People with funny/weird IMDb profile pictures

Born in Los Angeles, Gloria worked in show business as a child. Small roles in movies led Gloria to be cast as Jackie Gleason's daughter "Babs" on the television series "The Life of Riley" (1949). This show ran during the 1949-50 season. Her next television series was "Sky King" (1951), wherein she was cast as the niece, "Penny". This show ran from 1951 to 1959, and during that run Gloria began dating Dean Vernon, the show's sound engineer. This dating soon led to marriage. Gloria also played "Penny" in the comedy 'Hold That Line (1952)', which starred the Bowery Boys. Gloria retired from show business after "Sky King" ended, but she remained close to Kirby Grant until his death in 1985.

Timothy Carey had one of the most unusual careers of all Hollywood character actors, obtaining full cult status for his portrayals of the doomed, the psychotic and the plain crazy. Carey's career was an "only in America" type of story, and he retains his status as a great American original many years after his death.

As a 22-year-old acting school graduate, Carey made his film debut in 1951, as a corpse in a Clark Gable western, but it was his brief, uncredited part as Chino's Boy #1, a member of Lee Marvin's motorcycle gang The Beetles in The Wild One (1953) which made an impression, and was a harbinger of the unsavory characters to come.

Prone to improvising, it was the fearless Carey who came up with the idea of squirting beer in Marlon Brando's face, even though the great methods actor himself had expressed reservations about what Carey was up to.

Carey registered the same year as the bordello bouncer who threatens James Dean in East of Eden (1955), making his face, if not his name (he was uncredited in both parts), known to the mass audience.

Carey followed this up with superb acting jobs in 2 Stanley Kubrick films; The Killing (1956) and Paths of Glory (1957).

In the former he played the sociopath, Nikki Arane, who 's contracted to shoot a race horse, which he does with great glee. In Paths of Glory (1957), Carey had an atypically sympathetic role as French soldier, Pvt. Ferol, unjustly condemned to be shot to atone for the stupidities of his generals during World War I. However, it was in Bayou (1957) in which Carey reached what must be considered good apex as an actor: as the psychotic Cajun Ulysses, he crafted an indelible performance that went beyond the acceptable limits of cinema scenery-chewing. He became Ulysses, on-screen, the mad Cajun who epitomized evil, his insanity perfectly encapsulated in the psychotic jig Carey danced to more fully limn his character's madness. This classic exploitation film was re-cut and re-released as "Poor White Trash" (1961), and became a grind house Gone with the Wind (1939), playing to crowds throughout the decade.

With these performances, Carey's career as a Hollywod heavy was established, though many directors saw the talent lurking within his physically forbidding, 6'4" frame. His former co-star Brando directed him in One-Eyed Jacks (1961) (Brando's sole directorial effort), gunning down the shotgun-wielding heavy in the process. Francis Ford Coppola tried to hire him for The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), but Carey was working on his own project during the shooting of the first classic, and turned down the opportunity to appear in the second. He did agree to appear in Coppola's The Conversation (1974), yet another classic, but walked off the set during filming. John Cassavetes gave him a prominent role in Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) and cast him as the second lead in The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976).

Carey's penchant for improvising (in the execution scene for Paths of Glory (1957), his character was supposed to remain silent, but Carey began moaning, "I don't want to die," and Kubrick kept it in the film) coupled with his eccentric behavior, gave him a reputation as difficult to work with in the 1960s.

During that tumultuous decade, Carey spoofed his psycho screen image in Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), playing South Dakota Slim, who - like villains of old flickers - straps the second female lead to a buzz saw. As the heavy Lord High-and-Low, he menaced The Monkees in the Jack Nicholson-penned Head (1968). Nicholson was one of his biggest fans.

Carey's greatest role was in a film he produced, wrote and directed himself, The World's Greatest Sinner (1962), in which he played a rock 'n roll-singing evangelist who, in a burst of hubris, names himself "God," runs for President and is struck down by God himself at the film's climax.

As Clarence Hilliard, the insurance salesman who drops out of straight society, starts his own evangelical religion (using rock 'n roll music played by himself and a band featuring a woman saxophone player to whip up the crowds and manipulate the masses) and eventually runs for president, Carey fully realized his talent, a grind house, exploitation circuit John Gielgud assaying his Hamlet.

