Trivia: A longtime standup comic in addition to his work in television and radio, outspoken funnyman Steve Harvey has time and again proven his dedication to changing the public perception of African-American humor by means of his unique gift for humor. Though his universal truth-style and observant eye have gained Harvey a loyal following with his top-rated show on the WB, Harvey still vocally articulates his frustrations with the racial sliding scale of prime-time success. Harvey grew up in Cleveland and began his career as a standup comedian in the early '90s. With his popularity leading to a long-running stint on television's popular Showtime at the Apollo a few short years later, Harvey's small-screen career was soon on the rise and he next landed a leading role (as well as a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series) in television's Me and the Boys in 1994. With his own series, The Steve Harvey Show, close on the horizon, the comic's influence was gaining even more momentum in addition to a wider audience. And though he would earn four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for his show, Harvey was quick to point out that that doesn't necessarily entitle him to the perks of a role in a more Caucasian-oriented sitcom. One of four black comics featured in director Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy (2000), Harvey was soon joined in prime time by fellow King Bernie Mac when Mac debuted his own namesake television series in early 2001. In addition to serving as host of KKBT-FM's The Beat, Harvey frequently takes part in speaking engagements in which he stresses the importance of goals and the dangers of drugs to impressionable youths.

Trivia: Actor, dancer, and choreographer Wendy Raquel Robinson is best known for her role on The Steve Harvey Show, but her career in fact spans far outside television and onto both the big screen and the stage. She appeared in several plays such as The Vagina Monologues, Black Woman's Blues, Agnes of God, A Midsummer's Night Dream, The Colored Museum, and Vanities, all of them receiving rave reviews, and she was also a co-founder of the Amazing Grace Conservatory in South Central Los Angeles, a theatrical training institute for teens. She appeared in movies such as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and Rebound, and in 2007, she joined the cast of the series The Game.

Trivia: A man with a gift for wringing laughter from commonplace situations, Cedric the Entertainer has parlayed a career as one of the top standup comics in America into a steadily growing resumé as an actor in film and television. Born Cedric Kyles in 1964, Cedric the Entertainer adopted his stage name early on in his career; having also worked as a singer and dancer, Cedric wanted audiences to know he was more than just another comedian, though after being named "most humorous" in his high school graduating class, he seemed destined early on to be best known for his wit. Cedric's career as a standup comic got its first major boost when he won the "Johnny Walker National Comedy Contest" in Chicago. This led to regular gigs at nightclubs in his hometown of St. Louis, and a victory in another Chicago comedy competition. With plenty of experience in the Midwest under his belt, Cedric began touring comedy clubs around the United States, and in 1993, he scored his first regular spot on television, as the host of the BET series Comicview. While touring the Southwest, Cedric dropped by a club in Dallas, TX, where the headlining act was not going over with the audience. Cedric persuaded the management to let him do a set, and his five-minute routine brought down the house. Cedric soon discovered fellow comic Steve Harvey was in the audience. The two rising stars struck up a friendship, and when Harvey scored his own sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show, in 1996, he brought Cedric along to play his friend, Cedric Jackie Robinson. Cedric was a hit on the show, and his work on the series earned him the NAACP Image Award as Best Supporting Actor on a Comedy Series three years in a row. In 1997, Cedric and Harvey joined forces with funnymen Bernie Mac and D.L. Hughley for a concert tour. Billed as The Kings of Comedy, the tour was a major success, selling out large venues across the country and grossing 37 million dollars over a two-year run. After his success on The Steve Harvey Show and with the Kings of Comedy tour, it was inevitable that Hollywood would come calling, and Cedric scored his first screen role in 1998 in the comedy Ride. The Original Kings of Comedy, a concert film shot by Spike Lee during a tour stop in North Carolina, hit theaters in 2000, and Cedric was also seen that year in the Martin Lawrence vehicle Big Momma's House. In 2001, Cedric scored a supporting role in the comedy-drama Kingdom Come, and did voice work for Dr. Dolittle 2 as well as the animated television series The Proud Family.As one of the stars of 2002's Barbershop, Cedric showed Hollywood that he could deliver a major box-office hit, and larger film roles soon followed. After a scene-stealing turn in the Coen Brothers' 2003 Intolerable Cruelty, Cedric geared up for what looked to be his biggest year to date. 2004 saw the comedian with starring roles in the sequel to Barbershop, Johnson Family Vacation, and the big-screen adaptation of the classic sitcom The Honeymooners, as well as prominent supporting parts in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, with Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, and Be Cool, the long-awaited sequel to Get Shorty.He lent his distinctive voice to a number of animated projects including the Madagascar films and the live-action Charlotte's Web. He also acted in projects as diverse as Talk to Me, Code Name: The Cleaner, Cadillac Records, and Tom Hanks' sophomore directorial effort Larry Crowne.When not making people laugh in person or onscreen, Cedric has an interest in charitable work, and in St. Louis he's established the Cedric the Entertainer Charitable Foundation, which helps to fund youth scholarships and family outreach programs in his hometown.

