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The CCH stands for Carol Christine Hilaria, her birth name. Most of her characters are enriched with positive attributes -- strength, confidence, integrity, strong-mindedness -- and it is a testament to the abilities of this four-time Emmy nominated actress that she continues on such a high plane in a five-decade career.

Born on Christmas Day 1952 in Guyana, she was raised on a sugar cane plantation. Her parents, Betsy Enid Arnella (James) and Ronald Urlington Pounder, moved the family to the States while she was still a young girl, but she and her sister were subsequently sent to a convent boarding school in Britain where they were introduced to art and the classics. Following high school graduation, she arrived in New York and studied at Ithaca College, where her acting talents were strongly tapped into. Regional and classical repertory theater followed, earning roles in such productions as "The Mighty Gents" (1979) with Morgan Freeman at the New York Shakespeare Festival and "Open Admissions" (1984), her Broadway debut. Other stage work includes "Coriolanus," "Antony and Cleopatra," "The Frog," "The Lodger" and "Mumbo Jumbo."

After bit/featured roles in All That Jazz (1979), I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) and Prizzi's Honor (1985), CCH earned cult status in the art-house film Bagdad Cafe (1987) (aka "Bagdad Café" in the US) as the offbeat owner of a roadside café. She continued to impress with support roles in Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Importance of Being Earnest (1992), an all-black version: as Miss Prism), Benny & Joon (1993), RoboCop 3 (1993), Sliver (1993), Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995),Face/Off (1997), Funny Valentines (1999), The Devil in Miss Jones 6 (1999), Baby of the Family (2002), Rain (2008), Orphan (2009), Avatar (2009) (as the voice of Mo'at, and its sequels), My Girlfriend's Back (2010). Home Again (2012) (as a Jamaican) and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013).

Pounder's prominence came, however, with television. Often cast as succinct, professional types (doctors, policewoman, judges) or characters with a variety of accents, she is known for her understated intensity and earned an Emmy nomination for her stint on the hospital drama ER (1994). She has also performed in a number of highly acclaimed topical mini-movie dramas, including Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985), Common Ground (1990), Murder in Mississippi (1990), Little Girl Fly Away (1998), A Touch of Hope (1999), Boycott (2001), Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) (as Winnie Mandela) for which a number of kudos have come her way.

Millennium TV output includes regular/recurring roles on the series The Shield (2002) in which she earned an NAACP Award and Emmy nomination as Detective Claudette Wym; the social drama Ciencias del espacio (2008) as matriarch Mrs. Trainor, and NCIS: New Orleans (2014) as medical examiner Loretta Wade. She later found voice work in animated projects and video games.

Shakira Caine was born on 23 February 1947 in British Guiana [now Guyana]. She is an actress, known for The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Son of Dracula (1973) and Where in the World? (1971). She has been married to Michael Caine since 8 January 1973. They have one child.

Prince Randian was born in the Demarara district, British Guyana in 1871, the child of British Indian slaves. Born with tetra-amelia syndrome (the lacking of all four limbs), little is known about his early life or how he was discovered, but it seems his incredible adaptability did not go unnoticed. Reputedly, he was brought to the United States by P.T. Barnum in 1889 at the age of 18, performing as an "oddity" or "freak" at dime shows, museums and primarily at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York

For his act, Randian was billed as "the human caterpillar who crawls on his belly like a reptile." He wore a one-piece wool garment that fit tightly over his body, giving him the appearance of a caterpillar, snake or potato. He was efficient at moving from place to place by wriggling his hips and shoulders in a snake-like motion. He would demonstrate his astonishing ability to fend for himself regardless of his handicap. He would shave himself by securing a razor in a wooden block, paint with a brush or write with a pen by using his lips, and most famously, roll and light his own cigarette in his only film appearance, Freaks (1932) (1932). Randian was also said to have been a skilled carpenter, using his mouth and shoulders to manipulate his tools, and he kept all of the props and materials used in his act in a wooden box that he reportedly constructed, painted and installed a lock by himself using a saw, knife and hammer. "Someday," he used to say, "I'll build myself a house."

