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Danny DeVito has amassed a formidable and versatile body of work as an actor, producer and director that spans the stage, television and film.

Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, in Neptune, New Jersey, to Italian-American parents. His mother, Julia (Moccello), was a homemaker. His father, Daniel, Sr., was a small business owner whose ventures included a dry cleaning shop, a dairy outlet, a diner, and a pool hall.

While growing up in Asbury Park, his parents sent him to private schools. He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School. Following graduation in 1962, he took a job as a cosmetician at his sister's beauty salon. A year later, he enrolled at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts so he could learn more about cosmetology. While at the academy, he fell in love with acting and decided to further pursue an acting career. During this time, he met another aspiring actor Michael Douglas at the National Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut. The two would later go on to collaborate on numerous projects. Soon after he also met an actress named Rhea Perlman. The two fell in love and moved in together. They were married in 1982 and had three children together.

In 1968, Danny landed his first part in a movie when he appeared as a thug in the obscure Dreams of Glass (1970). Despite this minor triumph, Danny became discouraged with the film industry and decided to focus on stage productions. He made his Off-Broadway debut in 1969 in "The Man With the Flower in His Mouth." He followed this up with stage roles in "The Shrinking Bride," and "Lady Liberty." In 1975, he was approached by director Milos Forman and Michael Douglas about appearing in the film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which would star Jack Nicholson in the leading role. With box office success almost guaranteed and a chance for national exposure, Danny agreed to the role. The movie became a huge hit, both critically and financially, and still ranks today as one the greatest movies of all time. Unfortunately, the movie did very little to help Danny's career. In the years following, he was relegated to small movie roles and guest appearances on television shows. His big break came in 1978 when he auditioned for a role on an ABC sitcom pilot called Taxi (1978), which centered around taxi cab drivers at a New York City garage. Danny auditioned for the role of dispatcher Louie DePalma. At the audition, the producers told Danny that he needed to show more attitude in order to get the part. He then slammed down the script and yelled, "Who wrote this sh**?" The producers, realizing he was perfect for the part, brought him on board. The show was a huge success, running from 1978 to 1983.

Louie DePalma, played flawlessly by Danny, became one of the most memorable (and reviled) characters in television history. While he was universally hated by TV viewers, he was well-praised by critics, winning an Emmy award and being nominated three other times. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Danny maintained his status as a great character actor with memorable roles in movies like Romancing the Stone (1984), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987) and Twins (1988). He also had a great deal of success behind the camera, directing movies like The War of the Roses (1989) and Hoffa (1992). In 1992, Danny was introduced to a new generation of moviegoers when he was given the role of The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot in Tim Burton's highly successful Batman Returns (1992). This earned him a nomination for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards. That same year, along with his wife Rhea Perlman, Danny co-founded Jersey Films, which has produced many popular films and TV shows, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Man on the Moon (1999) and Erin Brockovich (2000). DeVito has many directing credits to his name as well, including Throw Momma from the Train (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Hoffa (1992), Death to Smoochy (2002) and the upcoming St. Sebastian.

In 2006, he returned to series television in the FX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005). With a prominent role in a hit series, Devito's comic talents were now on display for a new generation of television viewers. In 2012, he provided the title voice role in Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012).

These days, he continues to work with many of today's top talents as an actor, director and producer.