Trivia: Laid-back rapper Snoop Dogg followed in the footsteps of such West Coast colleagues as Ice Cube and Ice-T, and added acting to his repertoire in the late '90s.Raised in Long Beach and nicknamed Snoop due to his resemblance to Peanuts' top canine, Snoop Dogg's troubled teen years culminated in a drug conviction after high school. After he got out of prison, Snoop Dogg turned to rap and soon captured the attention of star producer/rapper Dr. Dre. Introduced on Dr. Dre's seminal album The Chronic (1992), Snoop Dogg's smooth low-key style and lyrical authenticity turned him into one of gangster rap's stars, culminating with the release of his own top-selling, Grammy-nominated debut album Doggystyle (1993). Snoop Dogg's street cred, however, proved too negatively authentic when his involvement in a drive-by shooting led to a murder charge that same year. Battling the charge through the mid-'90s, Snoop Dogg was cleared in 1996, but his record sales waned along with gangster rap's popularity.Still a notable music celebrity, however, Snoop Dogg branched out into acting with a cameo appearance in the stoner comedy Half Baked (1998). Staying true to his urban persona, Snoop Dogg appeared in L.A. crime drama Caught Up (1998) (as Kool Kitty Kat) and Master P's coming-of-age story Hot Boyz (1999), and co-starred with Ice-T in action movies The Wrecking Crew (1999) and Urban Menace (1999). Increasingly comfortable as an actor, Snoop Dogg subsequently took on roles in several prominent 2001 releases. Trying comedy, Snoop Dogg co-starred with Dr. Dre as friends and car wash employees in The Wash (2001). Though John Singleton's Baby Boy (2001) failed to live up to antecedent Boyz 'N the Hood (1991), Snoop Dogg was convincing as the neighborhood troublemaker. After a cameo as a drug dealer paralyzed by Denzel Washington's corrupt cop in Training Day (2001), Snoop Dogg moved to his first solo starring role in the horror movie Bones (2001). As a murdered 1970s superfly community pillar-turned-ghostly avenger, Snoop Dogg earned kudos for his assured, menacing performance. Despite claims that his legal problems were over, Snoop Dogg was busted for marijuana possession during his Puff, Puff, Pass tour in October 2001.2003 marked the release of Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, which featured Snoop Dogg changing his role from gangster to prankster in a series of sketch comedy bits and various on-the-street disguises. Despite its popularity, Snoop's busy schedule prevented the show for lasting more than two seasons, though it helped reestablish the market for smart, African-American satire, which had been left largely unfulfilled since the cancellation of The Chris Rock Show. Luckily, Dave Chappelle proved a more than worthy successor to Snoop Dogg in that area, leaving the rapper more than enough time to make a cameo as himself in Old School (2003), as well as continue his contributions to the infamous Girls Gone Wild series, and thoroughly overuse the never-quite-hip slang suffix "izzle." In 2004, Snoop played informant to Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's Starsky & Hutch, as well as co-starred in director Jessy Terrero's Soul Plane.In 2006 he appeared in and produced Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror, and lent his voice to the animated family film Arthur and the Invisibles. He became a regular at celebrity roasts starting in 2007 when he helped skewer fellow iconic rapper Flavor Flav. He continued to appear steadily in a variety of projects, usually as himself, including Bruno, The Big Bang, and the documentaries Straight Outta L.A. and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

Trivia: An Image and ALMA award nominee who rose to fame on The Steve Harvey Show before co-starring with Eddie Murphy in the action comedy Showtime, actor Merlin Santana's career was cut tragically short by a seemingly random act of violence. Born to Dominican Republic immigrants in New York City, Santana was encouraged by his mother to pursue a career in show business as a means to keep the talented youngster off the streets. Following early work as a fast food chain advertising model, Santana landed a recurring role on the enduring sitcom The Cosby Show. Although he co-starred in the sitcom Getting By in the early '90s, it was The Steve Harvey Show that found the actor nominated by the Image awards and ALMA and truly coming into his own as an actor. Sadly, his blossoming career was ended with a bullet as he sat in a parked car in South Los Angeles in November 2002. A woman was arrested in connection to the crime shortly thereafter. Santana was 26.

Trivia: Initially rising to fame thanks to his skillful rhymes and savvy business skills, rapper-turned-actor Sean Combs surprised audiences who may have doubted his dramatic abilities by turning in a moving and unforgettable appearance as a death-row inmate whose wife seeks solace in the arms of the man who executed him in Marc Foster's acclaimed 2001 drama Monster's Ball. Though subsequent roles in the 2003 musical comedy Death of a Dynasty and the 2004 made-for-television drama Love in Vain give testament that Combs' Hollywood aspirations are still very much in tact, he continues to hold on to his status as one of hip-hop's most powerful players thanks to a series of hit albums and collaborations, as well as a successful clothing line which bears his namesake. Born to a working class couple in Harlem, NY, the murder of Combs' father when the future superstar was a mere two years old prompted his mother to relocate to Mount Vernon to provide a safer environment for young Sean and his sister, Keisha. Combs' skills for paying the bills was evident early on when the entrepreneurial youngster landed a paper route at 12, and not long after that the aspiring businessman was receiving his higher education at the esteemed Howard University. An internship at Uptown Entertainment found Combs' connections expanding and real-world experience growing, with Combs achieving the status of director of A&R for the company by the age of just nineteen. In the years that followed, Combs would not only shape the careers of such popular artists as Mary J. Blige and Jodeci, but also build a successful career as a recording artist himself with such albums as his debut No Way Out and the follow-up Forever. Combs' performance in Monster's Ball opposite Halle Berry may have been the first feature performance that brought him widespread recognition in film, though to that point, the multifaceted rapper had made numerous cameos and personal appearances on multiple talk shows and awards programs.Although he maintained a successful music career, he also wanted to make it as an actor. To that end, he appeared in the sequel to Carlito's Way and earned positive reviews for his work in a 2008 version of A Raisin in the Sun. In 2010 he had an excellent supporting turn in the comedy Get Him to the Greek and spoofed himself in I'm Still Here. He also executive produced the high-school football documentary Undefeated which won the Oscar for best Documentary Feature.