Trivia: The son of B-Western and serial director Jack Nelson, little Bobby Nelson starred in one of the silent era's last western series, Universal's The Pioneer Kid. All 13 mini-Westerns were directed by Jack Nelson, who also helmed The White Gorilla (released 1947), a bizarre jungle melodrama filmed in the 1930s and incorporating footage from several silent serials. The ill-begotten result, featuring Bobby, was released in 1935. He also appeared in four very low-budget westerns, starring non-entity Rex Lease. Today, Bobby Nelson is probably best remembered as Tom Keene's juvenile sidekick in Partners (1932).

Trivia: Blaxploitation superstar Richard Roundtree earned screen immortality during the 1970s as the legendary Shaft, "the black private dick that's the sex machine to all the chicks." Born July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, NY, Roundtree attended college on a football scholarship but later gave up athletics to pursue an acting career. After touring as a model with the Ebony Fashion Fair, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company's acting workshop program in 1967. He made his film debut in 1970's What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?, but was still an unknown when filmmaker Gordon Parks Sr. cast him as Shaft. The role shot Roundtree to instant fame, launching the blaxploitation genre and proving so successful at the box office that it helped save MGM from the brink of bankruptcy. Thanks to the film's popularity -- as well as its two sequels, 1972's Shaft's Big Score! and the following year's Shaft in Africa, and even a short-lived television series -- Roundtree became an icon of '70s-era cool, and his image graced countless magazine covers. Outside of the Shaft franchise, he also appeared in films including the 1974 disaster epic Earthquake, 1975's Man Friday, and the blockbuster 1977 TV miniseries Roots. By the end of the decade, however, the blaxploitation movement was a thing of the past, and Roundtree's stardom waned; apart from the 1981 big-budget flop Inchon, he spent the 1980s appearing almost exclusively in TV roles or low-rent, direct-to-video features. Still, he continued working steadily, and in 1995 appeared in David Fincher's smash thriller Seven. The following year he co-starred in the acclaimed Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored, and also teamed with fellow blaxploitation vets Pam Grier and Fred "the Hammer" Williamson in Original Gangstas. In 1997, Roundtree returned to series television in 413 Hope St.

Trivia: One of the last true "pitchmen," Billy Mays became a familiar face to TV watchers everywhere as the enthusiastic host of commercials for OxiClean. The bearded salesman had been selling "As Seen On TV" products since the early '80s, when the then 30-something convinced passers-by to pick up various products on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. He learned his old-fashioned style of salesmanship from the men who ran the Jersey Shore business, and he became successful using the now largely forgotten technique himself, pitching products at state fairs and other events for the following decade. In the early '90s, Mays developed a partnership with the owner of Orange Glo, a line of household cleaners, and soon began performing his act on nationally syndicated commercials for the products. He soon found himself ingrained in the popular culture, and eventually founded his own promotional company, Mays Promotions, Inc. He continued to appear in TV ads, and his strength as a media personality eventually landed him on TV shows, like a June 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Tragically, Mays died unexpectedly on June 29, 2009. He was 51.

Trivia: Under contract to Republic Pictures from 1941-1943, perky blonde girl singer Judy Clark made a greater impact later in such Universal songfests as Hey, Rookie (1944) and Penthouse Rhythm (1945) -- minor fare, to be sure, but popular with a war-weary audience. After World War II, she played Tom Neal's girlfriend in the 15-chapter Columbia serial Bruce Gentry (1949), returned to Republic for the 12-chapter Desperadoes of the West (1950), and was one of the Three Coral Cuties in Universal's Tex Williams musical Western shorts (the other two were Patricia Alphin and Della Norell).

Trivia: First writing experience came from a steady column called "Ramblings" in The Crusader, Holy Cross's school paper; later served as the paper's sports editor. Worked for the Boston Herald soon after college covering high-school sports and penning sports profiles and editorials; also freelanced for the Boston Phoenix. Gained notoriety with a column dubbed "Boston Sports Guy" for an online site called Digital City Boston; it earned him an offer from ESPN. Left the Boston area after being hired to work as a writer on Jimmy Kimmel Live; he left the show to write full-time for ESPN. Columns appear in ESPN.com's "Page 2" section; formerly wrote a column for ESPN The Magazine, calling it quits in July of 2009 after seven years. Executive producer for ESPN's documentary series, 30 for 30. Hosts a podcast on ESPN called the BS Report; interviews tend to be sports-focused but guests range from sports analysts to actors to comedians, and even to friends. Authored the books Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help From Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 Red Sox and The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy. Created a recurring cartoon short that appeared on ESPN.com called the The Sports Guy.