Filmed fitfully between 1958- 61 for a total cost of approximately $100-thousand (the shooting was sporadic, as the production kept running out of money), it remains one of the most notorious works in grind house cinema--even Elvis Presley himself asked Carey for a copy! (Carey, always in character as the Jester, refused The King's request).

Carey's last film was Echo Park (1985). A favorite actor of cineaste/video store clerk Quentin Tarantino, he tested for the role of crime boss Joe Cabot in Tarantino's debut film, Reservoir Dogs (1992), but the tyro director didn't think he was right for the role. Instead, he cast Lawrence Tierney (equally great in the movie heavy and eccentricity departments) and dedicated the film to Carey.

Timothy Carey taught acting in his later years. This true American original died of a stroke on May 11, 1994, age of 65. He's sorely missed, as his like will not be seen again.

Jean Ransome was born on 4 April 1890. She was an actress, known for One Step Beyond (1959) and Passport to Danger (1954). She died on 13 June 1985 in Dana Point, California, USA.

California native Imogene Williams (born in Los Angeles, raised in Sherman Oaks) was a student at The Pasadena Playhouse when an agent helped her get a contract with Warner Bros. Under her new name, Claudia Barrett, Warners gave her juicy secondary parts in several films, and freelance work with Republic Pictures earned her leads in a number of horse operas. In 1953 she starred in what would become her most noted picture, Robot Monster (1953), opposite George Nader. Released by third-string distributor Astor Pictures, the film is of an uncommonly low quality, and has generated a wide cult following with fans of bad and campy movies. Following this dubious project, Ms. Barret acted extensively on television for several years. After leaving show business entirely in the early 1960s, she spent 14 years working for AMPAS. More recently, she has kept busy as an artist, whose work is represented in galleries and has been commercially published.

This choir was organized in Long Beach, California in 1930 by William Ripley Dorr. By 1950, they had appeared in over 90 pictures. After WWII, the Choristers continued to be the most prolific boys choir in movie history. There was also a girl's division of St. Luke's Choir. The Choristers recorded four albums for Capitol Records, including the first album ever made by a boys choir: "Christmas Carols by the St. Luke's Choristers", "Seasonal Hymns by the Saint Luke's Choristers" and "Familiar Hymns by the Saint Luke's Choristers" featuring: soprano soloist: Philip Haynes and . They also performed weekly at St. Luke's Episcopal Church and nearly 400 concerts and broadcasts from 1930 to 1950. The illustrious St. Luke's Quartet comprised Marilyn Horne, Gloria Horne, Philip Haynes, and Bob James. Academy Award winner George Chakiris was also a Chorister. They often collaborated with Bronislau Kaper, the famed MGM musical director, on The Cheaters (1945) (featuring Philip Haynes-soloist), The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), and Sundown. They appeared in Boys Town (1938), Men of Boys Town (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), Since You Went Away (1944), Mrs. Parkington (1944), The Corn Is Green (1945), A Christmas Carol, The Firefly (1937), The Prince and the Pauper (1937), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Romeo and Juliet (1936), Marie Antoinette (1938), The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), and so many more.

The boys were carefully selected for their voices, natural musical ability, and good character, appearance and general desirability from a long waiting list. They were carefully trained to sing with light, pure tone. A large counter tenor section of older boys singing alto made it possible for the Choristers to sing in four parts with proper balance. They were know for having a large repertory including music from Gregorian Chant in Latin to traditional music in American, Russian, French, Italian, German, and Welsh. In "The Corn is Green" featuring Bette Davis they sang coal mining songs in the original Welsh. All members over 13 were SAG members and worked frequently both on camera and on soundtracks. Back in the days of silent pictures, Mr. Dorr's choirboys were in demand for their fine appearance and excellent conduct. The St. Luke's Choristers were not available for popular music or for pictures of questionable moral background.

Ray Milland became one of Paramount's most bankable and durable stars, under contract from 1934 to 1948, yet little in his early life suggested a career as a motion picture actor.

Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones in the Welsh town of Neath, Glamorgan, to Elizabeth Annie (Truscott) and Alfred Jones. He spent his youth in the pursuit of sports. He became an expert rider early on, working at his uncle's horse-breeding estate while studying at the King's College in Cardiff. At 21, he went to London as a member of the elite Household Cavalry (Guard for the Royal Family), undergoing a rigorous 19-months training, further honing his equestrian skills, as well as becoming adept at fencing, boxing and shooting. He won trophies, including the Bisley Match, with his unit's crack rifle team. However, after four years, he suddenly lost his means of financial support (independent income being a requirement as a Guardsman) when his stepfather discontinued his allowance. Broke, he tried his hand at acting in small parts on the London stage.

There are several stories as to how he derived his stage name. It is known, that during his teens he called himself "Mullane", using his stepfather's surname. He may later have suffused "Mullane" with "mill-lands", an area near his hometown. When he first appeared on screen in British films, he was billed first as Spike Milland, then Raymond Milland.

In 1929, Ray befriended the popular actress Estelle Brody at a party and, later that year, visited her on the set of her latest film, The Plaything (1929). While having lunch, they were joined by a producer who persuaded the handsome Welshman to appear in a motion picture bit part. Ray rose to the challenge and bigger roles followed, including the male lead in The Lady from the Sea (1929). The following year, he was signed by MGM and went to Hollywood, but was given little to work with, except for the role of Charles Laughton's ill-fated nephew in Payment Deferred (1932). After a year, Ray was out of his contract and returned to England.

His big break did not come until 1934 when he joined Paramount, where he was to remain for the better part of his Hollywood career. During the first few years, he served an apprenticeship playing second leads, usually as the debonair man-about-town, in light romantic comedies. He appeared with Burns and Allen in Many Happy Returns (1934), enjoyed third-billing as a British aristocrat in the Claudette Colbert farce The Gilded Lily (1935) and was described as "excellent" by reviewers for his role in the sentimental drama Alias Mary Dow (1935). By 1936, he had graduated to starring roles, first as the injured British hunter rescued on a tropical island by The Jungle Princess (1936), the film which launched Dorothy Lamour's sarong-clad career. After that, he was the titular hero of Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) and, finally, won the girl (rather than being the "other man") in Mitchell Leisen's screwball comedy Easy Living (1937). He also re-visited the tropics in Ebb Tide (1937), Her Jungle Love (1938) and Tropic Holiday (1938), as well as being one of the three valiant brothers of Beau Geste (1939).

In 1940, Ray was sent back to England to star in the screen adaptation of Terence Rattigan's French Without Tears (1940), for which he received his best critical reviews to date. He was top-billed (above John Wayne) running a ship salvage operation in Cecil B. DeMille's lavish Technicolor adventure drama Reap the Wild Wind (1942), besting Wayne in a fight - much to the "Duke's" personal chagrin - and later wrestling with a giant octopus. Also that year, he was directed by Billy Wilder in a charming comedy, The Major and the Minor (1942) (co-starred with Ginger Rogers), for which he garnered good notices from Bosley Crowther of the New York Times. Ray then played a ghost hunter in The Uninvited (1944), and the suave hero caught in a web of espionage in Fritz Lang's thriller Ministry of Fear (1944).

On the strength of his previous role as "Major Kirby", Billy Wilder chose to cast Ray against type in the ground-breaking drama The Lost Weekend (1945) as dipsomaniac writer "Don Birnam". Ray gave the defining performance of his career, his intensity catching critics, used to him as a lightweight leading man, by surprise. Crowther commented "Mr. Milland, in a splendid performance, catches all the ugly nature of a 'drunk', yet reveals the inner torment and degradation of a respectable man who knows his weakness and his shame" (New York Times, December 3, 1945). Arrived at the high point of his career, Ray Milland won the Oscar for Best Actor, as well as the New York Critic's Award. Rarely given such good material again, he nonetheless featured memorably in many more splendid films, often exploiting the newly discovered "darker side" of his personality: as the reporter framed for murder by Charles Laughton's heinous publishing magnate in The Big Clock (1948); as the sophisticated, manipulating art thief "Mark Bellis" in the Victorian melodrama So Evil My Love (1948) (for which producer Hal B. Wallis sent him back to England); as a Fedora-wearing, Armani-suited "Lucifer", trawling for the soul of an honest District Attorney in Alias Nick Beal (1949); and as a traitorous scientist in The Thief (1952), giving what critics described as a "sensitive" and "towering" performance. In 1954, Ray played calculating ex-tennis champ "Tony Wendice", who blackmails a former Cambridge chump into murdering his wife, in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954). He played the part with urbane sophistication and cold detachment throughout, even in the scene of denouement, calmly offering a drink to the arresting officers.

