Trivia: For an actor almost universally associated with a single character -- Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise -- William Shatner has found diverse ways to stay active in the public eye, even spoofing his overblown acting style in a way far more hip than desperate. Years after he last uttered "warp speed," Shatner remains a well-known face beyond Star Trek conventions, re-creating himself as the spoken-word pitchman for priceline.com, and starring in a popular series of smoky nightclub ads that featured some of the most cutting-edge musicians of the day.The Canadian native was born on March 22, 1931, in Montréal, where he grew up and attended Verdun High School. Shatner studied commerce at McGill University before getting the acting bug, which eventually prompted him to move to New York in 1956. He initially worked in such live television dramatic shows as Studio One and The United States Steel Hour in 1957 and 1958, as well as on Broadway. His big screen debut soon followed as Alexei in the 1958 version of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.Throughout the 1960s, Shatner worked mostly in television. His most memorable appearance came in a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone entitled "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," in which he plays a terrified airline passenger unable to convince the crew that there's a mysterious gremlin tearing apart the wing. He also appeared in such films as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and the bizarrely experimental Esperanto-language horror film Incubus (1963). In 1966, he got his big break, though neither he nor anyone else knew it at the time. Shatner was cast as the macho starship captain James Kirk on Star Trek, commanding a crew that included an acerbic doctor, a Scottish engineer, and a logician with pointy ears, on a mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before." However, the show lasted only three seasons, considered by many to be high camp. After providing a voice on the even shorter-lived animated series in 1973, Shatner must have thought Star Trek too would pass. A costly divorce and a lingering diva reputation from Star Trek left him with few prospects or allies, forcing him to take whatever work came his way. But in 1979, after a decade of B-movie labor in such films as The Kingdom of Spiders (1977) and a second failed series (Barbary Coast, 1975-1976), Shatner re-upped for another attempt to capitalize on the science fiction series with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This time it caught on, though the first film was considered a costly disappointment. With dogged determination, the producers continued onward with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), at which point fans finally flocked to the series, rallying behind the film's crisp space battles and the melodramatic tête-à-tête between Shatner and Ricardo Montalban.Shatner had to wrestle with his advancing age and the deaths of several characters in Star Trek II and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), but by Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), the actor got to indulge in his more whimsical side, which has since characterized his career. As the series shifted toward comedy, Shatner led the way, even serving as director of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), which many considered among the series' weaker entries. During this period, Shatner also began parodying himself in earnest, appearing as host of Saturday Night Live in a famous sketch in which he tells a group of Trekkies to "Get a life." He also turned in a wickedly energetic mockery of a moon base captain in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). Shatner made one final appearance with the regular Star Trek cast in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), then served as one of the crossovers to the new series of films in Star Trek: Generations (1994), in which endlessly theorizing fans finally learned the fate of Captain Kirk.The success of the Trek movies reenergized Shatner's TV career, even if it didn't immediately earn him more film roles. Shatner played the title role on the successful police drama T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1987, directing some episodes, then began hosting the medical reality series Rescue 911 in 1989. Shatner returned to the movies with another parody, Loaded Weapon I, in 1993, and in 1994 began directing, executive producing, and acting in episodes of the syndicated TV show TekWar, based on the popular series of Trek-like novels he authored. In the later '90s, Shatner was best known for his humorously out-there priceline.com ads, but also guested on a variety of TV shows, most notably as the "Big Giant Head" on the lowbrow farce Third Rock From the Sun. He also appeared as game show hosts both in film (Miss Congeniality, 2000) and real life (50th Annual Miss America Pageant, 2001). In 1999, Shatner suffered public personal tragedy when his third wife, Nerine, accidentally drowned in their swimming pool. The champion horse breeder and tennis enthusiast owns a ranch in Kentucky and remains active in environmental causes. Shatner took on a small role for 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and voiced the villainous wildebeest Kazar in Disney's animated adventure The Wild in 2006. Shatner returned to television for a starring role on the popular dramady Boston Legal, in which he plays Denny Crane, a once unbeatable lawyer who co-founded the successful law firm where he continues to work despite his reputation as an eccentric old man.

