Trivia: Commenting on his notorious on-set irascibility in 1977, Jack Klugman replied that he was merely "taking Peter Falk lessons from Robert Blake," invoking the names of two other allegedly hard-to-please TV stars. Klugman grew up in Philadelphia, and after taking in a 1939 performance by New York's Group Theatre, Klugman decided that an actor's life was right up his alley. He majored in drama at Carnegie Tech and studied acting at the American Theatre Wing before making his (non-salaried) 1949 stage-debut at the Equity Library Theater. While sharing a New York flat with fellow hopeful Charles Bronson, Klugman took several "grub" jobs to survive, at one point selling his blood for $85 a pint. During television's so-called Golden Age, Klugman appeared in as many as 400 TV shows. He made his film debut in 1956, and three years later co-starred with Ethel Merman in the original Broadway production of Gypsy. In 1964, Klugman won the first of his Emmy awards for his performance in "Blacklist," an episode of the TV series The Defenders; that same year, he starred in his first sitcom, the 13-week wonder Harris Against the World. Far more successful was his next TV series, The Odd Couple, which ran from 1970 through 1974; Klugman won two Emmies for his portrayal of incorrigible slob Oscar Madison (he'd previously essayed the role when he replaced Walter Matthau in the original Broadway production of the Neil Simon play). It was during Odd Couple's run that the network "suits" got their first real taste of Klugman's savage indignation, when he and co-star Tony Randall threatened to boycott the show unless the idiotic laughtrack was removed (Klugman and Randall won that round; from 1971 onward, Odd Couple was filmed before a live audience). It was but a foretaste of things to come during Klugman's six-year (1977-83) reign as star of Quincy, M.E.. Popular though Klugman was in the role of the crusading, speechifying LA County Coroner's Office medical examiner R. Quincy, he hardly endeared himself to the producers when he vented his anger against their creative decisions in the pages of TV Guide. Nor was he warmly regarded by the Writer's Guild when he complained about the paucity of high-quality scripts (he wrote several Quincy episodes himself, with mixed results). After Quincy's cancellation, Klugman starred in the Broadway play I'm Not Rappaport and co-starred with John Stamos in the 1986 sitcom You Again?. The future of Klugman's career -- and his future, period -- was sorely threatened when he underwent throat surgery in 1989. He'd been diagnosed with cancer of the larynx as early as 1974, but at that time was able to continue working after a small growth was removed. For several years after the 1989 operation, Klugman was unable to speak, though he soon regained this ability. He continued working through 2011, and died the following year at age 90.

Trivia: Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1931, Robert Ito has spent his film career as a character actor, often in the science fiction genre. He enjoyed success on the long-running television series Quincy, and his voice has been used in many animated films, such as Batman and Superman.Robert Ito's first performances were on the stage as a dancer in the National Ballet of Canada. After a decade with the company, Ito moved to New York in the 1960s, to dance on Broadway in The Flower Drum Song.Ito moved to Hollywood and began his film career in 1966 with some forgettable science fiction vehicles, such as Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Dimension 5. The B-movie genre often turned to Ito when it wanted an actor to portray someone of his Japanese heritage. Over the years, he played many such roles, the most outstanding of which was his performance as Professor Hikita, the kidnapped scientist in the 1984 cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.Ito fared well in television, in which he was given roles that showcased his talents in made-for-television movies and series. He appeared in some memorable dramas, such as Helter Skelter (1976), American Geisha (1986), and The War Between Us (1996). The latter film starred Ito as a Canadian World War I veteran and patriarch of a family of Japanese descent, forced to leave his home in Vancouver during the dark days of Japanese resettlement following Pearl Harbor.Ito also gained distinction for his role as Fong in the Kung Fu series, as well as on popular show Quincy. He made cameo appearances in many other television shows including Magnum, P.I. and Star Trek, which featured him in a 2001 production.

Trivia: Lead actress, onscreen from 1967.

Trivia: For over 30 years, Paul Lambert played character roles on stage, screen, and television. He started out on the Manhattan stage in the early '50s. He also launched his television career around that time, appearing in series through the '80s ranging from Playhouse 90 to Hogan's Heroes to Doogie Howser, M.D.. Lambert died of cancer on April 27, 1997, at age 74.

Trivia: Not wishing to be typecast in Latino roles, actor Henry Thomas Delgado changed his professional name to Henry Darrow -- only to spend his first dozen or so years in show business playing Hispanics. Darrow gained nationwide attention when briefly cast as a Mexican lawyer on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital; he had previously been active in Spanish-language soap operas, and as a Hollywood voice-over artist, dubbing Hispanic films into English. While appearing in an L.A.-based stage play in early 1967, Darrow was spotted by TV producer David Dortort, who was then in the process of casting the upcoming Western series The High Chaparral. Dortort created the character of aristocrat-turned-ranchhand Manolito Montoya with Darrow specifically in mind; the actor remained in this role until High Chapparal completed its four-season run in 1971. Darrow was then seen in a handful of films (Badge 373, Maverick, etc.) and a whole slew of weekly TV programs, including The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973-1974 season, as stage manager Alex Montenez) and Time Trax (1993). He also returned to the daily-serial grind as Rafael Castillo on Santa Barbara (1984-1992). In 1983, Henry Darrow was starred on the spoofish series Zorro and Son as Zorro Sr. (aka Don Diego de la Vega), a character he'd previously played via voice-over on the Saturday morning cartoon weekly The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour (1981); and in 1989, he was seen as the title character's father on the Family Channel cable series Zorro.

Trivia: African-American character actor of screen and television Charles Lampkin began his long career in the 1951 apocalypse drama Five. On TV, he is best remembered for playing Tiger in the critically acclaimed but short-lived sitcom Frank's Place (1987-1988).

Trivia: Primarily an actress of stage and television, June Dayton occasionally appeared in feature films. Born Mary June Wetzel, she took her stage name from her native Dayton, OH, and made her Broadway debut in the 1940s. Those remembering the early-'50s television series The Aldrich Family will recognize her for playing Mary Aldrich during the 1952-1953 season. After that, she guest starred on numerous series through the mid-'70s, including Inner Sanctum, My Favorite Martian, Land of the Giants, and The Six Million Dollar Man. She would also show up in a few television movies such as Letters From Three Lovers (1973) and Something for Joey (1977). She made her feature film debut in 1963, appearing in the Norman Vincent Peale biopic One Man's Way and Twilight of Honor.

Trivia: Known to legions of obsessed fans for writing, directing, and playing hunchbacked butler Riff Raff in the legendary cult movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show, British-born Richard O'Brien grew up in New Zealand. His father, an accountant, decided to switch career paths and become a sheep farmer when O'Brien was just nine, possibly planting in the young tyke the idea to make a movie about square people shaking off the strictures of modern life.He became interested in science fiction movies and rock & roll at a young age, and in 1964, he moved back to England to pursue a singing and acting career. Working in the theater, he met director Jim Sharman while appearing in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. He would come to work with Sharman on his own musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which opened on-stage in 1973. By 1975, O'Brien was adapting the play for the screen, unknowingly creating a massive cultural phenomenon.The film went on to become perhaps the most quintessential cult hit, and O'Brien's legacy was sealed. Nonetheless, he continued to work constantly, appearing in everything from Spice World to Dungeons & Dragons, as well as writing and recording his own music.

Trivia: Supporting actor Gilbert Green first appeared onscreen in the '60s.