Trivia: Professional magician Harry Anderson made his living as a street performer until he was "discovered" on the talk-show circuit in the late '70s. Looking all the world like a young Willy Loman, Anderson delighted in flim-flamming his "suckers" and then revealing his chicanery. He made his film debut as, appropriately, a sideshow prestidigitator in The Escape Artist (1982) then appeared on a sporadic basis as wise guy thimblerig Harry the Hat on the TV sitcom Cheers. This led to his being cast as freewheeling Judge Harold T. Stone on the weekly Night Court which ran from 1984 to 1992. Despite his insouciant "hustler" persona, Anderson is an immensely appealing performer with a strong following among children, and starred in such Disney TV-movie productions as The Absent-Minded Professor (1988) and Harvey (1995). In 1993, Harry Anderson launched another long-running sitcom, playing real life newspaper humorist Dave Barry (whom he resembles not one whit!) in Dave's World.

Trivia: The reigning queen of the 1970s blaxploitation genre, Pam Grier was born May 26, 1949, in Winston-Salem, NC. An Air Force mechanic's daughter, she was raised on military bases in England and Germany. During her teen years the family settled in Denver, CO, where at the age of 18, Grier entered the Miss Colorado Universe pageant. Named first runner-up, she attracted the attention of Hollywood agent David Baumgarten, who signed her to a contract. After relocating to Los Angeles, Grier struggled to mount an acting career, and worked as a switchboard operator at the studios of Roger Corman's American International Pictures. Finally, with Corman's aid, she made her film debut in the 1970 Russ Meyer cult classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, followed by an appearance in Jack Hill's 1971 cheapie The Big Doll House. For several years, Grier languished virtually unnoticed in grindhouse fare like 1971's Women in Cages and 1973's Arena (aka Naked Warriors) before winning the title role in Hill's 1973 action outing Coffy. Playing a nurse seeking vengeance against the drug dealers responsible for her sister's descent into heroin addiction, Grier immediately rose to the forefront of the so-called "blaxploitation" genre, a group of action-adventure films aimed squarely at African-American audiences. Portraying the 1974 superheroine Foxy Brown, she became a major cult figure, as her character's fierce independence, no-nonsense attitude, and empowered spirit made her a role model for blacks and feminists alike. At the peak of her popularity, Grier even appeared on the covers of Ms. and New York magazines. Her films' often racy content also made her a sex symbol, and additionally she posed nude for the men's magazine Players. Successive action roles as gumshoe Sheba Shayne in 1975's Sheba, Baby and as the titular reporter Friday Foster further elevated Grier's visibility, but fearing continued typecasting she shifted gears to star opposite Richard Pryor in the fact-based 1977 auto-racing drama Greased Lightning. She did not reappear onscreen for four years, resurfacing to acclaim in 1981 as a murderous prostitute in Fort Apache, the Bronx; however, no other major roles were forthcoming, and she spent much of the decade appearing on television and in straight-to-cable features. A major role in the 1988 Steven Seagal action hit Above the Law marked the beginning of a comeback, and after appearing in 1993's Posse, Grier starred with fellow blaxploitation vets Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Fred "the Hammer" Williamson in 1996's Original Gangstas, a throwback to the films of the early '70s. In 1997, the actress' career resurgence was complete with the title role in Jackie Brown, written in her honor by director and longtime fan Quentin Tarantino. Grier's tough, sexy portrayal of a jaded flight attendant earned praise from critics far and wide, as well as the promise of steady work. She could subsequently be seen in a consistently wide range of films, like Jawbreaker (1999), Holy Smoke (1999), The Invited, and Larry Crowne, in addition to a host of successful TV roles on shows like Smallville and The L Word.

Trivia: Twice named All-American during his football-playing days at the University of Illinois, Dick Butkus went on to spend eight years (1965-1973) as linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Chosen best NFL defensive player on two separate occasions, the "Maestro of Mayhem" also held the record for second-highest number of recovered fumbles. The 6'3," 245-pound Butkus left pro football after a knee injury in 1973 but kept his hand in as a sportscaster, eventually with Chicago's WGN radio. He was appointed to the Football Hall of Fame in 1979, and an award for outstanding college linebacker has been named in his honor. With all this going for him, Butkus hardly needed movies and television to enhance his reputation, but he has appeared before the cameras on occasion. On TV, he was seen as Al Fanducci in the 1976 miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, Brom Bones in the 1980 adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, security guard Kurt in the weekly adventure series Half-Nelson (1985), and Ed Klawicki during the 1987-1988 and 1988-1989 seasons of the popular sitcom My Two Dads. Most often, however, Dick Butkus has simply and satisfactorily played "himself," first in the award-winning TV movie Brian's Song (1970), and later in such films as Gremlins 2 (1991) and The Last Boy Scout (1993).