Long acknowledged as one of the best "straight men" in the business, Bud Abbott was born William Alexander Abbott in Reading, Pennsylvania to Rae (Fisher) and Harry Abbott, who had both worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. When Bud was three his family moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey, which he later, erroneously, listed as his place of birth. He himself worked in carnivals while still a child and dropped out of school in 1909. He worked as assistant treasurer for the Casino Theater in Brooklyn, then as treasurer and/or manager of various theaters around the country. He worked as the straight man to such vaudeville and burlesque comics as Harry Steepe and Harry Evanson while managing the National Theater in Detroit. In 1931 while cashiering at the Brooklyn theater, he substituted for comic Lou Costello's ill straight-man. The two clicked almost immediately and formed their famous comedy team. Throughout the 1930s they worked burlesque, minstrel shows, vaudeville and movie houses. In 1938 they got national exposure through the Kate Smith radio show "The Kate Smith Hour", and signed with Universal Pictures the next year. They made their film debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940), and, while the team wasn't the film's stars, it made money for Universal and they got good enough notices to convince Universal to give them their own picture. Their first starring film, Buck Privates (1941), with The Andrews Sisters, grossed what was then a company-record $10 million (on a $180,000 budget) and they were on their way to stardom and a long run as the most popular comedy team in America. In 1942 they topped a poll of Hollywood stars. They had their own radio show (ABC, 1941-6, NBC, 1946-9) and TV show (The Abbott and Costello Show (1952)). After the war their careers stalled and the box-office takes for their films started slipping. However, they made a big comeback in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), which raked in huge profits and even got the team good notices from critics who normally wouldn't even review their films. The movie's success convinced Universal to embark on a series of films in which the team met various monsters or found themselves in exotic locations. Their film career eventually petered out and the team split up in 1957. Costello embarked on a series of TV appearances and even made a film, without Abbott, called The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959), but it was a flop. He received good notices after a dramatic performance in an episode of Wagon Train (1957) and was in discussion to star in a biography of famed New York City mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, a project Costello had been trying to get off the ground for years, when he died. Both Abbott and Costello had major tax problems with the Internal Revenue Service and wound up virtually broke. Abbott started over with a new partner, Candy Candido, in the 1960s and set off on a national tour, including Las Vegas, but the act failed. In 1966 he voiced his character in a cartoon version of their television show. His health deteriorated badly in the late 1960s, he had always suffered from epilepsy, and he died in 1974.

Wendy Williams was born on 18 July 1964 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Think Like a Man (2012), Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999). She was previously married to Kevin Hunter and Bert Girigorie.

Diana Lewis was born on September 18, 1919 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Her parents were vaudeville performers. The family moved to Hollywood and Diana, her sister Maxine, and her brother J.C. all went into show business. Diana made her film debut in the comedy It's a Gift (1934). At the age of sixteen she married actor Jay Faye. She landed a contract with MGM and appeared in movies like Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) and Bitter Sweet (1940). While making Gold Diggers in Paris (1938) she became close friends with actress Carole Landis. Diana's marriage to Jay ended in 1939. That same year she met actor William Powell who was more than twenty years older than her. After a whirlwind courtship the couple eloped on January 6, 1940. Diana had supporting roles in the films Johnny Eager (1941) and Cry 'Havoc' (1943). She decided to quit acting in 1943 and devoted herself to being a full-time wife. By all accounts Diana and William enjoyed one of Hollywood's happiest marriages. He gave her the nickname "Mousie" because she was so petite. They had no children but Diana was very close to her stepson William David Powell. She spent much of her time doing charity work and playing golf. In 1984 William passed away at the age of ninety-one. Diana continued to live a quiet life in Palm Springs. She died from pancreatic cancer on January 18, 1997. Diana is buried with William at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

Scott Charles Bigelow was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most of his bald head, Bigelow was hailed by Ryan Murphy (a writer for Bigelow's former employer WWE) as "the most natural, agile and physically remarkable big man of the past quarter century", while former co-worker Bret Hart described him as "possibly the best working big man in the business."

Bigelow is best known for his appearances with promotions New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1987 and 2001. Over the course of his career, he held championships including the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship, the IWGP Tag Team Championship, the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, and the WCW World Tag Team Championship. Bigelow headlined seven pay-per-views: the first Survivor Series in 1987, Beach Brawl in 1991, King of the Ring in 1993 and 1995, WrestleMania XI in 1995, and the 1997 and 1998 editions of ECW's premier annual event, November to Remember.

Kate Bornstein was born on 15 March 1948 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Tokyo Godfathers (2003), The Blacklist (2013) and Spirit Riser (2024).