Randian could speak English, German and French in addition to Hindi, his native language. He married early in life to a Hindu woman known only as Princess Sarah, who remained devoted to him throughout his long 45-year career in the sideshow. The couple had four daughters, plus a son who later became his manager. They settled at 174 Water Street in Paterson, New Jersey.

Prince Randian died of a heart attack at 7:00 PM on December 19, 1934, shortly after his comeback performance at Sam Wagner's 14th Street Museum in New York. He was 63 years old.

Cast in a number of racially-motivated British films during the 1950s and 1960s, actor Harry Baird was born in Georgetown, Guyana (then called British Guiana) on May 12, 1931 and received his education both in Canada and England.

Famed director Carol Reed gave Harry his film break in 1954 at age 23 when he cast the actor in the smallish role of a black boxer named Jamaica in A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), a tale that dealt with the tense ethnic struggles of London's East End. A year later Harry made a minor stage bow in the musical "Kismet" at the Stoll theatre in London. Although he continued sporadically before live audiences, including a role in Jean Genet's "The Blacks" in 1961, his stronger focus would be in the cinema and on TV where he often took to stunt work just to keep himself in front of the lens.

His first lead on TV was as Rhodes Reason's bearer, Atimbu, in the low-budget White Hunter (1957) adventure series. Moviegoers first took notice of Harry, however, with his stirring portrayal of a young black brutalized by the police in the film Sapphire (1959), a role that helped him continue into the next decade. Extremely good-looking and physically fit, he rarely managed to attain leads, primarily due to the lack of parts at the time for men of his race. He did find regular supporting roles on TV, however, including the series Secret Agent (1964) and the science-fiction program UFO (1970).

As jobs grew scarce into the 60s Harry traveled to other parts of Europe, especially Italy and France, to find work. Some were even leads or co-leads. He played well-muscled action heroes in a handful of Italian spectacles and "spaghetti" westerns and scored a personal triumph in France with first-time director Melvin Van Peebles' landmark low-budget film The Story of a Three Day Pass (1967), in which he starred as a black American GI who falls in love with a white French girl (played by the late Nicole Berger) while on leave in Paris. Sadly, Ms. Berger was killed in a car accident shortly after filming the movie.

Other films around this time included Bryan Forbes' classic The Whisperers (1967) starring Edith Evans, The Touchables (1968), in which the athletic actor played a gay wrestler named "Lillywhite," the Edgar Allan Poe adaptation The Oblong Box (1969) with Vincent Price, and friend Michael Caine's picture The Italian Job (1969). In the 1970s Harry was diagnosed with glaucoma.

He was forced to retire as the impairment worsened and he eventually went completely blind. He remained upbeat and positive in later years as he adapted to his handicap and took classes on film history among other interests. He was married and divorced and survived by a stepdaughter when he died of cancer at age 73 in London on February 13, 2005.

Ram John Holder was born in 1934 in British Guiana. He is an actor and composer, known for Desmond's (1989), Take a Girl Like You (1970) and My Beautiful Laundrette (1985).

Norman Beaton was born on 31 October 1934 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor, known for The Mighty Quinn (1989), Desmond's (1989) and Real Life (1984). He died on 13 December 1994 in Georgetown, Guyana.

Danny Daniels was born on 1 November 1927 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was an actor, known for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) and The Saint (1962). He was married to Berenice Grant. He died on 4 December 2010 in Inglewood, California, USA.

Carmen Munroe was born on 12 November 1932 in Berbice, British Guiana. She is an actress, known for Doctor Who (1963), Desmond's (1989) and From a Bird's Eye View (1970).

Thomas Baptiste was born on 17 March 1929 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was an actor, known for The Wild Geese (1978), Amin: The Rise and Fall (1981) and The Ipcress File (1965). He died on 6 December 2018 in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, England, UK.

Cy Grant was born on 8 November 1919 in Beterverwagting, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor, known for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), At the Earth's Core (1976) and Shaft in Africa (1973). He was married to Dorith. He died on 13 February 2010 in London, England, UK.

