Trivia: Believe it or don't: comedian Don Rickles--the "Merchant of Venom," "The Caliph of Calumny," "Mister Warmth"--was once a dedicated student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. As a movie-struck kid, Rickles aspired to share the Big Screen with such idols as Clark Gable and James Cagney. He got his wish in his first film, 1958's Run Silent Run Deep, wherein Gable topped the cast. Rickles went on to receive critical plaudits for his villainous performance in 1960's The Rat Race, and also popped up with regularity on such TV series as The Thin Man and The Twilight Zone. But truly good roles for a short, baldpated young character actor were relatively few and far between. During a long period between acting assignments, Rickles decided to work up a nightclub act. He began as a traditional stand-up comic, but when annoyed by hecklers, he instinctively insulted the insulters back as a defense mechanism. Audiences laughed harder at his impromptu insults than his prepared material, and thus the dye was cast for Rickle's show-business future. The story goes that, upon spotting Frank Sinatra in one of his audiences, Rickles impulsively cried out "Come right in, Frank. Make yourself at home. Hit somebody." The normally combative Sinatra exploded with laughter, and from that point on Rickles was "in." While the bulk of his fame and fortune rested upon his nightclub work, Rickles still kept a hand in acting, playing guest spots on TV programs like F Troop, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Spy and Run for Your Life (he was particularly good in the last-named series as a washed-up comedian facing a statutory rape charge). As his own vitriolic "self" (though rumors persist that Rickles is a pussycat off-camera), he convulsed the stars of such variety series as The Dean Martin Show and The Andy Williams Show. When Dean Martin altered his series to a "roast" format in the early 1970s, Rickles could always be counted upon for a steady stream of hilarious invectives; conversely, he took it as well as he dished it out when the Friar's Club elected him Entertainer of the Year in 1974. The one sore spot in Rickles' latter-day career was his failure to sustain a weekly TV series. The 1968 variety outing The Don Rickles Show was axed after thirteen weeks, while a 1972 sitcom of the same name barely survived the season. He had better luck as star of the 1976 comedy series C.P.O. Sharkey, which lasted two years; but in 1993, Daddy Dearest, which co-starred Rickles with "neurotic" comedian Richard Lewis, was on and off in only two months. In comparison, Rickles has done quite well in films, with choice secondary roles in such productions as Where It's At?, Kelly's Heroes (1970) and several of the "Beach Party" frivolities. In 1995, after several years away from films, Don Rickles resurfaced with a solid supporting part in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and as the voice of a singularly abrasive Mr. Potato Head in the animated Toy Story. He had a brief but memorable cameo in the comedy Dirty Work, and was the subject of his own documentary, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project. He returned to voice Mr. Potato Head in two Toy Story sequels as well as a number of Pixar shorts, and he gave voice to one of the animals in the Kevin James vehicle Zookeeper. Rickles died in 2017, at age 90.

Trivia: Best remembered as the "sock it to me" girl from the popular 1960s NBC television show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In (1968), Judy Carne also played leads in a few films and on television. She was once married to actor Burt Reynolds. Carne largely retired from acting after a 1978 car accident. She died in 2015, at age 76.

Trivia: Diminutive (5'4"), bespectacled, sandy-haired Arte Johnson built up his early reputation in musical comedy revues. He began toting up film and TV credits in 1955, usually playing goggle-eyed nerds. Johnson was a regular and semi-regular in several sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s, including It's Always Jan (1955), Sally (1958), Hennessey (1959-62) and Don't Call Me Charlie (1962). Though established as a comedian, Johnson found himself taking more and more villainous supporting roles as the '60s progressed, in films like The Third Day (1965) and The President's Analyst (1967). Considering himself washed up by 1967, Johnson accepted a slight salary cut to appear as a regular in a new NBC TV project called Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Within a year, Johnson was a bigger name than ever before, fracturing audiences with a seemingly inexhaustible variety of characterizations, ranging from his helmeted, chain-smoking German soldier ("Verrrrry interesting") to hirsute, overcoated dirty old man Tyrone Horneigh ("Wanna walnetto?"). In 1970, Johnson starred in his own TV special, spotlighting his "other selves," and in later years revived many of his Laugh-In characters in such summer-stock productions as Little Me. Though his popularity dipped dramatically following the cancellation of Laugh-In in 1973, Johnson has never wanted for work, be it such movies as Love at First Bite (1979, in which Johnson played Dracula's number one toady Renfield) or such TV series as The Love Boat, Fame, Glitter and Games People Play. He also provided the voice for his "Tyrone" character in the 1977 Saturday morning animated weekly Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. In 1996, Arte Johnson was reunited with several of his Laugh-In colleagues on an episode of the TV sitcom Mad About You.