With Lisbon (1956), Ray Milland moved into another direction, turning out several off-beat, low-budget films with himself as the lead, notably High Flight (1957), The Safecracker (1958) and Panic in Year Zero! (1962). At the same time, he cheerfully made the transition to character parts, often in horror and sci-fi outings. In accordance with his own dictum of appearing in anything that had "any originality", he worked on two notable pictures with Roger Corman: first, as a man obsessed with catalepsy in The Premature Burial (1962); secondly, as obsessed self-destructive surgeon "Dr. Xavier" in X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)-the Man with X-Ray Eyes, a film which, despite its low budget, won the 1963 Golden Asteroid in the Trieste Festival for Science Fiction.

As the years went on, Ray gradually disposed of his long-standing toupee, lending dignity through his presence to many run-of-the-mill television films, such as Cave in! (1983) and maudlin melodramas like Love Story (1970). He guest-starred in many anthology series on television and had notable roles in Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1969) and the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) (as Quorum member Sire Uri). He also enjoyed a brief run on Broadway, starring as "Simon Crawford" in "Hostile Witness" (1966), at the Music Box Theatre.

In his private life, Ray was an enthusiastic yachtsman, who loved fishing and collecting information by reading the Encyclopedia Brittanica. In later years, he became very popular with interviewers because of his candid spontaneity and humour. In the same self-deprecating vein he wrote an anecdotal biography, "Wide-Eyed in Babylon", in 1976. A film star, as well as an outstanding actor, Ray Milland died of cancer at the age of 79 in March 1986.

A big, brawny villain of many 1940s and 1950s films, Ted de Corsia was an actor in touring companies and on radio before making a memorable film debut as the killer in The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Although he occasionally played such sympathetic roles as a judge or prison warden, de Corsia's imposing size, tough New York street demeanor - he was born and raised in Brooklyn - and gravelly voice assured him steady work playing murderous street thugs, outlaw gang leaders or organized-crime bosses. One of his best-remembered roles was as the head of a murder-for-hire gang who turns state's evidence in the Humphrey Bogart crime thriller The Enforcer (1951).

Barton MacLane graduated from Wesleyan University, where he displayed a notable aptitude for sports, in particular football and basketball. Not surprisingly, his physical prowess led to an early role in The Quarterback (1926) with Richard Dix. MacLane once commented that, as an actor, he needed to have the physical strength to tear the bad guys "from limb to limb", if necessary. Ironically, it was usually Barton himself who was destined to be at the end of a hiding (when not getting shot, instead), typically as snarling henchmen, outlaws and other assorted dubious or abrasive types throughout most of his 40-year acting career. In fact, Barton became so typecast, that his name was for a time used proverbially, to generally describe a shouting, hard-nosed ruffian.

After training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, MacLane joined a stock company in Brooklyn. In 1927 he had his first part on Broadway, a brief moment as an assistant district attorney, in the melodrama "The Trial of Mary Dugan". He then played a small featured role as a police officer in "Subway Express" (1929-30), a drama enacted in the interior of a subway car. In mid-1932 MacLane tried his hand at writing his own starring vehicle for the stage, entitled "Rendezvous". While the play closed after just 21 performances, it led to a contract with Warner Brothers.

Barton had already appeared in bit roles for Paramount at their Astoria Studios, including The Marx Brothers' debut film The Cocoanuts (1929). He portrayed mobster Brad Collins in 'G' Men (1935) (with James Cagney), which set the tone for most of his future assignments. Brawny, with squinty eyes and a rasping voice, MacLane was the ideal surly tough guy, particularly suitable for westerns and the type of films noir Warner Brothers excelled at. He was often cast as cops, be they bent or honest. Some of his most representative performances include gangster Al Kruger in Bullets or Ballots (1936), which won him some of the best critical notices of his career; outlaw Jack Slade in Western Union (1941); crooked construction boss Pat McCormick, who gets beaten up by Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt over past-due wages in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); hard-nosed cops Detective Dundy in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Lt. Reece in Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950). MacLane, on loan to Universal, also had a starring role in Prison Break (1938) as an innocent tuna fisherman who is framed for murder. He was prominent as a tough but sympathetic cop, foil to sleuthing girl reporter Glenda Farrell in the "Torchy Blaine" series of the mid- to late 1930s. In the 1960s Barton began to cultivate a good-guy image as Marshal Frank Caine in the NBC western series Outlaws (1960) as well as showing up in a small recurring role as Air Force Gen. Martin Peterson in I Dream of Jeannie (1965).

