Trivia: For better or worse, leading actor Kelsey Grammer's name will probably forever be associated with the pompous, garrulous, and self-absorbed but lovable psychiatrist Frasier Crane, a character Grammer has played on television since he first appeared on the NBC sitcom Cheers, in 1984, as a love interest for Shelley Long. Though Frasier was not intended to become a series regular, Grammer's performance of the blowhard neurotic charmed audiences and he remained with Cheers through its 1993 demise. At the beginning of the 1993-1994 television season, Grammer's character was resurrected in his own show and moved from Boston to Seattle, where he became a radio psychologist and faced a whole slew of folks just waiting to poke metaphorical pins in his hot air balloon. Thanks to excellent performances and top-notch writing, Frasier became as big a hit as its predecessor. Grammer won three Emmy awards and was nominated for seven more (twice for Cheers, once for his guest appearance on a 1992 episode of Wings, four times for Frasier) for playing the character. Born on St. Thomas, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Grammer knew extreme tragedy in youth. Following the shooting death of his father when he was a boy, he was raised in New Jersey and then Florida, by his mother and grandfather. His grandfather died before Grammer became a teen. When he was 20, his sister was abducted and violently murdered. Five years later, he lost two half brothers in a diving accident. As a young man, Grammer found comfort in Shakespeare; with his acting debut in a high school production of The Little Foxes came an interest in pursuing drama as a career. He enrolled in Juilliard, but dropped out after two years to work at San Diego's Old Globe Theater, where he gained three years' invaluable experience performing in Shakespearean and classical dramas; afterward, Grammer performed in productions across the country. He eventually made it to Broadway, where he appeared in various productions, including Othello. Prior to playing Frasier, Grammer appeared occasionally on television and had regular roles in three soap operas, including One Life to Live. He continues to occasionally guest star on other series. Fans of the animated satire The Simpsons will recognize his periodic voice characterization as the venomous Sideshow Bob. Miniseries and telemovies in which he has appeared include London Suite and Beyond Suspicion. Grammer made his feature film debut with a small role in Top of the Hill (1989) and had his first starring role in the much-panned comedy Down Periscope (1996). In addition to his Emmy kudos, Grammer has received an American Comedy Award, two Golden Globes, and a People's Choice Award. In 1995, he published his autobiography So Far.Grammer would spend the following years taking on TV roles on shows like Back to You and Boss, but would find even more success as a producer, helping bring shows like The Game, Girlfriends, Hank, Medium, and World Cup Comedy to fruition. In 2014, he returned to acting in a big way, making a cameo appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past, reprising his role as Beast, playing the bad guy in Transformers: Age of Extinction, and returning to television in the FX series Partners.

Trivia: Matriculating from Illinois State University, actress Laurie Metcalf was one of the charter members of Chicago's groundbreaking Steppenwolf Theatre troupe. She moved on to New York in the early '80s, winning a 1984 Theatre World Award and an Obie for her performance in Balm in Gilead. In films since 1985, the flexible Metcalf has been seen in director Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Making Mr. Right (1987), and also in several other highly regarded productions, notably Uncle Buck (1989), JFK (1991), and Mistress (1992). Metcalf is best known to the TV-watching public for her Emmy-winning portrayal of Roseanne Conner's police-officer sister, Jackie Harris, on the long-running sitcom Roseanne. In 1997, following the demise of her television series, Metcalf turned in a deliciously over-the-top performance as the tightly wound aspiring reporter Debbie Salt in Scream 2. In the decades to come, Metcalfe would find success on shows like Norm and The Big Bang Theory, as well as movies like Stop-Loss Georgia Rule. Despite her hectic schedule, Laurie Metcalf still finds time for an occasional return-to-the-womb appearance at the Steppenwolf Theatre, usually in the company of fellow Steppenwolfians John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, and/or Glenne Headly.