Trivia: Blonde and buoyant actress Heather Locklear had the distinction of co-starring simultaneously in two weekly series within a year of her 1981 TV debut. Locklear played Steven Carrington's long-suffering wife Sammy Jo on Dynasty, then went down the block to essay the role of ever-imperiled lady cop Stacy Sheridan on T.J. Hooker. Since that time, Locklear has made several efforts to establish herself as a comedienne, ranging from a forgettable sitcom to her wiselipped heroine in Return of the Swamp Thing (1991). Far better at inducing feminine envy than laughs, Locklear was later seen as elegant villainess Amanda Woodward, on the Fox Network series Melrose Place, a show she is credited as saving from cancellation with her sexy but catty performance. Numerous television roles followed -- including appearances in Two and a Half Men, Boston Legal, and Hannah Montana -- and in 2009 Locklear returned to the character of Amanda Woodward in the shortlived Melrose Place revival series. When not participating in series television, Locklear has functioned as spokesperson for the Health and Tennis Corporation of America. Locklear was for several years married to rock star Tommy Lee; after their breakup she wed yet another rocker, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora. Lee in turn married another blonde TV icon, Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.

Trivia: Longtime character actor Ray Wise is beloved by genre fans for his over-the-top roles in Swamp Thing, RoboCop, Twin Peaks (both the series and the feature), and Jeepers Creepers 2, yet one look at the actor's diverse filmography reveals that it's Wise's diverse body of small-screen work that has been his bread and butter throughout the years.As an adolescent, Wise became keenly aware of his love for acting, and displayed his ambition by appearing in as many plays as possible throughout high school. A college theater major who spent most of his summer breaks in summer stock, Wise was well and ready to enter the professional world after receiving his degree in 1970. As with many other aspiring actors, Wise was drawn to the bright lights of Broadway and New York City, landing a job on the soap opera Love of Life after being in town for only two weeks. During the six years that he was acting on Love of Life, Wise would moonlight with stage roles both on and off-Broadway in addition to dabbling in repertory theater. When Love of Life was canceled in 1976, it was time to expand into features with supporting roles in Swamp Thing and Cat People (both 1982). Throughout the 1980s, Wise appeared on some of the most popular series on television, including Dallas, Trapper John, M.D., Knots Landing, and Moonlighting -- occasionally returning for a recurring role. While his part in Paul Verhoeven's over-the-top sci-fi action flick RoboCop offered the busy actor a chance to truly explore his inner villain, it was another menacing role that would propel Wise's career in the 1990s.Cast as grieving father Leland Palmer in the surreal David Lynch series Twin Peaks, Wise captivated television viewers with his emotionally charged performance -- Palmer was a challenging character, and few actors could have brought him to life quite as effectively as Wise. In 1992, Wise reprised the role of Leland Palmer for the polarizing feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, with subsequent performances in Bob Roberts and Powder, as well as on television in Star Trek: Voyager and Beverly Hills 90210, proving his highest-profile works of the decade. While by the year 2000 it appeared as if Wise had settled into a comfortable small-screen groove thanks to his numerous television credits, roles as a frightened father in the underappreciated, Twilight Zone-flavored frightener Dead End and a monster-fighting farmer in Jeepers Creepers 2 (which re-teamed him with Powder director Victor Salva) both gave genre fans cause to celebrate. In 2005, Wise took an affecting turn as communist witch-hunt victim Don Hollenbeck in director George Clooney's Oscar-nominated drama Good Night, and Good Luck, and the following year he had a recurring role as Vice President Hal Gardner in the hit Fox series 24. With additional small-screen roles in The Closer, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and the supernatural series Reaper (on which he played the Devil himself) serving well to balance out feature work in Peaceful Warrior, Pandemic, and One Missed Call, it appeared that Wise remained as comfortable as ever fluctuating between work in film and television. He continued to work steadily on small and big-screen projects like Pandemic, One Missed Call, Crazy Eyes, Mad Men, and Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie.

