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Soon enough, Arnold landed parts on soap operas, appearing from 1987-89 on “Ryan’s Hope” (1975-1989) and from 1989-1990 on “All My Children” (1970- ), both on ABC. For her portrayal of the troubled teen Zena, on “Ryan’s Hope,” she earned an Emmy nomination at age 16. She also appeared in bit parts in New York-based TV shows, such as a 1989 episode of NBC’s “The Cosby Show” entitled “Theo’s Women,” and in a first-year episode of NBC’s “Law & Order” in 1990.

With years of experience in several mediums already under her belt, the 21-year-old made the big move to Los Angeles. In just two months she won the part of Pam, best friend of Martin Lawrence’s girlfriend, played by old “Horrors” castmate Tisha Campbell, on the hit TV series, “Martin” (Fox, 1992-97). A regular for the next five years, the sassy but sweet Arnold was always ready with a quick comeback, dissing on Lawrence as good as he gave.

After the show’s successful run, she picked up bit parts here and there in smaller features such as “Fakin’ Da Funk” in 1997, and in the HBO TV movie, “Perfect Prey” in 1998. She appeared on the WB’s “The Jamie Foxx Show” in 1998 and an episode of the USA Network’s “Pacific Blue” and ABC’s “The Norm Show,” both in 1999. On the big screen, she returned to Martin Lawrence territory with the monster hit, “Big Mama’s House” in 2000. After more guest roles in shows such as “Soul Food” (Showtime) in 2002 and the short-lived “Listen Up,” (CBS) opposite Jason Alexander and Malcolm Jamal-Warner in 2004, she landed another regular role, that of Nicole Barnes, on the UPN sitcom, “One on One,” beginning in 2003. Despite consistent TV work , the stage still beckoned. Arnold performed the lead role in the touring musical, “If These Hips Could Talk” in 2004.

The busy actress also found time to start her own clothing and accessory line, China Moon Rags, which was followed by another line, Black Hollywood, featuring likenesses of such prominent African-American entertainers as Lena Horn and Ella Fitzgerald. Arnold struck TV gold again when, in 2005, she won the part of Rochelle Rock, mother of the title character in “Everybody Hates Chris,” the semi-autobiographical comedy from comedian Chris Rock. The show was an instant critical and popular hit.

Arnold joined the ensemble cast of “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful comedy about four down-and-out men (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood. Of the women in the film, only Arnold stood out with her performance, playing the feisty and demanding wife of a plumber and wannabe novelist (Lawrence). Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, “Wild Hogs” dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

• Born:
  on 06/28/1971 in Jamaica, Queens, New York
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Singer

Macy settled in NYC and found success in off-Broadway shows, including a Mamet-directed “Twelfth Night” (1980-81) and A R Gurney’s “The Dining Room” (1982), and he and Mamet also co-founded the Atlantic Theatre Company, where Macy has both acted and directed. By the time the actor finally reached Broadway portraying Howie Newsome in the 1988 all-star revival of “Our Town”, Mamet had already used him in small roles for his “House of Games” (1987, Mamet’s feature directing debut) and “Things Change” (1988) and would soon promote him to a major part as a doomed police detective in “Homicide” (1991). After starring onstage as a college professor accused of sexual harassment by a female student in Mamet’s “Oleanna” (1992), he reprised the role in Mamet’s static 1994 film version opposite Rebecca Pidgeon (the director’s second wife), the only time he has played a film lead to date. Despite fine turns as the uptight vice principal in “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1995) and a recurring role as the forever put-upon hospital chief of staff on NBC’s “ER” (from its 1994 pilot to his bare-bottomed exit in the series live premiere episode in 1998), Macy did not hit his stride until “Fargo”. The career surge that followed his battle of wits with Frances McDormand’s pregnant police chief more than justified his threats to kill the Coens’ dogs if they didn’t give him the role.

Macy may see “Howdy Doody” when he looks in the mirror, but since ‘Fargo” the ubiquitous actor has become in his own words “a big fat star,” playing frightened, fumbling men on the brink, fighting to maintain a grip as events overwhelm them. “I’m completely hooked into the imploding WASP role,” he informed the Los Angeles Times (December 20, 1998). “Even in the New York stage I did that a lot. I think there’s a great part of me that’s actually an imploding WASP.” Macy made his action-adventure debut I 1997 as a gun-toting presidential adviser supporting Harrison Ford in “Air Force One” but also saw him deliver a touching performance as the cuckolded assistant director to a pornographic filmmaker in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” (both 1997), not to mention his small role in “Wag the Dog” (co-scripted by Mamet). The following year he gave a poignant portrayal as the repressed TV father in “Pleasantville,” stuck in a black-and-white world while everyone around him was blossoming in color, and was equally splendid in “A Civil Action” as the harried legal accountant, whose thankless job it was to go to the bankers and keep asking for more money while John Travolta’s obsession with one case threatened to bankrupt the practice. He rounded out the year by stepping into Martin Balsam’s shoes as private dick Milton Arbogast in Gus Van Sant’s unnecessary shot-for-shot color remake of Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho.”