Trivia: A few character actors make such an indelible impression with one role that they find it consistently impossible to outgrow that image. Anthony Perkins had it with Norman Bates, M. Emmet Walsh has it with Visser (from Blood Simple), and R. Lee Ermey will forever be associated with the sadomasochistic verbal rapist of a drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, from Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam opus, Full Metal Jacket (1987). Though Ermey never again quite matched the intensity of this role (or the gutter-bucket poetic invention of its obscene dialogue), it was enough to give him permanent recognition as a character actor among filmgoers, and to typecast him in a series of variants on that role, again and again, throughout his life.Born on March 24, 1944, in Emporia, KS, Ermey enlisted in the armed forces as a young man and hightailed it to Vietnam on a non-commissioned basis, but injuries forced him to retire from active duty. He received full disability pay and moved to Manila in the early '70s, where he managed to ably support himself on his USAF allotment (thanks to the lower cost of living) while studying for a degree in criminology. Each morning, Ermey visited the coffee shop at the Manila Hilton -- well-reputed as the haunt of American filmmakers shooting on-location in the Philippines -- until one of the directors happened to notice Ermey and asked him to pose for a series of blue jeans ads. This experience led to his film debut, a role as a retired soldier in a local production. By 1976, Ermey had appeared in several Filipino films. He broke into Hollywood films that year, when he slipped onto the set for Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now and convinced Coppola to hire him as a helicopter pilot. Indeed, the ex-officer's Vietnam experience came in handy and Coppola utilized him as a technical advisor. Ermey made his American cinematic debut -- and held to the military-man typecasting -- in Sidney J. Furie's comedy drama The Boys in Company C (1978), and the director's follow-up, Purple Hearts (1984). But his biggest break came shortly thereafter, when Stanley Kubrick -- a notorious tyrant himself -- tapped him to portray Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket (1987). Ermey's evocation of the satanically profane, vile, and sadistic Hartman, laden with the thankless, brutal job of toughening up raw recruits before sending them to Vietnam (who eventually gets blown away by one of his trainees) dominates the film's first 45 minutes and provides an unforgettably realistic, disturbing portrait of military training. Thanks to his unique countenance and authoritative voice, Ermey maintained his image as a rough-hewn, tough-as-nails SOB onscreen.Neither Company C or Purple Hearts received substantial critical and public recognition (or a very wide release); in contrast, the broader exposure of Full Metal Jacket (it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and a National Board of Review nomination for Best Picture) boosted Ermey's prominence -- immeasurably so. He followed it up with spots in such well-received pictures as Alan Parker's racial drama Mississippi Burning (1988) and Abel Ferrara's Body Snatchers (1993). In 1995, Ermey spoofed himself to great effect as the voice of the leader of the little green soldiers in Toy Story, and doubled it up with a turn as the vengeful father of a homicide victim in Tim Robbins' capital punishment drama Dead Man Walking. A third role in that same year -- as the boss of Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt in David Fincher's seminal work Seven -- elicited a positive (if limited) critical and public response for Ermey's portrayal.During the early 2000s, Ermey once again drew on his military expertise and background, albeit in a much different fashion, as host of the small-screen program Mail Call. Episodes featured him answering a series of viewer questions about various aspects of military life and history. In 2003, he returned to his dramatic roots (and managed to top the despicability of Sgt. Hartman) in Marcus Nispel's Tobe Hooper remake, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ermey plays Sheriff Hoyt, the deviant backwater law officer -- in cahoots with the family of slaughter-happy cannibals -- who refuses to listen the cries and wails of Jessica Biel's Erin. (In fact, Nispel invented Ermey's role for the remake). After a comic turn as yet another tough-nosed authority figure, Captain Nichols, in the 2005 Tommy Lee Jones vehicle Man of the House, Ermey reprised the Hoyt role for the sequel to the Chainsaw remake, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006). In that picture, Hoyt precipitates the central crisis by happening upon another group of teens, murdering one in cold blood, and dragging the others back to the house where maniac Leatherface and his cronies reside. R. Lee Ermey married his wife, Nila Ermey, in 1975. They have four children.

Trivia: Voice-over artist Mary Kay Bergman (who was also frequently billed as Shannen Cassidy) gained her greatest level of fame with her involvement in the wildly popular South Park animated cable television series. Bergman gave voice to just about all of the female characters on the show. She died in late 1999, at the age of 38.

Trivia: Was classmates in high school with Randy Hankins, who later became anchor Craig O'Neill.Worked at the Arkansas State University's campus radio station.Performed multiple duties (technical director, audio technician, cameraman, film processor and announcer) while working at Jonesboro's Raycom Media.Earned a minor in theater from the Arkansas State University.Served as writer, producer and performer in his comedy program Mid-Century Nonsense Festival Featuring Kumquat Theater.Moved to New York in 1977 to pursue a career in theater.