Barton was married to the actress Charlotte Wynters, who appeared with him in six of his films. When not on the set, the couple spent time on their 2000-acre cattle ranch in Madera County, California. For his work in television, Barton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Actor, composer, songwriter, guitarist and author. He moved from Broadway acting (1928-1932) into films, touring America with his wife and daughter, and did some recordings. He was the executive producer at the El Camino Playhouse in California. Joining ASCAP in 1953, his chief musical collaborator was Perry Botkin. His popular-song compositions include "Good Ship Lalapaloo" and "Two Shillelagh O'Sullivan".

John Beal was born James Andrew Bliedung on August 13, 1909, in Joplin, Missouri. The son of a department store owner and concert pianist, he began acting in school and church plays and decided to pursue it as a career following his B.S. degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. The more marquee-friendly stage moniker of "John Beal" came from the names of two close college friends that same year.

Following repertory theatre work, he began his Broadway run as an understudy and walk-on before earning his first lead in the short-lived play "Wild Waves" in 1932. Following excellent notices in the hit play "Another Language," John repeated his showcase role in the film version of Another Language (1933) opposite Helen Hayes. Declining a Hollywood contract at the time, he returned to Broadway in 1933 for "She Loves Me Not". It wasn't long, however, before he was front-and-center again in films and showing great promise in RKO movie parts opposite Katharine Hepburn in both The Little Minister (1934) and Break of Hearts (1935), the title role in Laddie (1935) co-starring Gloria Stuart, and in the prime role of Marius in the Charles Laughton/Fredric March version of Les Misérables (1935).

Briefly signed by MGM, in which his best role was as Gladys George's son in the studio's classic, tear-stained drama Madame X (1937), WWII took the wind out of his career sails, serving as a staff sergeant in the motion picture unit of the Army Air Force. Theatre, radio and film would take up much of his time in the post-WWII years. Prestigious stage productions over time included "The Voice of the Turtle," "Lend an Ear," "The Teahouse of the August Moon," "Our Town," "The Long Christmas Dinner," "The Front Page," "To Be Young Gifted and Black" and "The Little Foxes". Excellent performances on TV in "A Trip to Bountiful," "Twelve Angry Men" and "The Long Way Home" added flavor and distinction to his later career.

Sporadic film roles included I Am the Law (1938), The Cat and the Canary (1939), One Thrilling Night (1942), My Six Convicts (1952), The Vampire (1957), The Sound and the Fury (1959), The Bride (1973), Amityville 3-D (1983), and his last, The Firm (1993), in which he played a bearded villain. He was never able again to achieve his early cinematic prowess of the early 1930s. In the 1960s Beal made a dent in daytime soap dramas, in particular his Judge Vail in the cult vampire series Dark Shadows (1966).

Long married (1934-1986) to actress Helen Craig and the father of two daughters, he focused on his passion for portrait painting in later years. Beal died in 1997 at age 87 in Santa Cruz, California, from the lingering effects of a stroke.

William Claude Rains, born in the Clapham area of London, was the son of the British stage actor Frederick Rains. The younger Rains followed, making his stage debut at the age of eleven in "Nell of Old Drury." Growing up in the world of theater, he saw not only acting up close but the down-to-earth business end as well, progressing from a page boy to a stage manager during his well-rounded learning experience. Rains decided to come to America in 1913 and the New York theater, but with the outbreak of World War I the next year, he returned to serve with a Scottish regiment in Europe. He remained in England, honing his acting talents, bolstered with instruction patronized by the founder of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Herbert Beerbohm Tree. It was not long before his talent garnered him acknowledgment as one of the leading stage actors on the London scene. His one and only silent film venture was British with a small part for him, the forgettable -- Build Thy House (1920).

