Trivia: Actress Teresa Graves started her career as a singer with the Doodletown Pipers but moved on to acting and appeared in several films during the 1970s. In 1975, Graves abandoned her film career in favor of religion.

Trivia: Street-smart leading actor Harry Guardino entered films in 1952 after several years of knocking around the New York stages. The best of his early film roles was Cary Grant's comic handyman in 1958's Houseboat. Guardino worked extensively in European productions in the 1960s, playing such parts as Barabbas in 1961's King of Kings. Among Harry Guardino's many TV assignments were the title role in the 1964 New York-based series The Reporter and the "Bogart/Bond" hero on the syndicated 1971 weekly Monty Nash. He made his final film appearance in Fist of Honor (1991).

Trivia: On stage from 1957, American actor Andy Romano made his film bow two years later. Romano's earlier assignments included the part of J.D., a member of Eric Von Zipper's "Rat Pack," in several of American-International's Beach Party movies. He later played lawmen and crooks, both comic and otherwise. On TV, Andy Romano played Detective Joe Caruso in Get Christie Love! (1975) and Frank Richards in Friends (the 1979 "teen angst" sitcom, not the current NBC hit).

Trivia: A New York-based stage and TV actor, Paul Stevens made few film appearances, but was still a familiar face thanks to his soap opera work in the '60s, '70s and '80s. Stevens played Brian Bancroft on NBC's Another World, then went on to other projects and was replaced by Luke Reilly. Over at CBS, Stevens showed up on The Young and the Restless. Replacing B-picture stalwart Robert Clarke, Paul Stevens played Dr. Bruce Henderson, one-time beau of Young and Restless perennial Jennifer Brooks (Dorothy Green).

Trivia: New York native Ron Rifkin made his Broadway debut in the original 1960 production of Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn. He made his film debut in the chain-gang adventure film The Devil's 8 in 1969, followed by the sci-fi actioner Silent Running (1971). Rifkin was much more prolific on the stage throughout his career, in some cases leading to film adaptations (as in The Sunshine Boys [1975]). But he sure had a knack for showing up on television's most popular shows over a period of three decades. During the '70s, he appeared on Soap, The Bob Newhart Show, and Mary Tyler Moore. During the '80s, he appeared on Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, and Hill Street Blues. During the '90s, he appeared on ER, Law & Order, and The Outer Limits. He also had parts in the Woody Allen films Husbands and Wives and Manhattan Murder Mystery. After winning an Obie and Drama Desk award for his portrayal of Holocaust survivor Issac Geldhart in the Jon Robin Baitz play Substance of Fire, Rifkin reprised his role in the 1996 feature film version. The next year, he earned a starring role on the short-lived ABC drama Leaving L.A. On the big screen, he appeared in Curtis Hanson's crime drama L.A. Confidential followed by F. Gary Gray's action thriller The Negotiator. In 1998, he earned his first Tony award for Best Supporting Actor in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of his TV movies from this time include Norma Jean and Marilyn and Flowers for Algernon. In 2001, Rifkin was cast on the ABC spy drama Alias as the calculating and sinister commanding officer Arvin Sloane. Transitioning to the Emmy-winning ABC crama series Brothers and Sisters after Alias went off the air in 2006, Rifkin stuck with the show for 5 years, and later landed a recurring role on NBC in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Trivia: Tall and beefy, American supporting actor Lee Paul appeared in a few films from the early '70s though the early '80s. But he is best known for his frequent guest-starring roles on television. Lee got his start on-stage in the early '60s.

Trivia: Earthy Greek-American character actor Titos Vandis was well represented by his short but meaty roles in two Jules Dassin films, Never on Sunday (1960) and Topkapi (1964). Vandis was a familiar Broadway presence, appearing in such scene-stealing parts as a reincarnation expert in Alan Jay Lerner's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965). In American films, Vandis is best remembered for a brace of mid-1970s appearances. In Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (1972), Titos Vandis played the psychiatric patient with an unnatural attachment to his pet sheep, while in The Exorcist (1974), he was seen as the uncle of the unfortunate Father Karras (Jason Miller).