Trivia: Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.Started his voice acting career at 17 and joined Disney in 1976.Worked as a sound production engineer.Studied radio acting with renown voice actor Daws Butler.Trained in classic traditions of Radio Theater.His mentor was actress June Foray.Known for his voice imitations of the late actor Paul Frees in many Disneyland Park attractions.

Trivia: Wrote her first song at the age of 9 entitled "My Dog's My Buddy". Was the captain of the gymnastics team in high school. Swam with the Orca - Keiko - in Free Willy while working as a stunt double. Is a supporter of Orang Utan Republik animal charity.

Trivia: First job, at age 15, involved doing voices, such as those of Western stars like John Wayne and Walter Brennan.Is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.Was mentored by voice actor Daws Butler, who famously voiced Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear and Elroy Jetson, among others.Has been the voice of Goofy since January, 1987.Also frequently provides the voice of Pluto.Has lent his voice to a number of other animated films such as Toy Story, Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Sing, and The Iron Giant, among many others.

Trivia: A pioneer of modern animation, notably the computer-generated animation that dominated the mid- to late '90s, John Lasseter started out doing traditional hand-drawn work. His passion for animation began in high school and, after writing an exuberant letter to Disney Studios, he started studying art and drawing on his own. Shortly after graduation, Lasseter became the second student to be accepted into Disney's new animation program at the California Institute of the Arts. In the summers, he worked as an apprentice at the Disney Studios. While in school, he created two short films, Lady and the Lamp and Nitemare, both of which won Student Academy Awards. Shortly after graduation, Lasseter was hired by the Disney feature animation department and he spent the next five years there, working on such features as The Fox and the Hound (1981) and the short Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). In 1982, Lasseter received his first exposure to computer animation during the production of Disney's Tron. Intrigued by the possibilities of the radical new medium, he and colleague Glen Keane made a very short film combining simple computer animation with hand-drawn characters based on Maurice Sendak's children's classic Where the Wild Things Are. In 1984, Lasseter left Disney in order to be on the cutting edge, with the computer animation division of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic. Initially, he only planned on working there for a month, but six months later when the department was purchased by Steven Jobs, he was still there. Jobs named the new company Pixar and gave Lasseter the freedom to direct, produce, write, and create models for many projects, many of which were television commercials. In 1988, Lasseter released the first completely computer animated short, Tin Toy, and won an Oscar for Best Achievement in Animated Short Films. In the early '90s, Lasseter and three writers developed the script for the groundbreaking Toy Story (1995), the tale of rival toys vying for the attention of their little-boy owner. To make the film, Pixar teamed up with Disney, and with Lasseter at the helm, the result was an eye-popping adventure, in which the toys had almost as much dimension and detail as live-action. The film received four Oscar nominations. Lasseter was presented with a Special Achievement Academy Award for his part in bringing the first feature-length computer animated film to the screen.This marked only the first in a series of feature-length blockbusters that turned CG animation on its head while enchanting children and adults equally. Continuing as the head of Pixar's creative department after Toy Story, Lasseter became the central creative and entrepreneurial force behind all of the studio's subsequent efforts, with his high-octane imagination driving feature after feature. His accomplishments include directing A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), and Cars (2006), which he co-wrote and co-directed with his close friend, the late animator Joe Ranft, just prior to Ranft's death in an August 2005 car crash. That film, very close to Lasseter's heart because of his life long love of automobiles, went on to capture the first-ever Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature. Lasseter also executive produced Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), and The Incredibles (2004). In what must surely be a first, all of these films not only broke box-office records, but became the critical sensations of their respective years. As astonishing as it is to top these stellar accomplishments, Lasseter's career, reputation, and future shot through the ionosphere in early 2006 when Disney officially acquired Pixar, and promoted Lasseter to CCO of Walt Disney Feature Animation. In fact, Disney shareholders gave him a standing ovation and proclaimed him the savior of the entire company, from its feature-length animations to its video and cable sales to its feature films. Despite reaching heights of which many in the entertainment industry only dream, Lasseter refreshingly projects an easygoing, down-to-earth amiability in the occasional interviews that he does for NPR, PBS, and other radio and television sources -- the very same freshness, likability, and young-at-heart quality, in fact, that lie at the core of every Pixar feature. These personal qualities, above and beyond Lasseter's technical innovation and first-rate imagination, are the ones that not only account for his success, but make his meteoric rise to the top of Disney so encouraging.Also in 2006, Cars was released. This project which Lasseter personally directed became one of the biggest smashes in Pixar's hit-laden history, though it was also took more critical blows than any other film from the studio. He continued to oversee the remarkable run of Pixar movies that came out through the end of the decade, but didn't return to the director's chair himself until the seemingly inevitable Cars 2 in 2011.