William Austin was born on 12 June 1884 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor, known for It (1927), Redheads on Parade (1935) and In Love with Love (1924). He died on 15 June 1975 in Newport Beach, California, USA.

R.B. Greaves was born on 28 November 1943 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was married to Maura Dhu Studi, Sandra Golden and Claire Francis. He died on 27 September 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Eddy Grant was born on 5 March 1948 in Plaisance, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He is an actor and composer, known for Romancing the Stone (1984), Idiocracy (2006) and Pineapple Express (2008).

E.R. Braithwaite was born on 27 June 1912 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was a writer, known for To Sir, with Love (1967), To Sir, with Love (1974) and To Sir, with Love II (1996). He was married to Sibyl Allen. He died on 12 December 2016 in Rockville, Maryland, USA.

Tommy Eytle was born on 16 July 1926 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was an actor and composer, known for EastEnders (1985), Secret Agent (1964) and The Seventh Scroll (1999). He was married to Avis D'Ornellas. He died on 19 June 2007 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK.

Philip Edwards was born on 23 September 1907 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He died on 6 September 1971 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), Adams was educated at the Moco Teachers' Training College in Jamaica where he graduated with honors. He began his career in teaching being a headmaster in British Guaiana, a master on staff at Trinidad College. He was also a qualified Engineering Draughtsman. He gave up teaching to move to Britain intending to become a barrister. Penniless, he took any job he could whilst studying law, resulting in paid jobs as wrester, professional boxer, artist model, journalist and singer. He contemplated becoming a opera singer but became involved in the acting scene in London. After voice training he made his first stage appearance in "Stevedore" with Paul Robeson at the Embassy Theatre, London. Shortly after he was given lead roles in "All God's Chillun" and "Emperor Jones" and became a recognised name on stage, radio and television. Simultaneously he began his film career, initially for Ealing in "Midshipman Easy". During the war he served as an A.R.P. (Air Raid Patrol) warden and also worked in a factory to assist in the war effort.

Jack London was born on 13 January 1905 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor, known for Old Bones of the River (1938) and Love on Leave (1940). He died on 31 May 1966 in London, England, UK.

Ian Valz was born on 28 August 1957 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor and writer, known for Panman: Rhythm of the Palms (2007) and Trade Winds (1993). He was married to Patricia Atmodimedjo. He died on 28 April 2010 in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.

Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson was born on 10 September 1914 in British Guiana [now Guyana]. He was an actor, known for The Torso Murder Mystery (1939). He died on 8 March 1941 in London, England, UK.

Reginald Lal Singh was born on 8 August 1905 in Demerara, British Guiana. He was an actor, known for The Naked Jungle (1954), Star Trek (1966) and Storm Over Tibet (1952). He died on 1 December 1970 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Clive Lloyd was born on 31 August 1944 in Queenstown, Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana.

Percy Verwayen is another unsung acting talent of stage and screen. In his time, he was considered the best of the Black actors. He never appeared in any Hollywood movies though he graced the Black Cinema screen many times with his exceptional acting and became one of the top leading men. His screen image and talent was in the same fashion of Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart. He was a "bad boy" you love to hate, tough as nails, and he had a charm and magnetic attraction to him, but he was never too big to fall, and when he would he would beg and plea with his life like a true thespian. On stage or screen, he always gave a good show, he was a force to be reckoned with, appearing in top stage shows like, "Black Boy," "Porgy," "Singin The Blues," and other hits alongside legends like Paul Robeson. He was tough and confident and it always showed in his work, some say he had the temperament and drive of John Barrymore. Because of his light complexion and Spanish features he was turned down for many parts and not given the same opportunities as a black actor with more color in his skin like Paul Robeson.

Lance Gibbs was born on 29 September 1934 in Queenstown, Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana.

Andrew York was born on 7 December 1930 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He was a writer, known for Danger Route (1967) and The Book Programme (1973). He died on 2 November 2017 in Guernsey, Channel Islands, England, UK.