Fred Kareman was born Spiro Kacramanous in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on June 24, 1930, the son of Greek immigrants who later anglicized their last name to Kareman. As for the name Fred, Kareman adopted it in high school when, after tiring of teachers mispronouncing his given name, he broke into the school at night and wrote an "F." in front of the "Spiro" in a home room teacher's roll book. The next day, he told the teacher Spiro was his middle name and his first name was Fred. It stuck. Kareman's talents for sneaking in and out of places would result in more profound changes than half an alias. As a teenager, a friend persuaded him to skip school and go to the city to see a matinee performance of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. From that point, Kareman dedicated himself to acting, and studied with Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where his classmates included Steve McQueen. Kareman acted in The Skin of Our Teeth and A Cook for Mr. General on Broadway, several plays Off-Broadway, and in television shows such as The Hallmark Hall of Fame, Operation Petticoat, and Charlie's Angels. He also appeared in the Dudley Moore comedy, "Lovesick." Kareman's career as a teacher began as many do - as a solid character actor devoted to the craft but one who needed something more to help navigate the vagaries of an unforgiving profession. After a proposed play with Renee Taylor failed to materialize, Kareman went to see his teacher and mentor, Sanford Meisner, who suggested that he teach. That was in the late '60s, and Kareman taught regularly from that point until his last class on Dec. 15, 2006. Among his thousands of students was Frederic F. Forrest, an Academy Award nominee who appeared in The Rose and Apocalypse Now. In a letter to Fred's wife, Pamela Moller Kareman, he wrote: "Freddie was so sensitive and receptive. He freed people from their insecurities, anxieties, and fears through his enormous generosity of spirit and love. He made you see all possibilities in life." "I think that he was egoless in the teaching," said his wife, Pamela Moller Kareman, who is the artistic director of the Schoolhouse Theater in Croton Falls, N.Y. "He inspired people to be brave, to be an actor and to be proud of it. He just had so much respect for the work and the profession." Robert LuPone, a Broadway veteran and the dean of the graduate drama program at the New School for Social Research, said he went to study with Kareman about 10 years ago because he had become bored with the craft. "He awakened and reinvigorated me as an actor," LuPone said. "There are very few teachers - and Freddie is one of them - where class is perfection." Over the course of his long career Kareman trained actors such as Mary Steenburgen and Marisa Tomei (who both went on to win Oscars), Maria Bello, Robert Lupone, and Hugh Panaro. Fred Kareman died Feb. 25, 2007 of heart disease in New York. He was 77. He is survived by his wife, director Pamela Moller Kareman; a daughter, a son and a sister...as well as the numerous actors he taught and inspired.

Wilda Bennett was born on 19 December 1894 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for A Good Little Devil (1914), Love, Honor and Obey (1920) and Those Were the Days! (1940). She was married to Munro Whitmore (mining engineer), Anthony J. Wettach (riding master), Pepe de Albrew (dancer) and Robert Schable. She died on 20 December 1967 in Winnemucca, Nevada, USA.

Fred Cady was born in 1885 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Parade of Aquatic Champions (1945). He died in 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

James S. Appleby was born on 9 June 1924 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The World According to Garp (1982), Three Amigos! (1986) and The Stunt Man (1980). He died on 23 August 2010 in Palm Springs, California, USA.

Joe Romano is an award-winning New York director known for the 1995 feature film, Niagaravation. He has worked as an actor, as well as a soundtrack composer, most notably for his work with Gato Barbieri on the 1993 film Manhattan by Numbers. Joe also spent decades as an IATSE sound mixer. He worked on films like Ransom, The Real Blonde, Marvin's Room and the Basketball Diaries. He also has done more art-house fare, working alongside Jim Jost on All the Vermeers in New York, for example, as well as traveling extensively for films featuring many world-famous artists, architects, dancers and musicians, from Merideth Monk and Laurie Anderson to Louis Kahn and Kisho Kurokawa, to Elizabeth Streb and Louise Bourgeois. He has also worked on many seasons of episodic television shows like Law and Order, Sex and the City, Saturday Night Live, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, New York Undercover and Swift Justice as well as news shows like 60 Minutes, and 20/20. Concert films with Bob Dylan and Robyn Hitchcock, music videos with a repertoire of artists like Diana Ross, Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, as well as a range of high profile commercials for clients like Calvin Klein, Lexus, Karl Lagerfeld, and Clairol round out his extensive range of industry credits.

Debbie Weisman was born on 12 May 1953 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. She is a producer and director, known for Love and Action in Chicago (1999), Dream Power Radio (2018) and McCinsey's Island (1998). She is married to Straw Weisman. They have two children.

Andrew Hickey was born on 27 October 1974 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA.

Paul Bryant was born on 22 September 1933 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for Jazz Scene USA (1962). He died on 4 December 2009 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Norman Atkins was born on 5 August 1919 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Yeomen of the Guard (1957), For the People (1965) and Directions (1960). He died on 13 January 2002 in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.

Budd Hulick was born on 14 November 1905 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for International House (1933), The Inventors (1934) and Sky Symphony (1933). He was married to Elizabeth V. Sahner, Ruth Wanda Hart and Helen Welch. He died on 22 March 1961 in Riviera Beach, Florida, USA.

Pete Jacobs was born on 7 May 1899 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. He died in 1952.