Little Big League

Luke Edwards (Actor)

Born: January 01, 1980

Timothy Busfield (Actor)

Born: June 12, 1957
Birthplace: Lansing, Michigan, United States

Trivia: Red-haired, occasionally bearded American actor Timothy Busfield was a stage professional virtually from the moment he left East Tennessee State University. His earliest regular TV work was on the short-lived 1983 sitcom Reggie, playing the layabout aspiring-actor son of Richard Mulligan. One year later, Busfield was cast as Pernell Roberts' intern son on Trapper John, MD. He also appeared as Poindexter in Revenge of the Nerds and its sequel. In 1987, Busfield was fortuitously cast on the "yuppie" TV weekly thirtysomething, playing Elliot Weston, the business partner and best friend of series lead Michael Steadman (Ken Olin). From this point onward, Busfield was able to secure choice film supporting roles, generally as a stuffy, snotty "upwardly mobile" type. In addition to being honored with Emmy nominations from 1988-1990 for his work on thirtysomething, Busfield won a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy in 1991. His most likeable screen portrayal was as Kevin Costner's uptight, money-conscious, and essentially decent brother-in-law in the 1989 blockbuster Field of Dreams.Busfield forged a career behind the scenes as well, starting with directing episodes of thirtysomething while he was acting on that show. Among the series for which he has directed episodes are Sports Night, Ed, Las Vegas, and Joan of Arcadia. He also took on co-executive producing with the shows Ed and Without a Trace. Busfield still acted regularly throughout the '90s and into the new millenium in both film and television, but his more major roles tended to be on the small screen. He starred in the family drama Byrds of Paradise and the sitcom Champs, also making guest-starring appearances on numerous shows, including Ed and Without a Trace. But Busfield's most memorable and notable TV role of this period was that of White House reporter Danny Concannon on the critically acclaimed series The West Wing. Busfield played the character off-and-on through the whole series, appearing in the second-to-last episode, wooing Allison Janney's C.J. Cregg. Busfield worked on Aaron Sorkin's follow-up series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, playing director Cal Shanley on the show, and also helmed six episodes. Studio 60 was canceled after only one season, and since then, Busfield has alternated between guest spots and directing gigs.

John Ashton (Actor)

Born: February 22, 1948

Trivia: Memorably portraying gruff authority figures in such features as Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and King Kong Lives (1986), longtime character actor John Ashton possesses just the sort of rough-around-the-edges, grating quality that viewers love to hate. A native of Springfield, MA, who graduated from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Ashton got his start onscreen with a supporting role in the 1973 thriller The Psychopath, a role that served to define his future career path in cinematic law enforcement. Small-screen roles in Kojak and Police Story only served to reinforce this path, and in 1978 Ashton became a familiar face to television viewers when he joined the cast of the prime-time hit Dallas. Continuing to alternate between television and film into the following decade, the 1980s proved a lucrative period for Ashton as roles in Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (as well as its sequel), and Midnight Run (1988) found him toying with his haggard image to the amusement of movie lovers worldwide. Though not as prominent onscreen in the 1990s, Ashton averaged about two films a year with roles in The Tommyknockers (1993), Trapped in Paradise (1994), and Meet the Deedles (1998), culminating with an impressive performance as the eponymous character in the 2001 thriller Bill's Gun Shop, which proved once and for all that his edge was still very much intact. His performance was so impressive, in fact, that he was subsequently cast in the lead of the 2002 drama Sweet Deadly Dreams.

Ashley Crow (Actor)

Born: August 25, 1960
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Trivia: Considered a career in international relations before focusing on acting. Kicked off her TV career in the 1980s, including a stint on the science-fiction series Probe, which also featured Parker Stevenson. Appeared in the 2006-10 TV fantasy-drama Heroes, and married Matthew John Armstrong, who played Ted Sprague on the series. Appeared opposite Christopher Walken in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Coriolanus. Plays Jane Blake, Cassie's grandmother, on CW's fantasy drama The Secret Circle, which debuted in 2011. A serious fan of Auburn's college football team.