Macy was his usual droll self as the unlikely superhero The Shoveler in “Mystery Men,” a sharply-written comedy compromised by its length, and was even better reuniting with Paul Thomas Anderson for “Magnolia” (both 1999), portraying damaged former “Quiz Kid” Donnie Smith, reduced to a routine job in an electronics store and hoping that some pricey dental work will revive his love life. Despite his ability to attract the big bucks in mainstream projects, he still made time for independents like “Happy, Texas” (1999, as a gay sheriff) and the romantic drama “Panic,” which debuted at Sundance in 2000. Macy co-wrote one of his best parts of 1999, that of a movie critic who turns out to be a philandering, larcenous murderer in TNT’s “A Slight Case of Murder”. His fourth TV-movie scripted with “Mamet Mafia” mate Schachter cast him opposite wife Felicity Huffman, and he got to spend even more time with the missus by taking a recurring role as a ratings expert on her ABC series “Sports Night” during the 1999-2000 season. He was back with Mamet for “State and Main” (2000), playing a libidinous Hollywood director on location in Vermont. He also acted that year in a London revival of “American Buffalo”, this time taking the larger, and older role of Teach.

In 2002, Macy starred as Riley in a Sundance All-Star lineup that included Patricia Clarkson, Sam Rockwell and Luis Guzman in the light-hearted caper comedy “Welcome to Collinwood,” directed by the Russo brothers. The actor added a welcome dose of comic verse to the reverent historical film “Seabiscuit” (2003), the true-life story of the Depression Era racehorse-turned-folk hero, as the fast-talking, rumor-spreading sports announcer “Tick-Tock” McLaughlin. Along with his successes in film, the actor also scored on television for his portrayal of Bill Porter, a man afflicted with cerebral palsy who is determined to become a door-to-door salesman in the TNT biopic “Door to Door” (2002), which Macy also co-wrote with Schachter, who directed the film. In 2003 Macy took home two Emmy awards for his work on the project as both lead actor and co-screenwriter, and as a nice bookend for the year turned in his ultimate “loser” performance in the off-beat film “The Cooler,” playing Bernie Lootz, a man so overwhelmingly unlucky he’s employed by a Las Vegas casino to spread his infectious misfortune on winning gamblers until his luck changes after he begins a torrid affair with a gorgeous cocktail waitress (Maria Bello), threatening his status at the casino.

Returning to television, Macy starred opposite David Arquette in the Showtime telepic “Stealing Sinatra” (2003) as the not-so-clever culprits who held Frank Sinatra’s son for ransom in a real-life kidnapping case from the 1960s, then he reunited professionally with Huffman on the Showtime miniseries “Out of Order” (2003) about the personal lives of married Hollywood screenwriters, and joined his wife and Tom Selleck for the 2004 CBS miniseries “Reversible Errors,” a legal potboiler based on the Scott Turow novel. In 2004, Macy rejoined David Mamet for the writer-director’s edgy political thriller “Spartan” in what at first appeared to be a subdued, walk-on role and almost walks away with the entire film. The actor was again at the top of his game in the equally gimmicky and inspired thriller “Cellular” (2004) spinning his world-weary persona into a seemingly routine, by-the-books veteran police officer who dreams of opening a day spa upon retirement, only to prove that the old dog does have a few new tricks in him when he’s drawn into a bizarre kidnapping case.

After penning and starring as the mute superintendent of a ramshackle apartment building who becomes the unwilling guardian of a little girl with an attitude in the telepic “The Wool Cap” (TNT, 2004), directed by Schacter from a story originally by Jackie Gleason, he then played Dirk Pitt associate Admiral James Sandecker in the adventure “Sahara” (2005), the Paramount Pictures adaptation of the bestselling Clive Custler novel. Macy once again reunited with old friend David Mamet for a film version of the playwright’s 1982 play “Edmund” (2005), playing the title character, a bland businessman slouching through a boring job and drab marriage when he encounters a mysterious fortune teller who sends him on a horrifying, but darkly funny descent into a modern urban hell. In “Thank You for Smoking” (2006), Macy was a Vermont senator trying to take down a tobacco lobbyist whose gift for spin makes him a comfortable living defending the rights of smokers and cigarette makers against an über-puritanical culture.