Trivia: Most filmgoers and television viewers know Jason Evers for his performances on such series as The Guns of Will Sonnett, movies like The Green Berets, and guest-starring roles on programs such as Star Trek ("Wink of an Eye"). In reality, the actor has had a much longer career than those movie and television credits rooted in the 1960s and 1970s. Born Herbert Evers in the Bronx, NY, in 1922, he was the son of a theatrical ticket agent. Evers left De Witt Clinton High School before graduation in order to pursue an acting career and landed an apprenticeship with the Ethel Barrymore Colt Jitney Players, with whom he toured the country for two years at the end of the 1930s. In the early '40s, he was signed up by producer Brock Pemberton, who cast him in his breakthrough part, as Pvt. Dick Lawrence in the play Janie. That play established Evers as a handsome male ingenue, of a type similar to contemporaries such as Van Heflin, Van Johnson, and Bill Williams. He subsequently endured a series of flop plays, as well as two years in uniform. After returning to civilian life, Evers resumed his career, principally in road company productions, including a tour of I Am a Camera with Veronica Lake. By then Evers was married to actress Shirley Ballard and the two frequently found themselves struggling financially between roles. Strangely enough, their marriage ended just at a point when the two were working together in a successful Broadway play entitled Fair Game. By 1960, Evers was ready to make the jump to the potentially greener pastures of the West Coast, and possible film work. He landed the leading role in a summer replacement television series called Wrangler, portraying a rugged, laconic cowboy. In the bargain, he also traded in his first name for the smoother and more manly Jason Evers. The series wasn't picked up for the regular season but Evers was on the map, his new name and image working very much in his favor. Jason Evers was a fresh name and face, and he had also acquired an intense, edgy quality, in sharp contrast to the callow handsomeness of his image in the 1940s and 1950s. Herbert Evers seemed a slightly bland leading man, but Jason Evers, in name and image, conveyed intensity and even danger. He did a few small movie roles at the outset of the decade, and then got the only starring screen role of his career -- unfortunately, the latter was in the horror thriller The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962). The actor -- credited as Herb Evers -- played a scientist obsessed with the idea of keeping the severed head of his fiancée alive. Luckily, no one of any consequence in the entertainment industry ever saw the film (which has since been embraced by bad-movie cultists, and has turned up on Mystery Science Theater 3000), or tied "Herb Evers" up with Jason Evers. In 1964, he got another crack at a series with Channing, a topical drama set at a university -- a kind of collegiate answer to Mr. Novak -- co-starring Henry Jones. That program failed to find an audience, but by then, Evers was making a massive number of guest-star appearances, on series as different as Gunsmoke and Star Trek, often playing villains. He also played important supporting roles in feature films, including an excellent performance in The Green Berets, as the doomed Captain Coleman, the outgoing commander of the forward base where John Wayne's Colonel Kirby tries to make a stand. Evers landed what was arguably his best television role on the series The Guns of Will Sonnett, portraying Jim Sonnett, the gunslinger who is the object of a search through the West by his father (Walter Brennan) and son (Dack Rambo). Evers was perfect as Jim Sonnett, grim and taciturn and, yet, beneath his nasty veneer as a tired veteran gunman, concerned for the well-being of his father and son once he knows they are looking for him. The only problem with the role was that he hardly ever got to play it -- as the object of the quest at the center of the series' plot, he only actually appeared onscreen a handful of times during the two-year run of the series. Still, it was an actor's dream of a part, in the sense that his character was discussed prominently in every episode, and figured in virtually every plot complication and development; no performer could ask for a better lead-in than that to his actually taking the stage, and his appearances were memorable. Evers' career began to wind down during the 1970s, amid roles of varying size in such movies as Escape From the Planet of the Apes and Barracuda, and the horror-exploitation movie Claws. Evers has been in retirement since the mid-'80s, although he did briefly return to work, portraying a role in Basket Case 2 (1990).

Trivia: The earliest published credit for American actor Robert Miano was the role of "Modoc leader" in Bridger, a 1976 TV movie. Miano resurfaced in the late 1980s in supporting and bit roles in films -- most of these low-budget productions which generally went directly to video. 1987's Weeds, a good prison-rehab film starring Nick Nolte, was an exception to Miano's B-credits. Otherwise, Robert Miano could be seen in such fair to middling productions as Troma's Club Life (1986), China Girl (1987), Easy Wheels (1989), Ministry of Vengeance (1989) (as Ali Aboud), The Rain Killer (1990) and Diplomatic Immunity (1991).