Tom. That trend continued on the small screen as Montenga produced such shows as Midway USA's Gun Stories, Shooting Gallery, and QuickBites, but it was his role as a regular on the CBS series Joan of Arcadia that really kept him in the public eye. Continually returning to his recurring role as Fat Tony on The Simpsons over the next decade, Montegna joined the cast of the hit television series Criminal Minds in 2007, and recieved an Emmy nomination for his performance in the successful mini-series The Starter Wife that same year.

Trivia: American actor Bob Dishy was trained in the demanding art of improvisational comedy. So certain of Dishy's skills were the producers of the 1968 TV adaptation of Arsenic and Old Lace that they allowed the actor--essaying the role of a cop with playwrighting aspirations--to "wing" most of his dialogue. Among Dishy's film credits are The Tiger Makes Out (1967), Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), First Family (1980), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) and Critical Condition (1987). Bob Dishy also appeared as part of a comic repertory company (which included such notables as Peter Bonerz, Paul Sand, Hamilton Camp and Melinda Dillon) on the largely ad-libbed 1971 syndicated TV series Story Theatre.

Trivia: American actress Sylvia Miles was one of several performers of the 1960s to parlay a vulgar, sex-obsessed screen personality into a successful career. Miles started out at the Actors Studio, then moved on to Broadway, playing fairly conservative roles. The first foretaste of things to come was Miles's role as The Thief in the off-Broadway production of The Balcony, in which she allowed a man dressed as a judge to whip her -- but only after she forced him to lick her foot! Though this kind of material is kid's stuff today, it packed quite a wallop in 1960, and established Miles as, at best, a "peculiar" personality. In 1969 Miles was nominated for an Oscar for her brief role in Midnight Cowboy, in which she outhustles would-be hustler Jon Voight following an athletic and sometimes amusing sex scene. Her second Oscar nomination was for Farewell My Lovely (1975), in which she played a boozer with something to hide from detective Phillip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum). The story most often told about Miles concerns the time she responded to a bad review from critic John Simon by dumping a greasy plate of food on his head. Less often told is the story of how Miles came awfully close to being a regular on The Dick Van Dyke Show. In the 1959 Van Dyke pilot, then titled Head of the Family, Miles played comedy writer Sally Rogers -- the role ultimately played by another outspoken actress, Rose Marie.

Trivia: Leading actor Joe Dallesandro gained more than his 15 minutes of fame in the '60s and '70s thanks to his presence in the experimental films of Andy Warhol. Most often cast as androgynous characters, Dallesandro was the star of the Warhol/Paul Morrissey trilogy Flesh, Trash, and Heat, and later played the title roles in the selfsame production team's Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein for which Dallesandro was praised by the cognoscenti for his "naturalistic" performances. After making his "mainstream" debut in The Gardener, he worked extensively in Europe. He made fleeting appearances as Lucky Luciano in Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) and as the father of Darren E. Burrows in John Waters' Cry-Baby (1991). Dallesandro has also been prominently featured in such TV weeklies of the 1980s as Fortune Dane, Wiseguy, and The Hollywood Detective.

Trivia: Fearsome American ex-boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb, in films from 1983, can usually be found playing born-to-raise-hell characters with names like Box, Wolf, Swede, or simply Big Harry Con. A godsend to comedy films, Cobb has menaced Chevy Chase in Fletch Lives (1985), Jim Varney in Ernest Goes to Jail (1990), Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1993), and Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 33 1/3 (1994). Perhaps Randall "Tex" Cobb's nastiest cinematic alter ego was Leonard Smalls, the "Lone Biker of the Apocalypse" in the Coen brothers' Raising Arizona (1987).

