Trivia: Angela Lansbury received an Oscar nomination for her first film, Gaslight, in 1944, and has been winning acting awards and audience favor ever since. Born in London to a family that included both politicians and performers, Lansbury came to the U.S. during World War II. She made notable early film appearances as the snooty sister in National Velvet (1944); the pathetic singer in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), which garnered her another Academy nomination; and the madam-with-a-heart-of-gold saloon singer in The Harvey Girls (1946). She turned evil as the manipulative publisher in State of the Union (1948), but was just as convincing as the good queen in The Three Musketeers (1948) and the petulant daughter in The Court Jester (1956). She received another Oscar nomination for her chilling performance as Laurence Harvey's scheming mother in The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and appeared as the addled witch in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), among other later films. On Broadway, she won Tony awards for the musicals Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), the revival of Gypsy (1975), Sweeney Todd (1979) and, at age 82, for the play Blithe Spirit (2009). Despite a season in the '50s on the game show Pantomime Quiz, she came to series television late, starring in 1984-1996 as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote; she took over as producer of the show in the '90s. She returned to the Disney studios to record the voice of Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1991) and to sing the title song and later reprised the role in the direct-to-video sequel, The Enchanted Christmas (1997). Lansbury is the sister of TV producer Bruce Lansbury.

Trivia: Actress Season Hubley came to films in 1973, after a few seasons in the role of nurse Candy Lowe on the CBS TV daytime drama Love of Life. The most intriguing of her early movie characterizations was Desdemona in rock singer Richie Havens' musical adaptation of Othello, 1974's Catch My Soul. Season then co-starred in the 1976 miniseries precursor to the TV weekly Family, returning to films in 1979 in a string of sexy roles. She managed to transcend the tawdriness of the 1982 crime flick Vice Squad, delivering a hauntingly convincing portrayal as Princess, the pathetic hooker victimized by psycho pimp Wings Hauser. A veteran of many made-for-television films, Season played Priscilla Presley in the top-rated 1979 TV biopic Elvis; co-starring as "the King" was Kurt Russell, who for several years was Hubley's husband. More recently --1994, to be exact -- Season Hubley co-starred as Annie Cobb on the TV series Blue Skies.

Trivia: Born in Danbury, CT, fresh-faced Jonathan Brandis began acting in commercials before elementary school. His family relocated to Los Angeles when he was nine and he promptly landed guest spots on several TV series, including Blossom and L.A. Law, as well as roles in miniseries and films. After a supporting part in The Stepfather II (1989), Brandis garnered his first starring film role as the boy adventurer in The Neverending Story 2: The Next Chapter (1991). Brandis followed up with starring roles as a ringer for a girls' soccer team in Ladybugs (1992) and a weakling who lives his dream of practicing martial arts with Chuck Norris in Sidekicks (1993). His two seasons on TV's SeaQuest DSV (1993-1994) further helped turn the boyishly handsome Brandis into a teen-magazine idol. With substantial roles in several TV movies, including Good King Wenceslas (1994) and Born Free: A New Adventure (1996), Brandis stuck to TV for several years after SeaQuest. He returned to feature films in the late '90s with a small part in Ang Lee's Civil War drama Ride With the Devil (1999) and a sizable supporting role as Rhode Island teen Shawn Hatosy's best friend in the coming-of-age comedy Outside Providence (1999). Jonathan Brandis committed suicide at his home in Los Angeles just before midnight on November 11, 2003, though the trades reported that he actually died the following morning, after being transported to nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His final film appearance -- in John T. Kretchmer's low-budget comedy Bad Girls from Valley High -- arrived posthumously, in 2005.

Trivia: Husky American leading man Kiel Martin went from regional repertory to films in 1968. Nine years later, he was cast in his first recurring TV-series role in the daytime drama The Edge of Night. His most celebrated prime-time TV assignment was as detective J. D. LaRue in the Emmy-winning Hill Street Blues (1981-86); he followed this with a less lengthy stint on the forgotten Fox Network sitcom Second Chance. Kiel Martin died of lung cancer at the age of 46.

Trivia: Supporting actor, onscreen from the late '60s.