Trivia: All-purpose actor William Hansen first appeared on Broadway in the 1934 production My Heart's in the Highlands. His subsequent stage work included such long-running productions as A Member of the Wedding and Teahouse of the August Moon. He made his film debut in Elia Kazan's Pinky (1949), then forsook movies for the stage for another decade or so. In his last years, William Hansen was seen in brief character parts in films like Fail-Safe (1964), 1776 (1972), and Homebodies (1974), which featured several Broadway veterans.

Trivia: American actor Davis Roberts played character roles on stage, television, and in feature films for nearly 40 years. Between 1983 and 1984, he had a regular role as a blind bluesman on the television series Boone. He made his final film appearance in To Sleep With Anger. In addition to acting, Roberts served as an advisor for the Western division of the Actor's Equity Association. He also founded the Beverly Hills-Hollywood NAACP Image Award.

Trivia: African-American actor Bill Henderson may not be the same Bill Henderson listed in the British Attack on the Iron Coast (1968), but he definitely did appear in Mother, Jugs and Speed (1976), Inside Moves (1980) and Smart Alec (1986). Those who have catalogued the many failed TV series of Tim Conway will recall Henderson as Mello, blind nightclub pianist in 1983's Ace Crawford Private Eye. At least Ace Crawford made it to the airwaves; 1987's Kingpins, a comedy set in a bowling alley which featured Henderson in a supporting role, never got past the pilot stage. Bill Henderson's most prominent recent screen performance was as one of several "dude" participants of a cattle drive (he's the father in the father-son team) in the 1991 Billy Crystal comedy City Slickers.

Trivia: At age 15, was discovered by Broadway producer Jed Harris. Made her film debut with a bit part in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Was the first American soap star to have her wax figure in London's Madame Tussaud's Museum. Received two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1991 and 1992 for her portrayal of Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful. Appeared in concerts with Bold and the Beautiful castmates in Holland and released a pop single in Europe.

Trivia: From teen actor to toast-of-the-town screenwriter, there aren't many aspects of the film industry with which Hampton Fancher isn't familiar. Although his career may not have exactly taken the path he anticipated, Fancher has still managed to maintain a fairly optimistic view. The L.A. native opted to live in Spain while still in his teens, and after changing his name to Mario Montejo, he became an accomplished flamenco dancer. Returning the States in the early '60s, Fancher sought work as an actor and married 17-year-old actress Sue Lyon. When the short-lived union ended bitterly, Fancher withdrew to focus more on his writing; by the end of the 1970s, Fancher had abandoned acting entirely and screenwriting became the driving force in his career. When his screenplay for Blade Runner was sold in the early '80s, it seemed that everyone wanted a piece of him; but the film was largely considered a failure when originally released in 1982, and with the notable exception of 1989's The Mighty Quinn, it would be several years before another of Fancher's scripts was actually produced. Although he had envisioned himself directing movies, composing music, and writing books until retirement, it wasn't until he was 60 that the long-absent screenwriter would make his directorial debut. A low-key thriller that follows an amiable serial killer as he settles into a comfortable, small-town existence, The Minus Man found Fancher adapting Lew McCreary's suspenseful novel to surprising effect. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, the film also benefited from solid performances by lead Owen Wilson and supporting players Janeane Garofalo, Dennis Haysbert, Dwight Yoakam, and Mercedes Ruehl. Success came as a welcome highlight to Fancher, and instead of becoming embittered by the things he had not accomplished earlier in life, the aging director pressed on in hopes of getting his screenplay for "The Black Weasel" produced.

Trivia: Actor Sal Ponti appeared in a few films of the '60s. His biggest role was that of Demetrios, a Greek sailor in Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961). For that role, Ponti was billed as Anthony Hall. Ponti started out on the Philadelphia stage and came to Hollywood in the 1950s after working on television in New York. Following his major role in Atlantis, Ponti was relegated to smaller roles and guest-starring stints on television. In addition to acting, Ponti was also a songwriter and created tunes for such singers as Frankie Avalon and Fabian.

Trivia: American actor Russ Marin played supporting roles on stage, radio, television, and films of the '70s and '80s. He started out in radio in 1950.