Trivia: Actress of stage, screen, and TV, Nell Carter moved to New York in 1968 and began as a singer in clubs and cabarets, then landed roles in a string of musicals. Her big break came with her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin' in 1978 (she repeated her role in the TV-version of the show). This led to a lead in the TV sitcom Gimme a Break, The show debuted in 1981 and made her nationally-known; the persona she created on the show was that of a bossy, love-lorn woman with a streak of self-deprecating humor. Besides the TV series, she went on to work as a singer in big clubs and in guest spots at big musical affairs, as well as hosting her own TV special Never Too Old to Dream in 1986.

Trivia: Businesslike character player Dolph Sweet attended college both in his native New York and in Alabama. He went on to teach English and direct plays at Barnard College. Even after achieving prominence as a Broadway actor, Sweet kept his hand in directing, helming some two dozen plays. In films since 1961's The Young Doctors, Sweet received some of his best reviews for his performance as a nonplussed cop in the 1968 cult favorite You're a Big Boy Now. Extremely busy on television, Sweet spent four years in the role of Lt. Gil McGowan on the daytime drama Another World. It was for another law-enforcement role, police chief Carl Kaninsky in the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break, that Dolph Sweet is best remembered; he essayed this role from 1981 until his death in 1985, an occasion marked by a heartfelt "tribute" episode.

Trivia: Started her career on Broadway, in The Music Man with Dick Van Dyke.Played tennis on NYU's varsity tennis team.Graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from NYU.Didn't attend her law school graduation, so she could portray Peter Pan on a stage production at the Pennsylvania Youth Theater.Passed the bar exam in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and was a practicing attorney in New York City.

Trivia: Howard Morton played character and supporting roles on stage, screen, and television. It is in the latter medium that he is best-remembered, especially for the roles he played for popular '70s producer Norman Lear. For Lear, Morton appeared frequently on All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Fans of the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break will know Morton for playing police officer Ralph. He made his feature film debut in The Mechanic (1972). Morton suffered a stroke and died on May 11, 1997, at the age of 71.

Trivia: Yale grad John Hoyt had been a history instructor, acting teacher and nightclub comedian before linking up with Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre in 1937. He remained with Welles until he joined the Army in 1945. After the war, the grey-haired, deadly-eyed Hoyt built up a screen reputation as one of most hissable "heavies" around, notably as the notorious political weathervane Talleyrand in Desiree (1954). He was a bit kinder onscreen as the Prophet Elijah in Sins of Jezebel. Nearly always associated with mainstream films, Hoyt surprised many of his professional friends when he agreed to co-star in the softcore porn spoof Flesh Gordon; those closest to him, however, knew that Hoyt had been a bit of a Bohemian all his life, especially during his frequent nudist colony vacations. TV fans of the '80s generation will remember John Hoyt as Grandpa Stanley Kanisky on the TV sitcom Gimme a Break; those with longer memories might recall that Hoyt played the doctor who told Ben Gazzara that he had only two years to live on the pilot for the 1960s TV series Run For Your Life. Hoyt also holds a footnote in Star Trek history playing the doctor in the first pilot episode, "The Cage."

Trivia: Supporting actress Jane Dulo specialized in television comedies and was involved with the medium since the 1950s. Her television credits included regular roles on Hey, Jeannie and Sgt. Bilko, and guest appearances on series such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, McHale's Navy, and Get Smart. She made her movie debut in Roustabout (1964) and went on to have a sporadic film career. She also appeared occasionally on and off Broadway. She launched her performing career in vaudeville at age ten. Fans of the long-running TV variety show Sha Na Na may remember Dulo as the woman in the window.