Trivia: Though most of Ruth Buzzi's official biographies list her birthplace as Westerly, RI, she herself was fond of claiming that she was born in Wequetequock, CT, perhaps because it sounded funnier. Whatever the case, Buzzi was the daughter of an immigrant Italian stone sculptor who specialized in cemetery monuments. After attending dancing school, 17-year-old Buzzi studied for an acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse. A well-established West Coast character actress by 1959, Buzzi came to Broadway to appear in the short-lived revue Misguided Tour; it was here that she created the first of her many memorable "alter egos," half-witted magician's assistant Shakuntula. It was while playing the woebegone Agnes Gooch in a 1961 stock-company production of Auntie Mame that Buzzi developed the character that would reach full maturity as the whining schlumper Gladys Ormphby. In 1965, she joined the cast of the CBS TV variety series The Entertainers, and that same year provided the voice of Granny Goodwich on the Linus the Lionhearted cartoon weekly. She went to make recurring appearances on That Girl and the 1967 Steve Allen Comedy Hour; and in January of 1968, she began a seven-year hitch on the immensely popular Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Together with Laugh-In co-star Arte Johnson, Buzzi provided the voice for her cartoon likeness in the 1977 Saturday morning animated series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. Under the aegis of Sid and Marty Krofft, Buzzi starred on the weekend kiddie shows Far Out Space Nuts (1975) and The Krofft Supershow (1976). On the big screen, Ruth Buzzi has been seen in such Disney fare as Freaky Friday (1977), The North Avenue Irregulars (1978), and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979).

Trivia: American comic actor Henry Gibson acted professionally since childhood, but didn't gain prominence until his discovery by Jerry Lewis for a role in The Nutty Professor (1963). Gibson quickly developed a comedy act for TV variety shows, in which he passed himself off as a fey, Southern-accented "blank verse" poet. So convincing was this persona that many viewers believed Gibson was a genuine Southerner, though he actually hailed from Pennsylvania. He played a cruder variation of his yokel character as a patron of the "Belly Button" bar in Billy Wilder's Kiss Me Stupid (1964), and was hilarious as a hip-talking Indian in the Three Stooges' feature film The Outlaws is Coming (1965). Gibson might have continued in small roles indefinitely had he not been catapulted to stardom in 1968 as part of the ensemble on TV's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, where his introductory "A poem...by Henry Gibson" became a national catchphrase. Gibson stayed with Laugh-In until 1971, whereupon he launched a reasonably successful career as a straight character actor. One of his best film roles of the '70s was Haven Hamilton, a hard-driving, flag-waving country-western star in Nashville (1975). Gibson not only delivered an expert performance but also co-wrote the songs sung by Haven Hamilton, including the deliberately banal Bicentennial ballad, "200 Years", in one of the film's early scenes. Henry Gibson continued throughout the next two decades playing strong movie character parts (the neo-Nazi commander in 1980's The Blues Brothers) and bright little cameos (the closet-smoking security guard in 1990's Gremlins 2). Gibson was also ubiquitously available as a guest star on such cable-TV reruns as Bewitched (he played a leprechaun) and F Troop (he was jinxed Private Wrongo Starr). He died of cancer in September 2009, about a week before his 74th birthday.

