Trivia: Best known as the loose-limbed klutz Jack Tripper from the hit ABC sitcom Three's Company, John Ritter also had a long (if undistinguished) film career, dating back to the early '70s. Perhaps taking a cue from Robin Williams, Ritter fashioned a full beard when he put his slapstick days behind him, remaking himself as a serious dramatic actor both on television and in the movies in the 1990s. Ritter was born in Burbank, CA, on September 17, 1948, the second son of Western singing stars Tex Ritter and Dorothy Fay, whose talent for song he once admitted he did not inherit. Ritter was class body president at Hollywood High School before enrolling at the University of Southern California, where he majored in psychology and minored in architecture. In his third year, he decided to take a drama class taught by Nina Foch, and quickly changed his major, graduating in 1971. (He later studied with Stella Adler and the Harvey Lembeck Comedy Workshop.) His first film role was in the 1971 film The Barefoot Executive.Minor roles during the 1970s finally gave way to major success in 1977, when Ritter was cast as the pratfalling roommate of two beautiful Southern Californian women on Three's Company. The program became one of the most popular on the air, known for its farcical scenarios based on wild misunderstandings, some of which were fueled by Ritter's Jack Tripper pretending to be gay to throw off the landlord. Ritter was praised for his sharp timing and rubbery ability to bounce around the set through all variety of physical comedy. His work earned him an Emmy. Having become a major television star, Ritter enjoyed the program's success through 1985, when its spin-off (Three's a Crowd) went off the air. He worked on TV movies during the show's run, and found more TV work awaiting him upon its conclusion (the dramedy Hooperman in 1988, the comedy Hearts Afire in 1992). His familiar mug and goofball shtick earned him leads in a handful of lesser film comedies in the late '80s and early '90s, including Real Men (1987), Skin Deep (1988), Stay Tuned (1992), and two Problem Child films (1990 and 1991), on the set of which he met future wife Amy Yasbeck.Not satisfied with his comic pigeonholing, Ritter took well-received strides toward drama in the 1990s. He made a lasting impression on critics as a gay dollar-store owner in Billy Bob Thornton's Sling Blade (1996), as well as a psychiatrist treating a hitman in Henry Bromell's Panic (2000). Ritter has also made recurring guest appearances on the hit television programs Ally McBeal and Felicity, the latter of which cast him in the agonizing role of a frequently relapsing alcoholic father. In 2002 Ritter returned to television in his own new comedy series, 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter. Though the show proved a modest success, Ritter's sudden death due to aortic dissection in early September of 2003 left castmates and fans alike shocked and deeply saddened.

Trivia: Served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam after graduating college. Was a non-celebrity competitor on The $10,000 Pyramid in 1974 and, after he became a star, appeared on the show a number of times. In 1990, made his Broadway-musical debut in City of Angels. Played Jeeves in the 1996 American premiere of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical By Jeeves. Played the Wizard of Oz in a national tour of Wicked (2010). Runs the Richard Kline Acting Workshop. Has toured and made public appearances with his Three's Company costars Joyce DeWitt and Priscilla Barnes.

Trivia: The daughter of an Air Force career officer, Priscilla Barnes originally dreamed of becoming a dancer--a dream that was dashed when she slipped on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl and broke her leg. Priscilla then took on a series of odd jobs, including a waitress stint at Pips, a private Los Angeles club. There she made the acquaintance of actor Peter Falk who, impressed by Priscilla's all-American good looks and self-deprecating sense of humor, arranged for her to play a bit role on a 1976 Columbo episode. One thing led to another, and Priscilla found herself co-starring in the short-lived TV Charlie's Angels rip-off American Girls (1978). She was better-served with a sizeable supporting role opposite Michael Caine in the 1980 theatrical feature Sunday Lovers. In 1981, Priscilla was handed the unenviable task of replacing pin-up phenomenon Suzanne Somers (whom she'd never met) on the popular ABC sitcom Three's Company. In the light of the well-publicized clashes between Somers and her co-workers, much was made of Priscilla's cooperative nature and team spirit. She remained in her Three's Company role of nurse Teri Alden until the series' cancellation in 1984; she then dived into the Special Guest Star pool, making one-shot appearances on a variety of programs, including the obligatory "mystery killer" gig on Murder She Wrote. One of Priscilla Barnes' post-Three's Company assignments was the part of Hildy Granger on the pilot episode of the syndicated sitcom She's the Sheriff....a part played in the subsequent series by none other than Suzanne Somers!

Trivia: A leading light of network radio in the 1940s and 1950s, actor Parley Baer appeared on virtually every major program emanating from Los Angeles. Baer is most closely associated with the radio version of Gunsmoke, in which, from 1955 to 1961, he played Dodge City deputy Chester Proudfoot. Those who worked on Gunsmoke have had nothing but the kindest words for Baer, who endeared himself to his colleagues via his dedication, professionalism, and weekly purchase of donuts for the rehearsal sessions. The jowly, prematurely balding Baer began free-lancing in films around 1949. He played a number of small parts at 20th Century-Fox (his largest, and least typical, was the Nazi sergeant in 1957's The Young Lions), and later showed up in such films as Warner Bros.' Gypsy (1963) and Universal's Counterpoint (1993). On television, Baer portrayed Darby on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Mayor Stoner on The Andy Griffith Show (1962-63 season) and Mr. Hamble on the 1966 Red Buttons sitcom The Double Life of Henry Phyfe. Active into the 1990s--he was seen as the Senate Majority Leader in 1993's Dave--Parley Baer is most familiar to the public as the voice of commercialdom's Keebler Elf.