Trivia: Rising to fame as a lovable dim-witted television teen heartthrob in Blossom (1991-1995) after charming primetime viewers as the adorable youngster in such sitcoms as Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, and Gimme a Break!, Joseph Lawrence has since gone on to numerous film and television roles in addition to maintaining an active recording career as a Philly soul-inspired singer/songwriter. Born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, in 1976, Lawrence was the oldest of three brothers and by age four had convinced his parents that he had what it took to become an actor. Landing the first job he auditioned for and crooning "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "Zippity Do Da" on The Tonight Show shortly thereafter, it was obvious to many that the eager youngster indeed had the energy, talent, and dedication to make it as an entertainer. Making his mark on various television sitcoms before he became a fixture for four seasons on Gimme a Break!, it was as a teenager that Lawrence made his true mark on the small screen. As the titular character's goofy brother in the popular sitcom Blossom, Lawrence's charming aloofness endeared him into the hearts of starry-eyed teenage girls everywhere. His 1993 self-titled debut album quickly went gold as it sold over two million copies worldwide, proving that Lawrence's fans were indeed loyal. Following a public persona change in which he adopted the more mature moniker of Joseph, the actor/singer continued to make numerous appearances in such made-for-television films as Prince for a Day (1995) and Romantic Comedy 101 (2001) and such features as Tequila Body Shots (1999), Urban Legends: The Final Cut (2000), and Pandora's Box (2001). Lawrence made his directorial debut while simultaneously acting alongside brothers Matthew and Andrew in the mid-'90s sitcom Brotherly Love, and went on to produce (as well as star in) such made-for-television films as Horse Sense (1999) and Jumping Ship (2001). In 2002, Lawrence joined the cast of the period drama American Dreams, playing the recurring character of Michael Brooks. The following year, he starred in the sitcom Run of the House, which he followed with another comedy role, playing Brett on the series Half and Half until 2006. Later that same year, Lawrence took to the floor as a competitor on the reality series Dancing With the Stars and proved a popular addition to the show's roster. The stint led to Lawrence hosting the reality show Master of Dance in 2008, though it wasn't long before he was making waves with a comedic role again, appearing in the popular TV movie My Fake Fiancé with Melissa Joan Hart in 2009.

Trivia: Jonathan Silverman was discovered while acting in a play at Beverly Hills High School. The gangly, chipmunk-faced Silverman was thrust into stardom when he replaced Matthew Broderick in the role of Neil Simon's teenaged alter ego Eugene Jerome in Simon's Broadway play Brighton Beach Memoirs. The young actor recreated this role for the 1986 film version, then continued the Eugene Jerome saga in Simon's follow-up plays Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound. The actor is also well known for his role as dimwitted Andrew McCarthy's even more dimwitted cohort in the two Weekend at Bernie's films. Silverman's first TV stint was as the husband of Laurie Hendler on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break; in 1995, Silverman headlined his own weekly comedy series, The Single Guy.

Trivia: Matthew Lawrence was born into a talented family. Like his brothers, Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence, he began his career in front of the camera as a small child, appearing regularly on the melodrama Dynasty by the age of three, and Gimme a Break! at five. He spent the '80s and '90s building up an impressive body of work, logging in roles in films, TV movies, and series, most notably playing Robin Williams' son in Mrs. Doubtfire and the younger version of his real-life brother Joey's character on the show Blossom. The new millennium found Matthew nowhere near slowing down. Easily gliding into the roles of young men rather than kids, he played memorable parts in high-school and college-oriented projects like the long-running series Boy Meets World, the USA TV movie Cheats, and the wacky comedy The Hot Chick. In 2006, Matthew decided to try his hand at a more intense kind of project, signing on to play a role in the sci-fi horror Hunter's Moon.

Trivia: A shy and withdrawn child, 11-year-old Paul Sanchez emerged from his shell upon joining Viola Spolin's Children's Theatre Workshop. Even at this early stage of the game, he was a gifted improvisational comedian, delighting friends and theatregoers alike with his inspired flights of fancy. After attending Los Angeles State College, he journeyed to Paris at his own expense, hoping to meet his idols Jean-Louis Barrault and Marcel Marceau. The latter was so impressed by his instinctive talents that he hired the young performer for his prestigious touring mime troupe. Upon returning to the states, he worked with Viola Spolin's son Paul Sills at Chicago's Second City; somewhere along the way, he changed his professional moniker from Sanchez to Sand. He appeared in the popular off-Broadway revue The Mad Show, then linked up with Sills again in Story Theatre, winning a Tony Award for his portrayal of an itching dog! Hired as a general-purpose comic actor by MTM productions at the recommendation of his old Story Theatre-cohort Valerie Harper, Paul was starred in his own sitcom, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers. This fey, good-natured endeavor was widely touted as the sleeper of the 1974-75 television season. Unfortunately, viewers were not as enchanted by Sands' talents as "live" audiences had been, and Friends and Lovers was axed after 13 weeks. Paul Sand has continued to thrive as a supporting actor in films (his first was 1969's Viva Max) and such TV weeklies as St. Elswhere. Paul Sand's best showing of the 1980s was on the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break, in which he played Marty, an eccentric Manhattan-born restaurateur who posed as a flamboyant Mexican named Esteban for the benefit of his customers.