Trivia: A goggle-eyed, ditzy blonde, Goldie Hawn's looks alone make her a natural for the kind of breathless comedy in which she originally made her name. Though she has built a lucrative career with her screen persona of a vivacious, giggly, and befuddled naif, Hawn's onscreen antics conceal her real-life level-headedness: Beneath the wide expanse of her blue eyes lies a shrewd, intelligent, and multi-talented woman. Born November 21st, 1945, Hawn was the daughter of a musician in Washington, D.C., though she grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in suburban Maryland. At the age of three, she took her first dance lesson, and by the age of 17, she was managing a dance studio while studying drama at American University. In 1964, she danced professionally at the Texas Pavilion of the New York World's Fair, and then began appearing in chorus lines in such musicals as Kiss Me Kate, Guys and Dolls, and The Boyfriend. She eventually moved to California, where her first break came when an agent saw her dancing on the Andy Griffith Show and cast her in Good Morning World, a short-lived comedy series. From there she was cast as a dancer in an innovative comedy-variety show hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. It was on Laugh-In (1968-1970) that Hawn became popular. Originally a dancer on the show, her bikini-clad body painted with funny slogans and designs, she was given a few lines and proved herself a talented performer in a winning, air-headed way.Hawn made her first foray into feature films as a dancer in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968). Her acting debut came a year later playing Walter Matthau's ditzy, bohemian mistress in Cactus Flower (1969); she won an Oscar for her role, making it an inarguably auspicious debut. Later that year she appeared opposite Peter Sellers in There's a Girl in My Soup. These first two films and the subsequent Dollars (1971) utilized Hawn's "blonde" persona, but in 1972, she hinted that she concealed more than a talent for perkiness and comedy when she played a young woman who helps her blind lover deal with his past in Butterflies Are Free. Hawn showed even more depth as a wife who springs her husband from jail in hopes of keeping her child in Sugarland Express, Steven Spielberg's 1973 feature-film directorial debut. Two years later, she starred as Warren Beatty's girlfriend in Shampoo, further exhibiting her capacity as both a comedic and dramatic actress.Subsequently, Hawn continued to work steadily throughout the '80s and '90s, appearing in films of widely varying quality. Some highlights include the successful Private Benjamin (1980), for which Hawn earned her second Best Actress Oscar nomination, Seems Like Old Times (1982), and The First Wives Club (1996), in which she co-starred with Diane Keaton and Bette Midler. Hawn has two children by her second husband, comedian Bill Hudson, and one by her companion since 1986, actor Kurt Russell. She and Russell met on the set of Swing Shift (1984) and have since starred together in such films as Overboard (1987). Following daughter Kate Hudson's success in the wake of Almost Famous (2000), Hawn hit the big screen again in the notorious box-office bomb Town and Country (2001). Though that film did little to re-ignite her appeal as a box office draw, her turn as a free spirited former groupie in the following year's The Banger Sisters drew favorable reviews from critics and audiences and proved a solid indicator that the talented comic actress still had what it takes to bring in the laughs.

Trivia: Mother chose to give birth to him in Canada in order to reduce the medical costs for his delivery. Injured himself in a bicycle accident at age 12, and developed a comedy-and-magic act while recuperating. Served in the Air Force and was stationed in North Africa; performed a magic show for the king of Libya during that time. First dated his second wife Sandra while they were in college, but married her 40 years later. Published an autobiography in 2007 titled Reuben on Wry: The Memoirs of Dave Madden.

Trivia: Comic supporting actor, onscreen (and in voice-over) from the '60s.

Trivia: His father was a playwright and stage producer. At age nine he began singing professionally; two years later he teamed up with Eddie Cantor in vaudeville. Over the next decade or so he established himself as a major entertainer and songwriter in nightclubs and on Broadway. Jessel appeared sporadically onscreen; his only moderately busy period as a film actor was 1926-30. In 1945 he began producing musical films for Fox. He was known for his charity work, traveling widely and giving lectures and performances to raise funds for various causes; for such activities, in 1969 he was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a special Oscar. Jessel often entertained U.S. troops overseas. For a time he was married to actress Norma Talmadge. He authored two volumes of memoirs, So Help Me (1943) and This Way, Miss (1955).