In the meantime, Rains was in demand as acting teacher as well, and he taught at the Royal Academy. Young and eager Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud were perhaps his best known students. Rains did return to New York in 1927 to begin what would be nearly 20 Broadway roles. While working for the Theater Guild, he was offered a screen test with Universal Pictures in 1932. Rains had a unique and solid British voice-deep, slightly rasping -- but richly dynamic. And as a man of small stature, the combination was immediately intriguing. Universal was embarking on its new-found role as horror film factory, and they were looking for someone unique for their next outing, The Invisible Man (1933). Rains was the very man. He took the role by the ears, churning up a rasping malice and volume in his voice to achieve a bone chilling persona of the disembodied mad doctor. He could also throw out a high-pitched maniac laugh that would make you leave the lights on before going to bed. True to Universal's formula mentality, it cast him in similar roles through 1934 with some respite in more diverse film roles -- and further relieved by Broadway roles (1933, 1934) for the remainder of his contract. By 1936, he was at Warner Bros. with its ambitious laundry list of literary epics in full swing. His acting was superb, and his eyes could say as much as his voice. And his mouth could take on both a forbidding scowl and the warmest of smiles in an instant. His malicious, gouty Don Luis in Anthony Adverse (1936) was inspired. After a shear lucky opportunity to dispatch his young wife's lover, Louis Hayward, in a duel, he triumphs over her in a scene with derisive, bulging eyes and that high pitched laugh -- with appropriate shadow and light backdrop -- that is unforgettable.

He was kept very busy through the remainder of the 1930s with a mix of benign and devious historical, literary, and contemporary characters always adapting a different nuance -- from murmur to growl -- of that voice to become the person. He culminated the decade with his complex, ethics-tortured Senator "Joe" Paine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). That year he became an American citizen. Into the 1940s, Rains had risen to perhaps unique stature: a supporting actor who had achieved A-list stardom -- almost in a category by himself. His some 40 films during that period ranged from subtle comedy to psychological drama with a bit of horror revisited; many would be golden era classics. He was the firm but thoroughly sympathetic Dr. Jaquith in Now, Voyager (1942) and the smoothly sardonic but engaging Capt. Louis Renault -- perhaps his best known role -- in Casablanca (1942). He was the surreptitiously nervous and malignant Alexander Sebastian in Notorious (1946) and the egotistical and domineering conductor Alexander Hollenius in Deception (1946). He was the disfigured Phantom of the Opera (1943) as well. He played opposite the challenging Bette Davis in three movies through the decade and came out her equal in acting virtuosity. He was nominated four times for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar -- but incredibly never won. With the 1950s the few movies left to an older Rains were countered by venturing into new acting territory -- television. His haunted, suicidal writer Paul DeLambre in the mountaineering adventure The White Tower (1950), though a modest part, was perhaps the most vigorously memorable film role of his last years. He made a triumphant Broadway return in 1951's "Darkness at Noon."

Rains embraced the innovative TV playhouse circuit with nearly 20 roles. As a favored 'Alfred Hitchcock' alumnus, he starred in five Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) suspense dramas into the 1960s. And he did not shy away from episodic TV either with some memorable roles that still reflected the power of Claude Rains as consummate actor -- for many, first among peers with that hallowed title.

Graham Chapman was born on January 8, 1941 in Leicester, England while a German air raid was in progress. Graham's father was a chief police inspector and probably inspired the constables Graham often portrayed later in comedy sketches. Graham studied medicine in college and earned an M.D., but he practiced medicine for only a few years.

At Cambridge, he took part in a series of comedy revues and shortly after completing his medical studies at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Graham realized what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to perform comedy. In 1969, Graham along with University friends John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and American Terry Gilliam formed their own comedy group called Monty Python. Their BBC TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969), which aired a short while later was a an instant hit. Their often self-referential style of humor was delightfully original but completely accessible to most audiences in the UK.

Before the show appeared on public television in the US, many people assumed that Americans would find Monty Python much too British to consider it funny. But PBS never had a larger audience than when stations began to air it during the early 1970s. The classic routines have since become standard college humor.