Trivia: No one could have predicted that brash, acerbic, and earthy standup comedienne Rosie O'Donnell would become the American sweetheart (dubbed the Queen of Nice) of daytime talk shows. She is also a veteran character actress of feature films and television. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, the third of five children in an Irish family, O'Donnell's father was the primary caretaker after her mother passed away from cancer when the comedienne was just ten. An avowed television freak, her favorite shows were Merv Griffin and The Mike Douglas Show, both of which would inspire her own talk show decades later. Inspired by Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, O'Donnell dreamed of becoming a performer, performing on stage for the first time at age 16. Despite the trauma of losing her mother, O'Donnell grew to become a vivacious and popular teen; in her high school year book (class of 1980) she was named Homecoming Queen, Class Clown, and Personality Plus, and she was also elected Senior Class President and was a member of the student council. She participated in every class sport and was a drummer in a garage band. Following high school, she briefly attended Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and Boston University, but dropped out to establish herself on the live comedy circuit. After appearing in nearly every state, she successfully auditioned for Ed McMahon's television talent show Star Search and went on to become a five-time winner. In 1986, she won a recurring role as Nell Carter's neighbor on the final season of the sitcom Gimme a Break (1986). From there, O'Donnell hosted and produced a comedy showcase, Stand Up Spotlight, for VH-1. She next appeared on the Fox short-lived comedy Stand By Your Man (1992). Having established herself as a formidable funny lady, O'Donnell landed the role of tough-talking but goodhearted baseball player Doris Murphy in Penny Marshall's A League of Their Own (1992) and found herself a national star. She continued her film career with a small role as Meg Ryan's confidante in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), followed by a co-starring part opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez in Another Stakeout (1993). As the bubbly Betty Rubble, she stole the show from John Goodman and Rick Moranis in The Flintstones (1994) and she had her first flop, playing a cop who masquerades as a leather-clad dominatrix opposite Dan Aykroyd in Exit to Eden (1994). She added Broadway to her list of successes when she breathed new life into the feisty Rizzo in the revival of Grease. In 1996, she played an understanding nanny in Harriet the Spy. Though she could have continued to have steady work as an actress and live performer, O'Donnell steered her career in a different direction; capitalizing on her phenomenal popularity as a talk show guest by becoming the host of her own gab fest, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, in 1996. Not wanting her program to be yet another of the exploitational, issues-oriented freak shows that characterized the 1990s, she chose to pattern hers after the afternoon talk/variety shows of old, focusing on celebrity interviews, entertaining acts, helpful household hints, and current events. Daytime audiences were hungry for what she offered and, in no time, her show became the most popular of its kind, topping even the venerable Oprah Winfrey Show. During its first three years, O'Donnell and her series garnered numerous Emmys and Emmy nominations.In 2002, after 6 years on television, The Rosie O'Donnell Show bowed, but not before its host ended long speculation by coming out as a lesbian. After leaving the show, O'Donnell transformed her persona to a passionate champion of GLBT-related causes. The adopted mother of four, she particularly focused her attention on lobbying against legal hurdles for gays and lesbians wishing to adopt.In 2005, O'Donnell appeared in her first feature role in several years, playing a mentally-disabled woman in the made-for-TV melodrama Riding the Bus with My Sister. The following year, it was announced that O'Donnell would step in for the departing Meredith Viera on ABC's long-running daytime panel show The View. Her presence on the show regularly sparked controversy, with a public feud between O'Donnell and mogul Donald Trump gaining particular attention.In 2007, after a year on the show, O'Donnell announced that a deal could not be reached with ABC, and she would be leaving the program. But anyone who knew O'Donnell knew that she wouldn't stay out of the spotlight for long, and with recurring roles on Drop Dead Diva, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Lisa Kudrow's Web Therapy she managed to keep her fans laughing. In 2009 she took on a double role as producer and star of the made-for-television movie America -- which told the tale of a youth center psychologist (O'Donnell) treating a bi-racial teen with a turbulent past -- and two years later she joined the Oprah Winfrey Network as host of the nightly talk show The Rosie Show, which featured celebrity guests discussing their careers, as well as current issues. In early 2012, however, the troubled network announced the cancellation of the show, with Winfrey calling O'Donnell personally to break the news. In 2014, she briefly returned to The View, before announcing she was leaving the show after five months due to personal and health issues.