Trivia: Bob Saget offers living proof that it is possible to dramatically (and aggressively) alter one's own show-business image in mid-act. This deceptively clean-cut writer/actor/comedian began his foray into televised entertainment typecast as a "family-oriented" comic actor, and then shocked nearly everyone by emerging as a popular "blue" comedian with raunchy standup gigs, delivered from such venues as Glitter Gulch. Throughout, Saget managed to achieve considerable success in each venue, albeit among radically different demographics.A graduate of Pennsylvania's Temple University, Saget originally planned to pursue medical studies, but a brush with the performing arts convinced him to head in that direction instead. Following a brief appearance as a doctor in the Richard Pryor-Michael Apted medical farce Critical Condition (1986), Saget achieved broad recognition in 1987 when cast as genial family man Danny Tanner, a widower and father of three, on the saccharine sitcom Full House (1987-1995). Two and a half years into that program's run, Saget concurrently turned up on another program, America's Funniest Home Videos, which -- per its title -- featured the comic actor emceeing a seemingly limitless series of humorous amateur video clips sent in by folks around the country -- in a contest that issued cash prizes for the very best. Videos, like Full House, instantly scored with the public when it bowed in January 1990; Saget remained with the series until 1997.Beginning immediately around the time that Full House wrapped, Saget started branching off into a variety of directions; he helmed several features, including telemovies (For Hope, Jitters) and at least one theatrically released comedy (the 1998 Dirty Work), but placed his strongest emphasis on standup. The performer hosted Saturday Night Live, contributed a routine to Comic Relief, and headlined a series of standup comedy specials on pay cable that were -- as indicated -- definitively for adults. He also contributed a memorably scatological and raunchy routine to longtime friends Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette's standup documentary revue, The Aristocrats (2005). (The routine was prefaced by Saget's ironic admission, "Some people think I have a reputation of being a dirty comedian...," and intercepted by his tongue-in-cheek request to have a copy of the video of the routine, to send it to the kids on Full House.) Saget's 2007 directorial effort Farce of the Penguins (2007) skewered the popular nature documentary March of the Penguins (2007) with raunchy voice-overs (by an all-star cast) placed atop nature footage of penguins in the wild. Meanwhile, beginning in 2005, Saget signed for a voice-only role on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. He provides the older voice of the lead character, Ted Mosby, as he tells his two children the story of how he came to know their mother, effectively serving as narrator for the show.

Trivia: Another of Julliard's illustrious alumni, Garrett Morris' first significant professional job was as performer and arranger with the Harry Belafonte singers. Morris went on to appear in such Broadway productions as Porgy and Bess, Hallelujah Baby, and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. He also wrote two plays, The Secret Place and Daddy Picou and Marie LeVeau. His first film gig was as a makeup artist on This Property is Condemned (1967); he made his movie acting bow in 1970. After a season's worth of supporting appearances on the 1973-74 sitcom Roll Out, Morris was hired as one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live. After his SNL stint, Morris could be seen in film supporting roles, most amusingly as "Famous Amos" takeoff Chocolate Charlie in the otherwise indifferent 1985 horror film The Stuff. He also made a return visit to Broadway, starring in I'm Not Rappaport. Back on TV, Garret Morris was seen regularly as Stan Kemrite on Martin (1992-1994) and on the weekly sitcoms of Ellen Cleghorne and Jamie Foxx.

Trivia: Ruben Blades is a man of diverse talents. A driving force in popularizing salsa music internationally and a politician for the people of his native Panama, he is also a noted actor of stage and screen. Blades is the son of a percussionist-turned-detective and a singer/radio performer. Following studies in political science and law at Panama's Universidad Nacional, Blades worked at the Bank of Panama as a lawyer. Later he obtained a master's in law from Harvard. Many years after that, he returned to the Ivy League school to earn a doctorate in international law. Blades had been involved in music since the late '50s, but established himself as a musical powerhouse during the '70s and early '80s. He began his career in films, first as a composer of soundtracks and a songwriter in the early '80s. He made his debut as an actor in The Last Flight (1982), but it was not until he appeared in the semi-autobiographical docudrama Crossover Dreams (1985), which he co-wrote and starred in, that Blades became well known. Subsequent film appearances have included The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Two Jakes (1990), Mo' Better Blues (1990), and Devil's Own (1997). In 1994, Blades ran for the Panamanian presidency and though he lost, garnered over 20 percent of the vote.

Trivia: Typically cast as a criminal or a cop, beefy, bald, American character actor Jon Polito has appeared on stage, television, and in feature films, notably the Coen brothers' Miller's Crossing (1990) and Barton Fink (1991). Polito can be recognized for his pencil-thin moustache. He launched his career on Broadway in 1977. In 1981, Polito debuted in the feature film The Killing Hour and then portrayed mobster Tommy Lucchese on the television series The Gangster Chronicles.

Trivia: Appeared on the big screen first in 1984 in The Cotton Club.Played in the 1990s in the soap opera One Life to Live.Is best known for his role as Geno in the 1995 comedy-crime film The Jerky Boys.Portrayed Jackie since 2017 in the comedy-drama web television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.Is of Irish and Italian descent.