So enduring was the Python humor that fans know entire sketches such as "The Pet Shop," "Nudge-Nudge, Wink-Wink," "Argument Clinic," and "Penguin on the Telly." Graham was a standout of the group with his tall, blond profile and his zany characters (one of the more memorable was Colonel Muriel Volestrangler, a vaguely military-type character who would stop a sketch because it was "much too silly").

Graham was openly gay long before it was socially acceptable, and was open about his long-term relationship with writer David Sherlock, who lived with him for 24 years. He even adopted and raised a teenage runaway named John Tomiczek. Graham played the title role in the movie Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) as well as King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). By the late 1970s, most of the Python members were pursuing independent movie projects and the group was slowly fading into obscurity after their last successful effort Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983). Also in 1983, Graham co-wrote and starred in the movie Yellowbeard (1983), which received negative reviews.

In 1988, Graham began working on another series when his health began to decline. A longtime alcoholic, who suffered liver damage before he stopped drinking for good in 1977, Graham began to have trouble concentrating at work. In November 1988, a routine visit to a dentist revealed a malignant tumor on one of his tonsils which was surgically removed. A visit to the doctor a few months later revealed another tumor on his spine which had to be removed which confined him to a wheelchair. During most of 1989, he underwent a series of surgical operations and radiation therapy but for every tumor that was found and removed, another would form either along his spine or in his throat. By July 1989, his cancer was declared terminal and that he would not survive the year, yet he continued to pursue treatments which included chemotherapy. In his wheelchair, he attended the September 1989 taping for the Monty Python's 20th anniversary special. But on October 1, he was hospitalized after a massive stroke which turned into a hemorrhage. He died at the Maidstone hospital at age 48 on October 4, 1989 from complications of the stroke as well as throat and spinal cancer.

Comedian David Herman was born on February 20, 1967, in New York, New York. He graduated from LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in 1985. He landed a role as one of the eight original cast members on the late night Fox sketch comedy show Mad TV (1995). After spending two full seasons on the show, he left, as did most of the original cast. In 1997, he began doing voicework on the Fox animated sitcom King of the Hill (1997), where he met writer/director/actor Mike Judge. Judge was so impressed with Herman he cast him in a supporting role as Michael Bolton in his critically acclaimed, cult classic 1999 comedy, Office Space (1999). Also in 1999, he began doing voices for the now-canceled Fox animated sitcom Futurama (1999). He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he supplied voices for King of the Hill (1997) and has had some supporting roles in movies.

Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum was born October 22, 1952 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of four children of Shirley (Temeles), a radio broadcaster who also ran an appliances firm, and Harold L. Goldblum, a doctor. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was of Austrian Jewish ancestry.

Goldblum began his career on the New York stage after moving to the city at age seventeen. Possessing his own unique style of delivery, Goldblum made an impression on moviegoers with little more than a single line in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977), when he fretted about having forgotten his mantra. Goldblum went on to appear in the remake Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and co-starred with Ben Vereen in the detective series Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980) before a high-profile turn in the classic ensemble film The Big Chill (1983).

The quirky actor turned up in the suitably quirky film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), which became a 1980s cult classic, starred in the modern-day film noir Into the Night (1985), then went on to a breakthrough role in the David Cronenberg remake The Fly (1986), which also featured actress Geena Davis, Goldblum's wife from 1987-1990 and co-star in two additional films: Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) and Julien Temple's Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).

Goldblum was the rather unlikely star of some of the biggest blockbusters of the 1990s: Steven Spielberg's dinosaur adventure Jurassic Park (1993) and its sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), as well as the alien invasion film Independence Day (1996). These films saw Goldblum playing the type of intellectual characters he has become associated with. More recently, roles have included critically acclaimed turns in Igby Goes Down (2002) and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). In 2009, he returned to television to star in his second crime series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001).

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden and is the eldest son of famed actor Stellan Skarsgård. Among his siblings are actors Gustaf Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, and Valter Skarsgård. For most of his formative years, his father was an acclaimed actor in Europe but had not yet achieved the international fame that came after his star turn in Breaking the Waves (1996). Young Alexander was raised under modest circumstances in a working-class Swedish neighborhood as his parents wanted their children to have as normal an upbringing as possible. He began his acting career at the age of eight and continued working in films and on Swedish television until he turned sixteen and decided acting was not the career for him. Life under a microscope lost its charm and perhaps due to the influence of My Skarsgård, his physician mother, he stopped working as an actor, to continue his education.