Dennis Farina (Actor)

Born: February 29, 1944
Died: July 22, 2013
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Trivia: Lovable tough guy character actor Dennis Farina was already well into his first career as a Chicago cop before he was able to turn his occasional acting gigs into a prodigious new line of work.Raised in Chicago by Italian immigrant parents, Farina joined his hometown's police force in the mid-'60s, settling into a life of law enforcement. When he was hired to be a local consultant on Michael Mann's film Thief (1981), however, Farina wound up with a bit part as the villain's heavy. Farina continued to moonlight as an actor for several years, appearing in local theater and occasional movies, including Final Jeopardy (1985) and the Chuck Norris vehicle Code of Silence (1985). Though he never took an acting class, Farina was a natural; after Michael Mann offered him the lead in the series Crime Story in 1986, Farina left the police force to play a TV cop. During his 1986-1988 stint on the series, Farina also played FBI agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glen's part in Silence of the Lambs [1991]) in Mann's stylish thriller Manhunter (1986), was the Birdman of Alcatraz in the TV movie Six Against the Rock (1987), and a cop in TV movie mystery Through Naked Eyes (1987). Drawing on his no-nonsense charm as well as his eclectic life experience, Farina continued to shine in roles on both sides of the law, such as serial killer Angelo Buono in The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989) and the lead prosecutor in the TV docudrama Blind Faith (1990). As nimble with comedy, Farina went up against Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin as a mobster in the popular buddy yarn Midnight Run (1988). His versatility firmly established by the 1990s, Farina's early '90s work ranged from playing a billionaire in People Like Us (1990), to Banquo in a New York gangland version of Macbeth, Men of Honor (1991), as well as supporting roles in the comedy Another Stakeout (1993), Bruce Willis actioner Striking Distance (1993), John Turturro's Italian-American family drama Mac (1993), and vicious neo-noir Romeo Is Bleeding (1994). Farina's appearance as John Travolta's nemesis, hilariously bumbling tough guy Ray "Bones" Barboni, in Barry Sonnenfeld's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty (1995), led to his most notable hit since Midnight Run. His career hitting a new high, Farina co-starred with Bette Midler as reunited exes in Carl Reiner's That Old Feeling (1997), and starred as a Sicilian bigwig in the high-profile TV miniseries Bella Mafia (1997). Though his Marshall Sisco made only a brief appearance in Steven Soderbergh's esteemed Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight (1998), Farina was pitch-perfect as Jennifer Lopez's protective dad. After joining the superb corps in Steven Spielberg's award-winning Saving Private Ryan (1998), Farina returned to series TV, playing smooth detective Buddy Faro (1998); the series, however, lasted only one season. Returning to films, Farina followed his role as the police captain who recruits The Mod Squad (1999) with another comic turn as a New York gangster who sets the diamond larceny plot in motion in Snatch (2000), adding a dash of Hollywood celebrity (along with Brad Pitt and Benicio del Toro) to British lad director Guy Ritchie's sophomore effort. The releases of two of Farina's next films, Barry Sonnenfeld's caper Big Trouble (2001) and Edward Burns' romantic comedy Sidewalks of New York (2001), were delayed after the terrorist attack on New York on September 11, 2001. Sidewalks of New York surfaced later in 2001, but the romantic comedy failed to charm a large audience. Big Trouble finally made it into theaters in the first half of 2002, but despite the big name cast, Sonnenfeld's farce joined such high profile fare as Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Collateral Damage (2002) and the espionage actioner Bad Company (2002) on the list of 9/11-delayed flops. Farina's next film, the broad, witless comedy Stealing Harvard (2002), also failed at the box office. Farina returned to television during the fall 2002 season with a lead role as a comically monstrous Meet the Parents-esque father-in-law on the sitcom The In-Laws (2002). Despite initially withering reviews, The In-Laws managed to show signs of ratings life.As the 2000's rolled forward, Farina appeared in a number of movies, most notably in Bottle Shock and What Happens in Vegas. Farina would find even more success on the small screen, with roles on Law & Order and the much discussed horse-racing drama Luck. Sadly, Farina died of a bloodclot in his lung in July of 2013. He was 69 years old.

Jason Robards (Actor)