Trivia: Was athletic as a kid and teen; once hit three home runs in an All-Star game and later pitched a 10-inning no-hitter with 20 strikeouts. Played football at Brown University. Loved movies so much he decided to take an acting class in college and immediately knew acting was his calling. Early TV roles included guest spots on The Equalizer, Spenser: For Hire and Kate & Allie before landing pivotal roles in movies Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) as Romulan commander Suran. Best known for playing the Presidential Chief of Staff on 24 and the principal on Everybody Hates Chris. Co-founded theatrical production company the Eumenides Group. Is an acclaimed singer and has recorded four CDs; tours with the Jude Ciccolella Band.

Trivia: Born in Germany and educated in New England, cinematographer Ralf Bode attended the film and drama departments of Yale University. While in the American army, Bode received the practical camera training that would serve him well in the movie industry. After working as a lighting designer for director John Avildsen, Bode received his first film credit on the minor feature Foreplay, followed by a 2nd unit photography assignment on Avildsen's Rocky (1976). His next assignment, Saturday Night Fever (1977), secured Bode's reputation as a master of evocative lighting and color schemes. Bode has since brought to cinematic life the Southeastern coal fields of Coal Miner's Daughter (1981), the bleakness of wintertime Moscow in Gorky Park (1983), the sleaziness of the blue-collar barhopping scene in The Accused (1988), and the melting-pot ambience of Chicago and its suburbs in Uncle Buck (1989).

Trivia: With sleek, well-muscled good looks that easily lend themselves to romantic leading roles or parts that call for running, jumping, and handling firearms, Wesley Snipes became one of the most popular Hollywood stars of the 1990s. First coming to prominence with roles in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues and Jungle Fever, Snipes went on to prove himself as an actor who could appeal to audiences as a man that women want and men want to be.Born in Orlando, FL, on July 31, 1962, Snipes grew up in the Bronx. He developed an early interest in acting and attended Manhattan's High School for the Performing Arts. His mother moved him back to Florida before he could graduate, but after finishing up high school in Florida, Snipes attended the State University of New York-Purchase and began pursuing an acting career. It was while performing in a competition that he was discovered by an agent, and a short time later he made his film debut in the Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats (1986). Although he appeared in a few more films during the 1980s, it was Snipes' turn as a street tough who menaces Michael Jackson in the Martin Scorsese-directed video for "Bad" that caught the eye of director Lee. He was so impressed with the actor's performance that he cast him in his 1990 Mo' Better Blues as a flamboyant saxophonist opposite Denzel Washington. That role, coupled with the exposure that Snipes had received for his performance as a talented but undisciplined baseball player in the previous year's Major League, succeeded in giving the actor a tentative plot on the Hollywood map. With his starring role in Lee's 1991 Jungle Fever, Snipes won critical praise and increased his audience exposure, and his career duly took off.That same year, Snipes further demonstrated his flexibility with disparate roles in New Jack City, in which he played a volatile drug lord, and The Waterdance, in which he starred as a former wild man repenting for his ways in a hospital's paraplegic ward. Both performances earned strong reviews, and the following year Snipes found himself as the lead in his first big-budget action flick, Passenger 57. The film, which featured the actor as an ex-cop with an attitude who takes on an airplane hijacker, proved to be a hit. Snipes' other film that year, the comedy White Men Can't Jump, was also successful, allowing the actor to enter the arena of full-fledged movie star. After a few more action stints in such films as Rising Sun (1993), which featured him opposite Sean Connery, Snipes went in a different direction with an uncredited role in Waiting to Exhale (1995). The same year he completely bucked his macho, action-figure persona with his portrayal of a flamboyant drag queen in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Snipes continued to focus on less testosterone-saturated projects after a turn as a baseball player in The Fan (1996), starring as an adulterous director in Mike Figgis' One Night Stand (1997) -- for which he won a Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival -- and as Alfre Woodard's handsome cousin in Down in the Delta in 1998. That same year, Snipes returned to the action genre, playing a pumped-up vampire slayer in Blade and a wrongfully accused man on the run from the law in the sequel to The Fugitive, U.S. Marshals. The former would prove to be a massive cult hit and one of his biggest box-office successes to date. And while the new millenium would see most of Snipes' films relegated to straight-to-video releases, a pair of Blade sequels in 2002 and 2004 helped the actor remain a presence at the multiplexes.Sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion in 2008, Snipes began serving his term in 2010.