Instead of continuing college, at the age of nineteen, he entered compulsory military service (military conscription). He used the time to contemplate his future. He studied at the Leeds Metropolitan University then moved to New York where he enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College to study theatre. After six months in New York, a romantic entanglement lured him back to Sweden but the relationship was short-lived. Despite having a broken heart, Alexander decided to stay in Sweden and, with a bit of life experience under his belt, began his acting career again. He appeared in a number of Swedish productions and became a star in his native country but was interested in broadening his horizons and working outside of Sweden. A visit to Los Angeles landed him both an agent and a part in the Ben Stiller movie, Zoolander (2001). After that Alexander returned to Sweden where he continued honing his acting in film and theatrical productions including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Bloody Wedding". He also co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, To Kill A Child (2003), (To Kill a Child), which was shown at both the Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals.

His first big break was with the miniseries Generation Kill (2008). Alexander spent seven months broiling in the desert of Namibia but it was well worth it. His portrayal of Marine Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert astonished critics and audiences, alike. Thanks to the writer's strike, after completing Generation Kill (2008), he was cast in the role of "Eric Northman", a 1,000-year-old Viking vampire on the hit series, True Blood (2008). The series was created by Alan Ball, the man behind Six Feet Under (2001). True Blood (2008) was adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse' novels by Charlaine Harris' and rode to success on quality scripts, great acting and the public's obsession with the vampire genre. In addition to True Blood (2008), which begins its third season in 2010, Alexander has a number of film projects in the works including the remake of Straw Dogs (2011), Melancholia (2011), written and directed by Lars von Trier, action Sci-Fi film, Battleship (2012), and The East (2013), directed by Zal Batmanglij.

Paul E. Burns was born on 26 January 1881 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Smoky River Serenade (1947), The Pilgrim Lady (1946) and Son of Paleface (1952). He died on 17 May 1967 in Van Nuys, California, USA.

Stephanie Blackmore was born on 13 April 1948 in the USA. She is an actress, known for Dallas (1978), Vega$ (1978) and Remington Steele (1982).

Born in Manhattan, son of big band leader Glenn Williams and Marilyn Williams, a former June Taylor dancer. Studied music and theatre at SUNY Oswego where he graduated in 1973 along with classmate Christine Estabrook ("Desperate Housewives"). Studied acting at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco in the mid-1970s where his classmates included Anna Deavere Smith and screenwriter Ken Hixon.

Mr. Egan was the tough-talking New York City police officer whose exploits inspired the Academy Award winning film The French Connection (1971). With partner Sonny Grosso, he managed a 112-pound heroin bust in 1962, one of the biggest in New York's history. Mr. Egan was nicknamed 'Popeye' and was played in The French Connection (1971) by Gene Hackman. Mr. Egan played the role of his own boss. Mr. Egan, who retired to Fort Lauderdale, FL, in 1984, died "the toughest cop in New York", said Cheryl Kyle-Little, who shared a home with him. Kyle-Little said Mr. Egan was working on a movie deal at the time of his death.

Robert Phillips was born on 10 April 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Dirty Dozen (1967), Hour of the Gun (1967) and The Car (1977). He died on 5 November 2018.

Kathleen Case was born on 31 July 1933 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress, known for Human Desire (1954), Running Wild (1955) and Highway Patrol (1955). She died on 22 July 1979 in North Hollywood, California, USA.

Victor Millan was born on 1 August 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Touch of Evil (1958), Scarface (1983) and Giant (1956). He died on 3 April 2009 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

Kim Parker was born on 3 June 1932 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress, known for Fiend Without a Face (1958), Stock Car (1955) and The Good Companions (1957). She was married to Paul Carpenter and Terry J. Howell. She died on 23 December 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Harry Cording was born on 26 April 1891 in Wellington, Somerset, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Narcotic (1933) and Gypsy Wildcat (1944). He was married to Margaret Fiero. He died on 1 September 1954 in Sun Valley, California, USA.

Sam Laws was born on 26 January 1924 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for Truck Turner (1974), Project X (1987) and Darktown Strutters (1975). He died on 16 March 1990 in New York City, New York, USA.