Trivia: Hailed as "Mr. Showbiz," Liberace was the personification of hedonism at its most extreme. Billing himself a pianist, Liberace liked to think of himself as a reincarnation of Franz Listz -- truly he was exceptionally proficient at the keyboards, but he was far more the classic entertainer, punctuating his popularized versions of light classics with lively patter and jokes, many of which were aimed at himself. Music was his bread and butter, but Liberace's real passion was for excess and flash. Liberace loved rhinestones, expensive cars, priceless pianos, and anything rococo, but it was his outrageous costumes and jewelry that immediately spring to mind when thinking of him. During some performances, he sported lavish spangled costumes weighing over 200 pounds. Born Wladziu Valentino Liberace (his friends called him "Lee") in Milwaukee, he learned much about piano playing from the legendary Paderwski, a friend of his mother. Though best remembered for his many Las Vegas appearances, his tours, and his long-running television series during the '50s, Liberace also appeared in a few feature films including South Sea Sinner and Sincerely Yours.

Trivia: Despite being an avid pre-'60s movie buff, Canadian born comedian/actor/singer (both in film and on-stage) Rich Little is known best for his vast repertoire of uncanny celebrity impressions. Little began his career at an early age; at 12 years old, he had taken to answering his teachers in their own voices. After spending time working as a disc jockey, Little was hired to impersonate Elvis Presley for an afternoon television program as part of an April Fool's joke, and successfully convinced hundreds of Elvis fans that their idol was at a local TV station. In 1963, Little was discovered in the United States by Mel Tormé, who asked him to audition for CBS's Judy Garland Show -- allegedly, Garland was immediately impressed and personally requested Little's presence on the show. Before long, Little starred in many a variety show and worked with the likes of Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Mike Douglas, and Dean Martin. Little would go on to host a Christmas special in 1978, contribute his voice to various animated series, and even star in John DeBello's 1987 spy comedy Happy Hour, which follows Little and Jamie Farr's plight to put an end to the corporate machinations of two rival beer companies. In 1988, Little took the reins for Rich Little: One's a Crowd, a one-man show which featured some of his best celebrity impressions, and offered tips on how to cheat at golf in Rich Little: Little Scams on Golf (1991). After lending his vocal chords to 1992's Bebe's Kids, Little played Johnny Carson in The Late Shift (1996), a made-for-cable docudrama chronicling the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman, who both hoped to take over Johnny Carson's role as the king of late night television. In 2002, Little impressively portrayed every president of the United States between 1960 and 2002 -- not to mention Billy Carter, James Carville, Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Kissinger, and Walter Cronkite -- for Richard Little Staring in the Presidents (2002). Though the impressionist complains that today's "vanilla" entertainment icons don't have distinct enough voices, he continues to make jaws drop impersonating on the Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New York show circuit.

Trivia: The scion of a prosperous California ranching family, actor Cliff Robertson took up drama in high school simply because it was the only "legal" way to cut classes. After wartime service, Robertson entered Ohio's Antioch College, beginning his professional career as a radio announcer. His first extensive stage work consisted of two years with the touring company of Mister Roberts. He made it to Broadway in 1952 in a play directed by Joshua Logan, and in 1955 made his film debut in the Logan-directed movie version of Picnic. As Joan Crawford's schizophrenic boyfriend in Autumn Leaves (1955), Robertson achieved the critical acceptance that would enable him to seek out choice film roles. In 1963, Robertson became the first American actor to portray a living American president when he was selected to play John F. Kennedy in PT 109; one year later, he showed up as a paranoid Nixon type in The Best Man. Equally busy on television, Robertson was universally applauded for his grueling performance as an alcoholic in the 1958 TV staging of Days of Wine and Roses, and in 1965 won an Emmy for a guest appearance on the dramatic anthology Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre. Having lost the film version of Wine and Roses to Jack Lemmon, Robertson made certain that he'd star in the filmization of his 1961 TV drama The Two Worlds of Charly Gordon by buying up the story rights. The result was the 1968 film Charly, in which Robertson played a retarded adult turned into a genius by a scientific experiment -- for which he won an Academy Award. In 1977, Robertson made headlines when he was one of the whistle-blowers in the embezzlement scandal involving Columbia executive David Begelman -- a fact that did more harm to Robertson's career than Begelman's. Robertson continued to act into the 2000s, including the recurring role of Ben Parker in the Spider-Man franchise reboot. He died of natural causes a day after his 88th birthday in 2011.