Born: July 26, 1922
Died: December 26, 2000
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Trivia: One of Hollywood's elder statesmen, Jason Robards Jr. had a rich, deep voice and authoritative aura that befit the distinguished citizens he often played. The son of stage and screen actor Jason Robards Sr., Robards kept alive his rich heritage throughout the second half of the 20th century.Born July 26, 1922, in Chicago, Robards was a military man before becoming an actor. He served seven years in the Navy, and was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked in 1941 (he later received the Navy Cross). Following his service, Robards moved to New York to pursue an acting career. He found work in incidental plays, radio soap operas, and live television dramas, driving a cab and teaching school to support himself. After a decade of obscurity, he rose to prominence in 1956 in the Circle in the Square production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. He appeared on Broadway the following year in Long Day's Journey Into Night, for which he won a New York Drama Critics Award. Following that success, he remained a busy and popular Broadway performer, and, in 1958, got the opportunity to appear with his father in The Disenchanted.Making his onscreen debut in The Journey (1959), Robards maintained a TV and screen career while continuing to work on the stage. He tended to appear in two or three movies per year during the '60s, including the acclaimed 1962 screen adaptation of Long Day's Journey Into Night and Sergio Leone's much lauded 1968 Western Once Upon a Time in the West. Two years after his role in the war epic Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), the actor was in a near-fatal car crash, but managed to make a complete recovery, returning to Broadway two years later. He ended the '70s by winning Oscars for his supporting roles in All the President's Men (1976) and Julia (1977), and was nominated for the same award for his portrayal of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980), The slew of awards and nominations during this period also served as a nice complement to the six Tony awards he had been nominated for between 1960 and 1974. In 1978, Robards returned to the material that had helped to cement his reputation by directing himself in a revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night, which opened at Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House.Robards continued to act on-stage and in film throughout the '80s, in addition to working on a number of documentaries and made-for-TV movies. Among his more notable television portrayals were the title role in the acclaimed 1980 miniseries F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980) and a lead part in You Can't Take It With You (1984). He also participated in the 1982 documentary Burden of Dreams, a highly acclaimed film about the making of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. Robards' screen roles during that decade were usually limited to the part of the patriarch in such films as Square Dance (1987) and Parenthood (1989), although he was introduced to a younger audience with his lead in the 1989 comedy Dream a Little Dream, which featured Corey Haim and Corey Feldman and little else. Robards worked steadily throughout the '90s, taking on roles in such acclaimed features as Philadelphia (1993), A Thousand Acres (1997), and Beloved (1998). He also continued to appear in a number of TV miniseries. In 1999, Robards lent his voice to the widely lauded documentary The Irish in America: The Long Journey Home, further demonstrating that, in addition to being one of Hollywood's most respected figures, he was also one of its most versatile. One of Robards' last roles was a suitably complex one, a dying man longing for a reconciliation with his estranged son in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999). The actor died of cancer, himself, the following year.

Kevin Dunn (Actor)

Born: August 24, 1956
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Trivia: The genial, slightly stocky Hollywood character actor Kevin Dunn graced the casts of some of the highest grossing and most enjoyable A-listers of the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. With a pleasant (if unremarkable) countenance, this brother of Second City veteran (and onetime Saturday Night Live mainstay) Nora Dunn cut his chops playing everymen in American movies and one-shot television episodes. Kevin Dunn lacked the sketch comedy background of his arguably more famous sibling but quickly chalked up an equally extensive resumé at about the same time.Dunn debuted on camera in the mid-'80s, with a recurring role on the series comedy drama Jack & Mike (1986), co-starring Shelley Hack and Tom Mason, but Alan Parker's harrowing civil-rights drama Mississippi Burning (in which he played Agent Bird) marked his first real breakthrough. From that point on, he became ever-present in such blockbusters as Ghostbusters 2 (1989), Blue Steel (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Hot Shots! (1991), Chaplin (1992), and Dave (1993). Directors often cast Dunn as an emotional (or political) support to a heavy, such as his brief evocation of Nixon aide (and eventual Christian spokesperson) Chuck Colson in Oliver Stone's biopic Nixon (1995), that of Lou Logan (opposite Nicolas Cage) in Brian De Palma's muddled, flawed paranoid thriller Snake Eyes (1998), and that of Alex (alongside Sean Penn) in the political drama All The King's Men (2006). In 2007, Dunn appeared in the blockbuster action hit Transformers as Ron Witwicky, the father of lead actor Shia LaBeouf's character, Sam. Dunn also had a role in the underperforming Tom Cruise/Robert Redford/Meryl Streep drama Lions for Lambs. In the fall of that year, Dunn found success on the sitcom Samantha Who? as the father of the amnesia-afflicted main character (Christina Applegate).He was part of the cast of Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and played a bad guy in the runaway train thriller Unstoppable. In 2011 he appeared in the well-reviewed MMA drama Warrior, and the blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The next year he was cast in the one and only season of HBO's racetrack set drama series Luck.

Billy L. Sullivan (Actor)

Born: May 24, 1980

Miles Feulner (Actor)

Jonathan Silverman (Actor)

Born: August 05, 1966
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

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.