After voicing characters in the animated features “Doogal” (2006) and “Everyone’s Hero” (2006), Macy joined an all-star cast for the docudrama “Bobby” (2006), first time director Emilio Estevez’s engaging look at the 16 hours prior to Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as seen through the eyes of several guests and employees. Macy joined the ensemble cast of “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful comedy about four down-and-out men (Macy, John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood. Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, “Wild Hogs” dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

• Also Credited As:
  Anonymous, Bill H. Macy, W. H. Macy, William Hall Macy Jr
• Born:
  on 03/13/1950 in Miami, Florida
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Voice actor, Director, Screenwriter, Acting teacher, Musician, Playwright

The controversial Lawrence’s insightful edginess often raised his sitcom work above the level of stereotype, enough so that the NAACP honored “Martin” with its Image Award, and the series allowed him huge improvisational freedom, as well as the opportunity to play multiple roles like urban sister Sheneneh, a character no one at the network “got”, who became a fixture after eliciting side-splitting laughter. Following in the footsteps of Richard Pryor and Murphy, he branched into comedy albums with “Talkin’ Shit” (1993) and concert films with “You So Crazy” (1994), both mining the blue humor of his stand-up act. He raised his profile higher co-starring with Will Smith in Michael Bay’s feature directorial debut “Bad Boys” (1995), a cop-buddy movie that brought to mind a re-working of “The Odd Couple,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Beverly Hills Cop.” He then bit off perhaps more than he should have chewed with his own directing debut, “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” (1996), which he also co-wrote, starred in, supervised music for and executive produced. Critics dismissed the effort, a sort of “Martin” meets his “Fatal Attraction”, and the workaholic began to show real cracks in the armor as the strain of doing movies simultaneously with a TV series started to show in his erratic behavior.

Lawrence’s marriage and series both ended about this time with his real wife claiming to be frightened for her own and her daughter’s safety and his TV girlfriend alleging sexual harassment. Yet the last product of his mad schedule, the feature “Nothing to Lose” (1997), despite not exploiting its initial premise to the hilt, was a workman-like buddy comedy co-starring Tim Robbins as a man who roars off into the desert with his carjacker after seeing his wife in bed with his boss. Lawrence took some time off to “chill” and was back in two features in 1999, reuniting with Murphy as convicts for “Life” and playing a diamond thief pretending to be a cop in “Blue Streak”. The former, though not the hit the pair would have liked, showcased (with the help of Rick Baker’s make-up) their ability to age with total credibility over a half century, while the latter did almost equal business despite showing Lawrence to less advantage.

He then roared back to the forefront in the blockbusting “Big Momma’s House” (2000) as an FBI agent who must don fat suit (a la Murphy in “The Nutty Professor”) to impersonate the 300-pound woman of the title. The breathtaking success of its first week (in excess of $25 million) proved one should never underestimate the sight of a popular star in drag. His follow-up project, “What’s the Worst that Could Happen?” (2001), pitted him against Danny DeVito in a battle to see whose evilness would triumph. The taunting title of the film proved prolific as “What’s the Worst that Could Happen” flopped at the box office. Next Lawrence starred in the self-explanatory comedy “Black Knight,” (2001) which also did poorly. In 2002, Lawrence took his comedy stint to the big screen. The movie “Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat,” “poked-fun” at the many events that brought him unfavorable exposure—even as his public behavior fueled even more controversy.

The following year, Lawrence joined Steve Zahn for the comedy feature “National Security,” a buddy flick about two unlikely cops-turned-security guards, before reuniting with Will Smith and director Michael Bay for the uninspired retread sequel “Bad Boys II” (2003). Lawrence lightened his image with the broad, heartwarming comedy “Rebound” (2005), playing top-notch basketball coach looking for a second chance with a middle school team of misfits after being banned from the college level for his bad temper. After voicing Boog, a 900-pound domesticated grizzly bear with no survival skills trying to survive the wild in the animated “Open Season” (2006), Lawrence once again donned a fat suit for the unfunny, unfortunate and inevitable sequel, “Big Momma’s House 2” (2006).

