Trivia: One of the most popular African-American comedians of the late 1990s, TV star turned screen actor Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in the small town of Terrell, Texas, on December 13, 1967. Foxx was raised by his grandparents after his parents separated. He enjoyed a happy upbringing, going to church every day with his grandparents and excelling at everything from academics to music to football. During his teen years he had his first taste of the entertainment business as his church's choir director and music director, and also started his own R&B band. Foxx studied music while a student at the U.S. International University in San Diego; it was during his college days that he got his start as a stand-up comedian. Attending a comedy club one night with some friends, he was encouraged to take the stage and perform some impersonations, which proved incredibly popular with the audience. Foxx's enthusiastic reception led to his decision to move to L.A. and pursue a comedy career. At the age of 22 he was hired for In Living Color, and he subsequently landed a recurring role on Charles Dutton's sitcom Roc. Foxx eventually broke through onto the big screen with small appearances in movies like The Truth About Cats and Dogs, The Great White Hype, and Booty Call. Foxx's big break in film came in 1999 with Any Given Sunday, and he would henceforth find himself on a short list of bankable dramatic actors in Hollywood. He would go on to star in Michael Mann's Ali and Collateral, before playing legendary musician Ray Charles for the biopic Ray, which found Foxx taking home a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance. Foxx would continue to remain a top-tier actor, starring in major films like Stealth, Jarhead, Miami Vice, Dreamgirls, The Soloist, Law Abiding Citizen, Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the 2014 remake of Annie.

Trivia: Another of Julliard's illustrious alumni, Garrett Morris' first significant professional job was as performer and arranger with the Harry Belafonte singers. Morris went on to appear in such Broadway productions as Porgy and Bess, Hallelujah Baby, and Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death. He also wrote two plays, The Secret Place and Daddy Picou and Marie LeVeau. His first film gig was as a makeup artist on This Property is Condemned (1967); he made his movie acting bow in 1970. After a season's worth of supporting appearances on the 1973-74 sitcom Roll Out, Morris was hired as one of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live. After his SNL stint, Morris could be seen in film supporting roles, most amusingly as "Famous Amos" takeoff Chocolate Charlie in the otherwise indifferent 1985 horror film The Stuff. He also made a return visit to Broadway, starring in I'm Not Rappaport. Back on TV, Garret Morris was seen regularly as Stan Kemrite on Martin (1992-1994) and on the weekly sitcoms of Ellen Cleghorne and Jamie Foxx.

Trivia: It may come as little surprise to those who have seen beautiful model-turned-actress Garcelle Beauvais (also credited as Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) that she was voted one of "The Ten Sexiest Women of 2001" by readers of Black Men Magazine, but take a look beyond the surface and you'll see that Beauvais has the talents to back up her beauty. Born in Haiti, the youngest of seven children, Beauvais moved to Massachusetts with her mother and siblings following her parents' divorce. Beauvais' first years in the U.S. were spent in boarding school while her mother supported the family by attending nursing school. With little knowledge of the English language, the French- and Creole-speaking youngster slowly began the process of educating herself by taking in episodes of Sesame Street. Though going from being a member of the social majority in Haiti to being a minority in America was a difficult transition, it was the change of climate that proved most jarring to young Beauvais. Roles in numerous school plays fueled a love for performing, and it wasn't long before the family opted for a more familiar climate in Miami when Beauvais was 16. The following year, the emerging model moved to New York and gained an increasing presence on the catwalk and numerous Essence and Ebony layouts. Early television appearances on such popular shows as Miami Vice, Family Matters, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air found Beauvais refining her skills in front of the camera, and it wasn't long before she was appearing in such high-profile films as Manhunter (1986) and Coming to America (1988). An ideal role in the Aaron Spelling-produced television series Models, Inc. found Beauvais combining both her modeling and acting experience, and after settling into a role on The Jamie Foxx Show in 1996 (playing Francesca "Fancy" Monroe), she would once again hit the big screen with Wild Wild West (1999) and Double Take (2001). Having previously appeared as ADA Valerie Heywood in the popular television police drama NYPD Blue, Beauvais expanded her role by joining the series full-time in 2001. A feature role in Bad Company (2002) opposite Chris Rock found Beauvais' feature career taking off, and hinted for great things to come. She subsequently moved into scripted dramatic roles with a heightened emphasis on big-screen features, including plum roles in the 2004 Ice Cube comedy Barbershop 2: Back in Business and the Lindsay Lohan shocker I Know Who Killed Me (2007), in addition to prominent billing in the sci-fi telemovie 10.5: Apocalypse (2006). In 2007, Beauvais also took some time out from filmdom to give birth to twins, and made headlines for appearing nude, while pregnant, in the August 2007 issue of Playboy magazine. She had a role in the 2009 sex comedy Women in Trouble.

Trivia: Robert Englund began his acting training at age 12, taking drama courses at the University of Oakland, U.C.L.A., California State-Northridge, the Michigan Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the Rochester, NY, branch of R.A.D.A. Englund made his first professional appearance in a Cleveland production of Godspell. His first film role was the bumptious backwoodsman Whitey in Buster and Billie (1974), after which he paid his dues in a series of villainous bit parts: shooting down Burt Reynolds at the end of Hustle (1975); beating up Kris Kristofferson in A Star is Born (1976); and so on. In 1984, he was cast as Willie, one of the few sympathetic Earth-invading extraterrestrials in the sci-fi TV miniseries V.Impressed by this performance, director Wes Craven buried Englund under several layers of latex and collodion and cast him as malevolent, mass-murdering wraith Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). The actor became an instant star, appearing in five Nightmare sequels, hosting a 1988 television spin-off, and basking in the glow of a plenitude of fan clubs. Although Freddy's only redeeming quality was his morbid sense of humor, Englund became an idol to the young, who emulated the actor each Halloween donning Freddy masks and plastic claws. Far from concerned that this idolatry might lead to delinquency, Englund allowed that he enjoyed playing Freddy, and felt pride at having created so memorable a screen persona. (In all fairness, he also emphasized to his most impressionable fans that it was all play-acting, and that his homicidal tendencies were strictly confined to the screen.) Unlike such horror icons of the past as Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, however, Englund was not able to shed his famous character's image when he wanted to move on to other roles. Outside of his Nightmare appearances, Englund's most significant credits were his one-shot directorial stint on the theatrical feature 976-EVIL (1988); his characterization of the title role in a medium-budget film adaptation of Phantom of the Opera (1989); and his hosting chores on the Craven-produced TV anthology Nightmare Café (1992).

Trivia: Supporting actor Dennis Burkley has been onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: American comic actor Mark Blankfield rose to popularity on the ABC TV sketch-comedy series Fridays (1980-1982). Though he essayed many characterizations on this series, Blankfield's best-received "persona" was his speed-freak pharmacist. In 1982, Blankfield played the title role (or roles) in the feature-film horror spoof Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again. Since that time, his film assignments have been secondary parts in films like The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Mark Blankfield was also seen on a weekly basis in the TV sitcoms The Nutt House (1989, as Freddy) and Good and Evil (1991, as George).