Trivia: A Staten Island native, Rick Schroder was billed as Ricky Schroder in the fledgling stage of his acting career, which began when he was just a baby (working on commercials) and has persevered ever since. By the time he made his film debut at nine-years-old as the emotionally tortured son of a washed-up boxer (Jon Voight) in The Champ (1979), Schroder had more than 60 television appearances to his name, many of which had been filmed before he had even learned to speak. Schroder played another traumatized boy in The Earthling (1980) and fared well in several subsequent made-for-TV features, but his breakout role wouldn't come until the 1982 premiere of Silver Spoons. The NBC sitcom starred Schroder as young Ricky Stratten, the wealthy son of a toy-store mogul, and employed the winning '80s formula of single parent + wealth + cute kid + wacky best friend = hit.After the 1986 cancellation of Silver Spoons, the child actor officially became Rick Schroder and starred in several unremarkable small-screen features until landing the coming-of-age role of Newt Dobbs in the award-winning 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove. This would become a trend for Schroder; despite his attempts to make a transition into the film world (his most notable successes being a supporting role in Crimson Tide [1995] and a performance opposite a very young Brad Pitt in Across the Tracks [1991]), the actor would find a much warmer reception in the television community. From bad seeds (1990's The Stranger Within and 1991's My Son, Johnny) to survivalists (1992's Miles From Nowhere and 1993's Return to Lonesome Dove), Schroder's roles were continually met with praise, and he seemed to have escaped the curse suffered by so many child actors.As an adult, Schroder was fatefully cast as Detective Danny Sorenson in ABC's long-running cop drama NYPD Blue. Though he was decried by NYPD Blue loyalists as little more than a former child sitcom star, it wasn't long before his aptitude at the dramatic role convinced both critics and audiences of his acting capability. When Schroder left the series in 2001, it was a great disappointment to the fan following he had developed during his time on the series. However, fans of Schroder weren't left entirely in the lurch; in 2002, Schroder joined the cast of Poolhall Junkies along with Rod Steiger and Chazz Palminteri, and also starred in the German-helmed Consequence in 2003.

Trivia: During college, he sang in coffee houses to earn tuition money. Worked for General Motors for six months after graduating college. Enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968 and was stationed in Korea. Wrote jingles for Kool-Aid, Trident chewing gum, Coors beer and M&Ms. Made his Broadway debut in the musical Shenandoah in 1975. Appeared in the Broadway musical Angel in 1978, opposite Fred Gwynne; it closed after only five performances. Wrote the theme song to Lucille Ball's 1986 sitcom Life With Lucy. Was inducted to his high school's Hall of Fame in 2004.

Trivia: Lead actress Erin Gray first appeared onscreen in the late '70s.

Trivia: Rising to fame as a lovable dim-witted television teen heartthrob in Blossom (1991-1995) after charming primetime viewers as the adorable youngster in such sitcoms as Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, and Gimme a Break!, Joseph Lawrence has since gone on to numerous film and television roles in addition to maintaining an active recording career as a Philly soul-inspired singer/songwriter. Born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, in 1976, Lawrence was the oldest of three brothers and by age four had convinced his parents that he had what it took to become an actor. Landing the first job he auditioned for and crooning "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "Zippity Do Da" on The Tonight Show shortly thereafter, it was obvious to many that the eager youngster indeed had the energy, talent, and dedication to make it as an entertainer. Making his mark on various television sitcoms before he became a fixture for four seasons on Gimme a Break!, it was as a teenager that Lawrence made his true mark on the small screen. As the titular character's goofy brother in the popular sitcom Blossom, Lawrence's charming aloofness endeared him into the hearts of starry-eyed teenage girls everywhere. His 1993 self-titled debut album quickly went gold as it sold over two million copies worldwide, proving that Lawrence's fans were indeed loyal. Following a public persona change in which he adopted the more mature moniker of Joseph, the actor/singer continued to make numerous appearances in such made-for-television films as Prince for a Day (1995) and Romantic Comedy 101 (2001) and such features as Tequila Body Shots (1999), Urban Legends: The Final Cut (2000), and Pandora's Box (2001). Lawrence made his directorial debut while simultaneously acting alongside brothers Matthew and Andrew in the mid-'90s sitcom Brotherly Love, and went on to produce (as well as star in) such made-for-television films as Horse Sense (1999) and Jumping Ship (2001). In 2002, Lawrence joined the cast of the period drama American Dreams, playing the recurring character of Michael Brooks. The following year, he starred in the sitcom Run of the House, which he followed with another comedy role, playing Brett on the series Half and Half until 2006. Later that same year, Lawrence took to the floor as a competitor on the reality series Dancing With the Stars and proved a popular addition to the show's roster. The stint led to Lawrence hosting the reality show Master of Dance in 2008, though it wasn't long before he was making waves with a comedic role again, appearing in the popular TV movie My Fake Fiancé with Melissa Joan Hart in 2009.

Trivia: Supporting actor Seales is best known as Dexter Stuffins in the TV sitcom Silver Spoons.

Trivia: Before entering the entertainment industry, actor, producer, scriptwriter, playwright and stage director John Houseman, born Jacques Haussmann, first worked for his father's grain business after graduating from college, then began writing magazine pieces and translating plays from German and French. Living in New York, he was writing, directing, and producing plays by his early 30s; soon he had a stellar reputation on Broadway. In 1937, he and Orson Welles founded the Mercury Theater, at which he produced and directed radio specials and stage presentations; at the same time he was a teacher at Vassar. He produced Welles's never-completed first film, Too Much Johnson (1938). Houseman then went on to play a crucial role in the packaging of Welles's first completed film, the masterpiece Citizen Kane (1941): he developed the original story with Herman Mankiewicz, motivated Mankiewicz to complete the script, and worked as a script editor and general advisor for the film. Shortly afterwards, he and Welles had a falling out and Houseman became a vice president of David O. Selznick Productions, a post he quit in late 1941 (after Pearl Harbor) to become chief of the overseas radio division of the OWI. After returning to Hollywood he produced many fine films and commuted to New York to produce and direct Broadway plays and TV specials; in all, the films he produced were nominated for 20 Oscars and won seven. Later he became the artistic director of the touring repertory group the Acting Company, with which he toured successfully in the early '70s. He debuted onscreen at the age of 62 in Seven Days in May (1964), and then in the '70s and '80s played character roles in a number of films. As an actor he was best known as Kingsfield, the stern Harvard law professor, in the film The Paper Chase (1973), his second screen appearance, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar; he reprised the role in the TV series of the same name. He authored two autobiographies, Run-Through (1972) and Front and Center (1979).