Trivia: American actor John Larroquette began gaining public attention as a disc jockey. For several years, he paid the bills with TV and movie voiceovers, notably as the (uncredited) narrator of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Larroquette started getting on-camera assignments in the mid 1970s, making his network TV bow in the role of Dr. Paul Herman in the prime time weekly Doctors' Hospital (1975-76); this was followed by a two-year stint as Robert Anderson on the Robert Conrad TV vehicle Black Sheep Squadron (1976-78). From 1984 through 1992, Larroquette portrayed assistant DA and self-styled ladies man Dan Fielding on the popular sitcom Night Court, a role which won him four Emmy awards. In 1994, the actor starred in his own series, The John Larroquette Show, playing an erudite recovering alcoholic who manages a St. Louis bus depot.His film career never quite matched the success he found on the small- screen, but he had small parts in The Twilight Zone Movie and Choose Me before he reached the height of his Night Court Fame. He was a friend to Bruce Willis in the Blake Edwards comedy Blind Date and appeared opposite his fellow NBC sitcom star Kirstie Alley in the flop Madhouse. He was one o the adult leads in the 1994 version of Richie Rich. As the '90s came to a close he returned to the small-screen in Payne, an attempt to update the classic British series Fawlty Towers. As the new century began, Larroquete could be seen in The 10th Kingdom, and a few years later he lent his voice as the narrator of the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - just as he did for the original thirty years before. He appeared in diverse projects such as Beethoven's 5th, and the 2006 Southland Tales. He scored a recurring role for a couple of seasons on Boston Legal.

Trivia: Six feet tall by the time he was twelve, Richard Moll would eventually peak at 6'8". To ward off jokes about his height, Moll adopted the "class clown" pose in school, eventually developing a taste for play-acting. Moving from his hometown of Pasadena to Hollywood in 1968, Moll spent the next decade or so with various theatrical troupes, and for a while toured schools in the role of Abraham Lincoln. Whenever he made the movie and TV casting rounds, Moll was greeted with an astonished "What a monster!"; thus, a monster he became, playing a steady succession of "bikers and snake men and one-eyed mutants." He was one of the title characters in the 1972 TV movie Gargoyles, was seen as an abominable snowman in Caveman (1981), and played various and assorted hulking goons in such adventure flicks as Metalstorm (1982) and The Sword and the Sorceror (1984). He was finally allowed to exhibit his "human" side--not to mention his considerable flair for light comedy--as court guard Bull Shannon on the long-running (1984-92) TV sitcom Night Court. Back to monstrosities and villains again in the 1990s--this time by choice rather than necessity-- Richard Moll has continued appearing in sizeable (in more ways than one) TV guest-star roles, and has lent his vocal talents to the role of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, in Batman: The Animated Series.

Trivia: Burly black comedienne Marsha Warfield is best remembered for playing the caustic bailiff Roz on the popular television sitcom Night Court. Warfield made her film debut in the television movie The Marva Collins Story (1981). Prior to that she was a member of the sketch comedy cast on the short-lived, controversial Richard Pryor Show (1977). In addition to acting, Warfield is also a funny standup comedienne who often uses graphic language and descriptions of sex to describe the foibles of male/female interactions. Following the end of Night Court, Warfield hosted a short-lived talk show in 1990.

Trivia: Best known for playing the android Data on the syndicated television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and in its feature film spin-offs, Brent Spiner is also a talented singer. Before agreeing to play Data, Spiner had spent a decade on the New York stage. A native of Houston, TX, he was raised by his mother and her second husband (Spiner's real father died when he was a baby). The Quaid brothers Randy and Dennis were among his high school classmates and the three learned about acting under Cecil Pickett. Eventually Pickett would leave the school to take a teaching job at the University of Houston. Spiner enrolled there soon after graduation, but only remained at the university through 1974 when he decided to become a professional actor in New York City. Like many other aspiring thespians, Spiner had dues to pay in the form of taking a job as a cab driver before launching his career off-Broadway. He made his Broadway debut with Sunday in the Park With George opposite Mandy Patinkin. He made his television debut in a miniseries, The Dain Curse, and first appeared in films with a bit part in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980). Spiner had a rare starring role in Rent Control (1981). He moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and launched a career as a television guest star on series and as a supporting actor in telemovies and miniseries. He most frequently appeared on the sitcom Night Court as the man who establishes a snack bar in the courthouse. He then successfully auditioned for the role of Data. Interestingly, Spiner claims no particular love for science fiction and was not a big fan of the original Star Trek. He says he mainly took the job because he didn't think the new series would last and because he needed to pay a few bills. The show lasted seven years also spawning a successful film series, and from the start, his was the most popular character on the show. In an effort to capitalize and satirize his nonhuman role on the show -- and perhaps to poke fun at actors William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy who capitalized on their Star Trek fame by each recording equally awful albums (can anyone forget Nimoy's bouncy rendition of "Bilbo Hobbitt"?) -- Spiner recorded his own album, Old Yellow Eyes Is Back (1991), with an 80-piece orchestra and fellow castmates Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, and Michael Dorn. Though the bulk of his fame comes from being Data, Spiner is not content to spend the rest of his career typecast and so occasionally plays other characters. His portrayal of prissy singing cruise director Gil Godwin was the funniest thing about Martha Coolidge's waterlogged Out to Sea (1997).