Wolfgang Bodison (Actor)

Born: November 19, 1966

Duane Davis (Actor)

Leon 'Bull' Durham (Actor)

Kevin Elster (Actor)

Joseph Latimore (Actor)

Brad Jay Lesley (Actor)

John Minch (Actor)

Michael Papajohn (Actor)

Born: November 07, 1964
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama

Trivia: Actor, stuntman, and college baseball player Michael Papajohn got his start in show business while he was attending Louisiana State University, where he played for the LSU Tigers. After having the opportunity to perform some stunts in the sports movie Everybody's All American in 1988, Papajohn began pursuing stunt and acting roles, appearing in movies like The Last Boy Scout and Mr. Baseball. He would find consistent acting work over the coming years, frequently making small appearances. He played an unnamed thug in 2000's Charlie's Angels and a security guard in the 2002 comedy The Hot Chick, and continued to take on several roles per year throughout the 2000s, notably appearing in I Know Who Killed Me, Spider-Man 3, and Terminator Salvation.

Scott Patterson (Actor)

Born: September 11, 1958
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Trivia: A reliable supporting player specializing in slightly gritty and rough-cut characterizations, Scott Patterson spent several years biding his time in forgettable cinematic ventures such as Intent to Kill (1992) and Little Big League (1994), before achieving fame in a recurring role as Luke Danes, the diner owner and eventual suitor of Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) on the popular comedy drama series Gilmore Girls. After that series eventually went off the air, he subsequently transitioning to feature roles, such as that of an agent in the gore-filled slasher outing Saw IV (2007). In 2007, Patterson also landed a regular role on the prime-time sitcom Aliens in America -- about a Midwestern family that unwittingly hosts a Pakistani Muslim exchange student in an attempt to find a friend for their unpopular son.

Troy Startoni (Actor)

Antonio Lewis Todd (Actor)

David Arnott (Actor)

Born: January 01, 1978

Jeff Garlin (Actor)

Born: June 05, 1962
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Trivia: Heavyset comedian Jeff Garlin started doing standup comedy at his Florida college before he returned to his hometown of Chicago, IL, and joined the cast of Second City. In 1992, he made his film debut in the Dolly Parton comedy Straight Talk, followed by small roles in other features and made-for-TV movies. In 1997, he starred in his own HBO half-hour comedy special and guest starred on Everybody Loves Raymond a couple times before playing the reoccurring role of Marvin on NBC's Mad About You. After bit parts in the comedies Senseless and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Garlin made the successful switch back to television. This time he tried directing and producing in addition to playing Larry David's manager, Jeff Greene, on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, which would become his most recognizable role. He then hosted the short-lived variety show Late Friday and joined the cast of What About Joan for its second and final season. He made a brief return to film for Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal and then gained co-star status with Eddie Murphy for Daddy Day Care in 2003. In 2006 he wrote, directed, and starred in the sweet indie comedy I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, and two years later joined the Pixar family providing the voice of the ship captain in the highly-successful Wall-E. As he continued working on Curb, he found working on animated films to his liking and lent his voice to Cars 2, Toy Story 3 and ParaNorman.

Allan Wasserman (Actor)

Born: May 16, 1952

Teddy Bergman (Actor)

Cammy Kerrison (Actor)

Allen Hamilton (Actor)

Born: September 28, 1935

Lavin Erickson (Actor)

John Beasley (Actor)

Born: June 26, 1943
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska

Joe Johnson (Actor)

John Gordon (Actor)

Jason Wolf (Actor)

O'neal Compton (Actor)

Born: February 05, 1951
Birthplace: Sumter, South Carolina

Steve Cochran (Actor)

Born: May 25, 1917
Died: June 16, 1965

Trivia: The son of a California lumberman, actor Steve Cohran spent his youth in Laramie, Wyoming, where he graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1939. After learning his craft at the Barter Theatre and the Carmel (California) Shakespeare Festival, he went on to work at Detroit's Federal Theatre, and was co-starred in the touring companies of Without Love and My Sister Eileen before his Broadway debut in the eight-performance flop Hickory Stick. During the war, Cochran directed Army camp shows. From 1945 through 1948, he was under contract to Sam Goldwyn, mostly playing secondary roles as gangsters. He left Hollywood to co-star with Mae West in Catherine Was Great and Diamond Lil; perhaps as a reward for not being acted off the stage by the formidable West, Cochran was signed by Warner Bros., where from 1949 through 1952 he was seen in rugged leading roles. In 1953, Cochran formed his own production company, Robert Alexander Productions, but he would not be seen in another film until 1956's Come Next Spring, which he produced for Republic Studios. He then headed for Europe, where he was given a starring assignment in Michelangelo Antonioni's The Outcry. In 1965, after several years of unimpressive movie and TV appearances, Cochran revived his production company and headed for Central and South America to scout locations. He hired three women, ages 14 through 25, to work as assistants, then headed for Costa Rica aboard his forty-foot yacht. On June 25, 1965, the yacht drifted into Port Champerico, Guatemala; on board were the three very distraught women--and the body of Steve Cochran, who had died some ten days earlier of a lung affection. Steve Cochran's last film project, Tell Me in the Sunlight (which he had produced, directed, written, scored and starred in back in 1964), was reedited and released posthumously.