Trivia: While growing up in Chicago, Tom Bosley dreamed of becoming the star left-fielder for the Cubs. As it turned out, the closest Bosley got to organized athletics was a sportscasting class at DePauw University. After additional training at the Radio Institute of Chicago and two years' practical experience in various dramatic radio programs and stock companies, he left for New York in 1950. Five years of odd jobs and summer-theater stints later, he landed his first off-Broadway role, playing Dupont-Dufort in Jean Anouilh's Thieves' Carnival. Steadier work followed at the Arena Theatre in Washington, D.C.; then in 1959, Bosley landed the starring role in the Broadway musical Fiorello!, picking up a Tony Award, an ANTA Award, and the New York Drama Critics Award in the bargain. In 1963, he made his film bow as Natalie Wood's "safe and secure" suitor Anthony Colombo in Love With the Proper Stranger. Occasionally cast as two-bit criminals or pathetic losers (he sold his eyes to blind millionairess Joan Crawford in the Spielberg-directed Night Gallery TV movie), Bosley was most often seen as a harried suburban father. After recurring roles on such TV series as That Was the Week That Was, The Debbie Reynolds Show, and The Sandy Duncan Show, Bosley was hired by Hanna-Barbera to provide the voice of flustered patriarch Howard Boyle on the animated sitcom Wait Til Your Father Gets Home (1972-1973). This served as a dry run of sorts for his most famous series-TV assignment: Howard Cunningham, aka "Mr. C," on the immensely popular Happy Days (1974-1983). The warm, familial ambience of the Happy Days set enabled Bosley to weather the tragic death of his first wife, former dancer Jean Elliot, in 1978. In addition to his Happy Days duties, Bosley was narrator of the syndicated documentary That's Hollywood (1977-1981). From 1989 to 1991, he starred on the weekly series The Father Dowling Mysteries, and thereafter was seen on an occasional basis as down-to-earth Cabot Cove sheriff Amos Tupper on Murder, She Wrote. Reportedly as kind, generous, and giving as his Happy Days character, Tom Bosley has over the last 20 years received numerous honors for his many civic and charitable activities.

Trivia: Actor Bruce Glover first familiarized himself with TV viewers as assistant district attorney Murray Slaken on the 1966 Burt Reynolds series Hawk. In films, Glover has frequently been cast as a redneck, a villain or both. His more notable screen roles include homosexual hit man Wint in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Duffy in Chinatown (1974) and Grady Coker in Walking Tall (1977). Between film assignments, Glover has taught acting classes. Bruce Glover is the father of leading man Crispin Glover.

Trivia: Often introduced as "one of America's most familiar faces," it's likely that you've caught a glimpse of Ron Masak either in one of his over 300 appearances in various television shows, on that commercial that lingers in the back of your memory somewhere (he was once blessed with the moniker "king of commercials" and was the voice of the Vlassic Pickle Stork for 15 years), or maybe in one of his 15 feature film appearances. Whatever you might recognize him from, if you don't remember his name, he's the guy that you know you've seen somewhere before, but just might not be able to place where. A native of Chicago, IL (he was once offered a contract with the Chicago White Sox by Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby), Masak was classically trained as an actor at the Windy City's own CCC. A tireless performer, Masak found an initial platform for his talents in the Army, where he toured the world entertaining in an all-Army show in which he served as writer, performer, and director. Masak became well-known not only for his acting abilities, but for the fact that he was a dedicated performer who never missed a show. Proving himself adept at roles ranging from Shakespeare to his almost decade-long stint as the sheriff on Murder She Wrote, Masak thrived in theater and in commercial work around Chicago in the late '50s and early '60s.After a few minor roles in such television series as Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, and The Flying Nun (not to mention what many consider to be one of the earliest Elvis impersonations on the Spade Cooley Show in 1958), Masak was spotted by producer Harry Ackerman early in his career and went to California to audition for a lead in a pilot. Though that particular prospect fell through, Masak was introduced to John Sturges, a meeting which resulted in his feature debut in the cold-war thriller Ice Station Zebra (1968). Masak's work as an emcee is another testament to his universal appeal and versatile likeability; he has served as host for some of the biggest names in show business, including such talents as Kenny Rogers and Billy Crystal. Masak also starred in four of the most successful sales motivational videos of all time, including Second Effort with Vince Lombardi and Ya Gotta Believe with Tommy Lasorda (which Masak also wrote and directed). The first recipient of MDA's Humanitarian of the Year Award, Masak's work as field announcer for the Special Olympics and his eight-year stint as host of The Jerry Lewis Telethon represents only a fraction of his remarkable work as a compassionate philanthropist, and though Masak's film work may not be as prolific or as frequent as his extensive television work, his roles in such films as Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) are always memorable and constantly ring true with an appeal that often leaves a lasting impression, even though his screen time may be brief and his characters secondary.

Trivia: The great-grandson of a famous and influential 19th century Minnesota senator, actor William Windom was born in New York, briefly raised in Virginia, and attended prep school in Connecticut. During World War II, Windom was drafted into the army, which acknowledged his above-the-norm intelligence by bankrolling his adult education at several colleges. It was during his military career that Windom developed a taste for the theater, acting in an all-serviceman production of Richard III directed by Richard Whorf. Windom went on to appear in 18 Broadway plays before making his film debut as the prosecuting attorney in To Kill a Mockingbird. He gained TV fame as the co-star of the popular 1960s sitcom The Farmer's Daughter and as the James Thurber-ish lead of the weekly 1969 series My World and Welcome to It. Though often cast in conservative, mild-mannered roles, Windom's offscreen persona was that of a much-married, Hemingway-esque adventurer. William Windom was seen in the recurring role of crusty Dr. Seth Haslett on the Angela Lansbury TV series Murder She Wrote.