Lawrence went on to costar in “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful ensemble comedy about four down-and-out men (Lawrence, John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood. Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, “Wild Hogs” dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

• Also Credited As:
  Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence
• Born:
  on 04/16/1965 in Franfurt, Germany
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Comedian, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Music supervisor, Gas station attendant

After leaving prison, Allen secured a day job at an ad agency while working the comedy circuit at night. The next year, he started his own production company, Boxing Cat Productions, to produce graphic arts, design and commercials. By 1988, Allen was appearing on cable comedy specials, headlining the first of his own, “Men Are Pigs,” on Showtime in 1990. He had also impressed a Disney talent scout. The studio offered him leads in pilots based on the popular films “Turner & Hooch” and “Dead Poets Society” but Allen held out for a show based on his stand-up persona. His early material had been sexual and scatological in nature but he struck pay dirt when he began lampooning the kind of men’s movement thinking popularized by the best-seller “Iron John.” Allen’s material was well showcased by his sitcom as he played a know-it-all handyman with his own TV show, “Tool Time,” who was actually an overreaching klutz at home. With cute kids and a bright and beautiful wife (well played by Patricia Richardson).

After an appearance in a little-seen comedy performance film, Allen made his screen acting debut in Disney’s holiday-oriented “The Santa Clause” (1994), in which he helps out an ailing Saint Nicholas and becomes closer to an estranged son. The film proved a surprise blockbuster, grossing over $144 million domestically. That same year, he also authored a best-selling book, “Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man” (Hyperion, 1994), in which he humorously examined aspects of his life and career. Allen finished out 1994 with his TV series, book and film all reigning in the number one positions in their respective arenas. He returned to the screen the following year in another Disney family picture, “Toy Story” (1995). Here he worked opposite Tom Hanks as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, a toy astronaut, in what was touted as the first full-length computer animated film.

Allen reprised his role in 1999’s “Toy Story 2″ a record-breaking box office smash which was hailed as one of the year’s best animated films. He also starred in “Galaxy Quest” (1999), the hilarious spoof about a “Star Trek” type cast who enter into a real outer space adventure with aliens who believe the actors are the spaceship captains they play on television. Allen took a brief hiatus before returning to the screen as the lead in Barry Sonnenfeld’s ensemble comedy “Big Trouble” (based on the satiric novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry)-but the film, which featured an explosive device on an airplane in the plot-had its initial release date close to Sept. 11, 2001; as a result, it was delayed for several months and ultimately never attracted a large audience. He also re-teamed with his “Home Improvement” and “The Santa Claus” director for the comedy “Joe Somebody” (2002), playing an average guy who is bullied and trains to become a force to be reckoned with.

After appearing as a hit man in the mistaken identity indie comedy “Who Is Cletis Tout?”, Allen returned to familiar territory in a mainstream holiday season box office sensation, reprising the role of Scott Calvin for “The Santa Claus 2″ (2002). In keeping with his reputation as Hollywood’s reigning king of the holiday comedy, he joined Jamie Lee Curtis as empty nest parents whose plans for a non-Christmas holiday getaway are scuttled by a last minute visit from their daughter in the over-the-top “Christmas with the Kranks” (2004). He next starred in the remake of the 1959 Disney classic “The Shaggy Dog” (2006), playing a workaholic district attorney whose long hours lead to neglecting a family that years for his attention. But when he’s transformed into the family’s beloved Bearded Collie after being infected by a genetic-mutation serum, he wants nothing more than be a good father. While not as appreciated or revered as its predecessor, “The Shaggy Dog” nonetheless took a healthy bite of box office dollars.

Allen upped the goofball factor for his next family feature, “Zoom” (2006), playing Captain Zoom, the over-the-hill leader of a once-prime group of superheroes called upon to train a new generation in order to save the planet before it’s too late. After a brief voice role reviving Buzz Lightyear as a car in Pixar’s box office smash “Cars” (2006), Allen returned a third time to the holiday role that endeared him to millions of families for “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” (2006). This time, the reluctant Kris Kringle is expecting a baby Claus with wife Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell), while trying to thwart Jack Frost (Martin Short) from taking over the North Pole. Allen moved on to costar in “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful ensemble comedy about four men (Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip to prove their manhood. Despite a bevy of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, “Wild Hogs” dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

• Also Credited As:
  Tim Allen Dick
• Born:
  on 06/13/1953 in Denver, Colorado
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Comedian, Author, Creative director for an advertising agency, Producer, Writer, Sporting goods store clerk