Trivia: Best known for being a charter member of the radical Los Angeles comedy group of the 1960s, the Firesign Theater, comedian Phil Proctor made his film debut in The 1,000 Plane Raid (1969). In 1979, Proctor wrote, directed, and starred in J-Men Forever along with his other Firesign compatriots. With them, he has appeared in several films. Beginning with Aladdin (1992), Proctor has also worked as a voice artist on Disney-animated features that include Hercules (1997).

Trivia: Actress Carly Schroeder began working as a model when she was just a small child. Her ease in front of the camera soon led to work in TV commercials, which caught the attention of a casting agent. Soon Schroeder was working as a professional actress, playing Susan Olsen in Growing Up Brady, Serena Baldwin on Port Charles, and eventually snagging a role on the series Lizzie McGuire as Melina. By 2006, Schroeder was 16 years old and ready for more serious roles. She starred in the movie Eye of the Dolphin as a girl who can communicate with dolphins, then in 2007 she played a member of a family that is hunted by lions when they become trapped on a game reserve in the thriller Prey. 2007 proved to be a great year for the young actress' career, as it also brought her the lead role in Gracie, a film based on the lives of actors Elisabeth and Andrew Shue, dealing with the death of their brother when they were children. Playing a fictionalized character based on Elisabeth, Schroeder portrayed a teenage girl who pursues success in soccer in memory of her brother, even though the sport was only available for boys to play. She went on to appear in Prayers for Bobby, Forget Me Not, and Rites of Passage.

Trivia: Baby-faced and Canadian, writer/actor Dave Foley dropped out of school in favor of joining the Second City Comedy Troupe in Toronto. He made his film debut in the 1986 comedy High Stakes, followed by several TV movies. He and old friend Kevin McDonald helped to form the sketch comedy group and TV series The Kids in the Hall, so named after a Jack Benny joke. Running from 1989 to 1994, the show earned a devoted following and several Emmy nominations. A contributing writer to the show, Foley also appeared in the cast. Some of his best characters include Manservant Hecubus, Bruno Puntz Jones, and the insane Jerry Sizzler. After the show's cancellation, the group stayed in contact for the 1996 feature Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy and the 2001 live tour Kids in the Hall: Same Guys New Dresses. Relocating to Los Angeles, Foley appeared in the unfortunate movie It's Pat and went to work on a new television show, starring as station manager Dave Nelson in the aptly named sitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1999. During this time, he also wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy The Wrong Guy, which won Best Screenplay at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Working in Hollywood, he had supporting parts in the comedies Hacks, Blast From the Past, and Dick. Meanwhile, he provided the voice of Flik the Ant in A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and It's Tough to Be a Bug, as well as various voices in the South Park movie, the IMAX movie CyberWorld, and the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. Mixing animation with his sketch comedy background, he then starred in Monkeybone, based in part on the graphic novel Dark Town. On-stage, he appeared in the musical comedy White Trash Wins Lotto, which ran at The Roxy in Hollywood. He also had supporting parts in the comedy features On the Line, Run Ronnie Run!, and Stark Raving Mad. In 2003, Foley returned to his native Canada to appear in the comedy Whitecoats, directed by Dave Thomas. In 2004 Foley took the gig of host for Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, and two years later he returned to the Pixar fold to voice a brief cameo in Cars. In 2007 he played a major part in the infamous Uwe Boll film Postal. Fans were overjoyed when The Kids in the Hall reunited in 2010 for the six-episode series Death Comes to Town.

Trivia: His high school senior class voted him most likely to recede.While working on a dog food commercial, the producer's girlfriend suggested he audition for Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Originally auditioned for the role of Scooby in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Voiced eight of the original Decepticons and two of the original Autobots on the animated series The Transformers (1984).His Doctor Claw voice is the result of an impression of singer Barry White.His voice of the Cave of Wonder in Aladdin (1992) was based on Sir Sean Connery.Has voiced most of Scooby-Doo's Fred Jones, including animated series, parodies and cameos.The first voice actor to appear in two films that made $1 billion.Was honored with an Emmy Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.