Trivia: Next to Jack Kerouac, poet Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, William S. Burroughs was among the primary voices of the Beat Generation and his books have earned him an enduring cult following. His most famous book, Naked Lunch, became the basis of a disturbing David Cronenberg film in 1991. Cronenberg's version of Burroughs' hallucinatory, autobiographical account of drug addiction and despair is a liberal adaptation and incorporates other elements from Burroughs' life, notably his accidental shooting of his own wife. As a cult figure, with his gaunt funereal demeanor, fedora hat, and heavy shades, Burroughs occasionally cameoed in offbeat films, notably Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and in Gus Van Sant's poorly received Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994). Burroughs last appeared in a rock video for the group U2's "Last Night on Earth."

Trivia: Graduating cum laude from the University of Tulsa, Rue McClanahan studied acting with Uta Hagen and at the Perry-Mansfield school. After her professional debut with a Pennsylvania stock company in 1957, McClanahan headed to New York, where between acting gigs she worked as a waitress, took shorthand and sold blouses. Grabbing any opportunity available, she made her TV bow on a 1960 episode of the TV series Malibu Run, then appeared in a handful of exploitation films with come-hither titles like Five Minutes to Love (she played "Poochie, the girl from the shack," a credit she has since dropped from her resumé). She managed to find more prestigious work on the New York stage, starring in such well-received productions as MacBird, Jimmy Shine, Sticks and Bones and California Suite. She also played regular roles on the TV soap operas Another World and Where the Heart Is. A 1972 guest shot on Norman Lear's controversial series All in the Family led to her being cast as Vivian Harmon on Lear's popular sitcom Maude, a role she played until the series' cancellation in 1978. McClanahan's next project was her own starring series, 1978's Apple Pie, which unfortunately bit the dust after three shows. She went on to play the vitriolic Aunt Fran on the network version of Mama's Family (1983-85), then was co-starred with her Maude colleague Bea Arthur in The Golden Girls (1985-92). Her well-rounded portrayal of overly amorous museum worker Blanche Devereaux won her an 1986 Emmy award; she reprised the character in the Golden Girls spin-off Golden Palace (1992-93). The star of several made-for-TV movies, McClanahan co-produced and appeared in a brace of "dramedies," Mother of the Bride (1991) and Baby of the Bride (1992).

Trivia: The newscaster with the thousand-watt smile, Katie Couric became a vital companion to millions of Americans getting ready for work when she assumed hosting duties of the Today show in 1991. Effervescent, intelligent, and always energetic, Couric became a cultural icon during her 15-year run on the program, sharing the sympathy of legions when her husband died in 1998 of colon cancer. In order to spread public awareness about the preventative nature of colon cancer, Couric surprised viewers in 2000 by broadcasting her own colonoscopy on national television. Always a risk taker, Couric announced in 2006 that she'd be leaving the program to become the first solo female anchor of a nightly national news program at CBS.

Trivia: Began his broadcasting career in radio, working as a station news director. His talk show premiered in Dayton, OH, in 1967 and went national three years later. Most frequent guest was consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who appeared on the show 34 times between 1968 and '96. Met second wife Marlo Thomas when she was a guest on his show in 1977. Penned the autobiography Donahue: My Own Story in 1980 and the book The Human Animal in 1985. Appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2010 with fellow talkers Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, Ricki Lake and Montel Williams. Has won 20 Daytime Emmys, including one for lifetime achievement.

Trivia: Matt Lauer left Ohio University only four credits away from a degree, but by that point the 22-year-old was working steadily in local news as both a producer and an on-air personality. As he progressed, working through larger and larger markets, he honed his interviewing skills hosting a variety of local-interest talk shows. In the early '90s, Lauer landed at the NBC-owned local station in New York, which led to him occasionally appearing on The Today Show, eventually becoming the show's regular newsreader in 1994. He ascended to the co-anchor spot beside Katie Couric on January 6, 1997. During his time on the show, he conducted a number of memorable interviews, including a contentious conversation with Tom Cruise about psychology and the first national interview with Hillary Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky scandal became public knowledge. Lauer also became known for a recurring segment called "Where in the World Is Matt Lauer," in which he would travel to a different place in the world every day for a week or more.