Travolta subsequently languished for nearly a decade in mostly forgettable, unpopular films. His most notable work during this phase was a 1987 ABC-TV special: Harold Pinter’s “The Dumb Waiter,” a one-act, two-character play directed by Robert Altman, in which Travolta played a Cockney hit man. It was not until the 1989 sleeper hit “Look Who’s Talking,” however, that Travolta would become associated with another major box-office success—though, in this case, he was not the main attraction. This romantic comedy featured the unreasonably popular gimmick of presenting a baby’s thoughts in voice-over and generated two more jobs for the former superstar—”Look Who’s Talking Too” (1990) and “Look Who’s Talking Now” (1993). Glowing reviews for his performance in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” (1994) restored Travolta to Hollywood’s A-list. Relatively heavy-set, long-haired and wearing earrings, his Vincent Vega was a strangely sympathetic hit man with a heroin habit and a disconcertingly innocent view of the world. The resuscitated star found himself deluged with scripts and deals offering him the biggest paydays of his estimable career as well as a second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Though Travolta had neglected to follow up on the success of “Look Who’s Talking,” he did not make the same mistake twice, parlaying his “Pulp Fiction” success into an even greater stardom than anything he had known in the 70s or 80s. He has worked non-stop since, taking advantage of film opportunities like Barry Sonnenfeld’s popular adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s “Get Shorty” (1995), in which he garnered acclaim for his portrayal of the ultra-cool hit man Chili Palmer, who becomes entranced by Hollywood. In “White Man’s Burden” (also 1995), Travolta starred with Harry Belafonte in an ambitious film about reverse discrimination that won mixed critical notices and little audience support. He followed with John Woo’s action-adventure thriller “Broken Arrow” (1996) in which he played a pilot who masterminds an extortion plot against the US government. Travolta reportedly received an $8 million fee for “Phenomenon” (also 1996), in which he played a man who develops superior abilities after being struck by a white light, but walked out on more than twice that rather than suffer through Roman Polanski’s “The Double.” He was so hot, the press virtually overlooked his indiscretion, and other studios just lined up for his services.

That $8 million fee was a bargain compared to what Travolta was soon earning. He finished 1996 as a fallen angel in Nora Ephron’s “Michael” (for $11 million) before unleashing a juggernaut on 1997, that again paired with John Woo for “Face/Off,” a lyrical thriller about identity exchange that wove together sadistic cruelty and grotesque sentimentality with breathtaking assurance. Although most critics despaired over Costa-Gavras’ “Mad City” (1997) and panned Travolta’s singularly stupid character, he found himself on surer ground in Nick Cassavetes’ romantic drama “She’s So Lovely” (1997), which matched him with far better results opposite Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn and afforded a role of some nuance. He received $20 million (or more) to portray Governor Jack Stanton in Mike Nichols’ “Primary Colors” (1988). He also played Jan Schlichtman, an attorney battling powerful corporations on behalf of toxic poisoning victims, in “A Civil Action” and was part of a star-studded cast including Sean Penn, John Cusack, Gary Oldman and George Clooney, among many others, in Terence Malick’s remake of “The Thin Red Line” (both 1998). That year also marked the 20th anniversary and re-release of “Grease.”

After appearing in the unsuccessful and highly ridiculed apocalyptic alien movie “Battlefield Earth” (2000) which he also produced himself, Travolta redeemed himself as another top-notch bad guy in the otherwise routine action thriller “Swordfish” (2001), more notable for Halle Berry’s nude scene than anything else. Next, Travolta played a DEA agent investigating a mysterious disappearance in “Basic” (2003), a routine thriller which built little new excitement around the actor and suggested he was formally stuck in one of his career ruts. His subsequent role, as the villainous money-launder Howard Saint in the comic book superhero adaptation “The Punisher” (2004) was a step in the right direction performance-wise, walking a fine line between a realistic performance and moments of high camp, but the film itself was not overwhelming.

Travolta delivered a strong performance in his follow-up film “Ladder 49″ (2004), playing a veteran firefighter who tries to impart practical wisdom to a promising up-and-comer (Joaquin Phoenix)—although the part was not entirely suited to Travolta’s strengths, the actor made the most of the supporting role. Then he easily slipped back into character as Chili Palmer, returning for the entertaining sequel “Be Cool” (2005), in which Chili segues from the movie biz into the music industry. After an unusual two-year hiatus from the big screen—he had been working incessantly since “Pulp Fiction”—Travolta emerged in “Wild Hogs” (2007), a big, dumb and of course wildly successful road comedy about four middle aged men (Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) who set out to prove their manhood with a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip. Despite a bevy of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre need for the leads to constantly prove to themselves and the audience of their heterosexuality, “Wild Hogs” reaped the box office whirlwind, taking in almost $40 million its opening weekend.

• Born:
  on 02/18/1954 in Englewood, New Jersey
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Dancer, Singer, Author, Illustrator