Tim Russell (Actor)

Mark McGann (Actor)

Born: July 12, 1961

Peter Syvertsen (Actor)

Born: August 14, 1953

Jodie Fisher (Actor)

Born: July 17, 1960

Jodi Russell (Actor)

Kristen Fontaine (Actor)

Gary Groomes (Actor)

Born: January 01, 1955

Charlie Owens (Actor)

Tony Denman (Actor)

Born: October 22, 1979

Vinnie Kartheiser (Actor)

Brock Pierce (Actor)

Born: November 14, 1980

Ken Griffey Jr. (Actor)

Born: November 21, 1969
Birthplace: Donora, Pennsylvania, United States

Trivia: Was born on the same date (November 21) and in the same town as National Baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial. Selected No.1 overall by the Seattle Mariners in 1987. More than 1 million Ken Griffey Jr. chocolate bars were sold after their introduction in 1989. Became part of the first father/son duo to appear in the same lineup on August 31, 1990. Recorded the song "The Way I Swing" with rapper Kid Sensation in the early '90s. Appeared as himself in the baseball-themed movies Little Big League (1994) and Summer Catch (2001). While playing in Seattle, had his own column in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, "Ask Junior." Won the National League's Comeback Player of the Year award in 2005.

Mickey Tettleton (Actor)

Sandy Alomar Jr. (Actor)

Born: June 18, 1966
Birthplace: Salinas, Puerto Rico

Carlos Baerga (Actor)

Birthplace: Santurce, Puerto Rico

Randy Johnson (Actor)

Born: September 10, 1963
Birthplace: Walnut Creek, California

Dave Magadan (Actor)

Born: September 30, 1962
Birthplace: Tampa, Florida, USA

Paul O'Neill (Actor)

Dean Palmer (Actor)

Lou Piniella (Actor)

Ivan Rodriguez (Actor)

Born: November 30, 1971

Eric Anthony (Actor)

Alex Fernandez (Actor)

Wally Joyner (Actor)

Born: June 16, 1962
Birthplace: Atlanta

Lenny Webster (Actor)

Rafael Palmeiro (Actor)

Birthplace: Havana, Cuba

Tim Raines (Actor)

Chris Berman (Actor)

Born: May 10, 1955
Birthplace: Greenwich, Connecticut, United States

Trivia: Was working in sports talk radio at a station in Westbury, CT, for $23 a night when hired by ESPN in 1979. Has appeared in various motion pictures, including Little Big League (1994), Kingpin (1996) and The Longest Yard (2005). Has sung onstage with Huey Lewis and the News and appeared in the Hootie and the Blowfish video for "Only Want to Be With You." Won the pro-am portion of golf's Franklin Templeton Shootout in 2005 with partners Peter Jacobsen and Greg Norman. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. Received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award given by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. While known for giving sports personalities nicknames during his broadcasts, he is also frequently referred to by his nicknames, Boomer and The Swami.

Kevin Burns (Actor)

Jessie Elies (Actor)

Scott Meadows (Actor)

Richard Petterson (Actor)

James Roth (Actor)

Edward Stryker (Actor)

Patrick Wright (Actor)

Born: November 28, 1939

Steve Eiswirth (Actor)

Mike Knight (Actor)

Kent Paulson (Actor)

Patrick Pohl (Actor)

Daniel Smith (Actor)

Jay Wange (Actor)

Robert Schiel (Actor)

Dean Wittenberg (Actor)

Ronald J. Wojcik (Actor)

Ryan Anderson (Actor)

Marc Gittleman (Actor)

Clint Parnell (Actor)

Eric Jeffrey (Actor)

4:30 pm - 7:00 pm, Saturday, January 10 on MLB Network ()