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Mary Tyler Moore was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on December 29, 1936. Moore's family relocated to California when she was eight. Her childhood was troubled, due in part to her mother's alcoholism. The eldest of three siblings, she attended a Catholic high school and married upon her graduation, in 1955. Her only child, Richard Meeker Jr., was born soon after.

A dancer at first, Moore's first break in show business was in 1955, as a dancing kitchen appliance - Happy Hotpoint, the Hotpoint Appliance elf, in commercials generally broadcast during the popular sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952). She then shifted from dancing to acting and work soon came, at first a number of guest roles on television series, but eventually a recurring role as Sam, Richard Diamond's sultry answering service girl, on Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1956), her performance being particularly notorious because her legs (usually dangling a pump on her toe) were shown instead of her face.

Although these early roles often took advantage of her willowy charms (in particular, her famously-beautiful dancer's legs), Moore's career soon took a more substantive turn as she was cast in two of the most highly regarded comedies in television history, which would air first-run for most of the '60s and '70s. In the first of these, The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Moore played Laura Petrie, the charmingly loopy wife of star Dick Van Dyke. The show became famous for its very clever writing and terrific comic ensemble - Moore and her fellow performers received multiple Emmy Awards for their work. Meanwhile, she had divorced her first husband, and married advertising man (and, later, network executive) Grant Tinker.

After the end of The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), Moore focused on movie-making, co-starring in five between the end of the sitcom and the start of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), including Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), in which she plays a ditsy aspiring actress, and an inane Elvis Presley vehicle, Change of Habit (1969), in which she plays a nun-to-be and love interest for Presley. Also included in this mixed bag of films was a first-rate television movie, Run a Crooked Mile (1969), which was an early showcase for Moore's considerable talent at dramatic acting.

After trying her hand at movies for a few years, Moore decided, rather reluctantly, to return to television, but on her terms. The result was The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), which was produced by MTM Enterprises, a company she had formed with Tinker, and which later went on to produce scores of other television series. Moore starred as Mary Richards, who moves to Minneapolis on the heels of a failed relationship. Mary finds work at the newsroom of WJM-TV, whose news program is the lowest-rated in the city, and establishes fast friendships with her colleagues and her neighbors. The sitcom was a commercial and critical success and for years was a fixture of CBS television's unbeatable Saturday night line-up. Moore and Tinker were determined from the start to make the sitcom a cut above the average, and it certainly was - instead of going for a barrage of gags, the humor took longer to develop and arose out of the interaction between the characters in more realistic situations. This was also one of the earliest television portrayals of a woman who was happy and successful on her own rather than simply being a man's wife. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) is generally included amongst the finest television series ever produced in America.

Moore ended the sitcom in 1977, while it was still on a high point, but found it difficult to flee the beloved Mary Richards persona - her subsequent attempts at television series, variety programs, and specials (such as the mortifying disco-era Mary's Incredible Dream (1976)) usually failed, but even her dramatic work, which is generally excellent, fell under the shadow of Mary Richards. With time, however, her body of dramatic acting came to be recognized on its own, with such memorable work as in Ordinary People (1980), as an aloof WASP mother who not-so-secretly resents her younger son's survival; in Finnegan Begin Again (1985), as a middle-aged widow who finds love with a man whose wife is slowly slipping away, in Lincoln (1988), as the troubled Mary Todd Lincoln, and in Stolen Babies (1993), as an infamous baby smuggler (for which she won her sixth Emmy Award). She also inspired a new appreciation for her famed comic talents in Flirting with Disaster (1996), in which she is hilarious as the resentful adoptive mother of a son who is seeking his birth parents. Moore also acted on Broadway, and she won a Tony Award for her performance in "Whose Life Is It Anyway?"

Widely acknowledged as being much tougher and more high-strung than her iconic image would suggest, Moore had a life with more than the normal share of ups and downs. Both of her siblings predeceased her, her sister Elizabeth of a drug overdose in 1978 and her brother John of cancer in 1991 after a failed attempt at assisted suicide, Moore having been the assistant. Moore's troubled son Richie shot and killed himself in what was officially ruled an accident in 1980. Moore was diagnosed an insulin-dependent diabetic in 1969, and had a bout with alcoholism in the early 1980s. Divorced from Tinker in 1981 after repeated separations and reconciliations, she married physician Robert Levine in 1983. The union with Levine proved to be Moore's longest run in matrimony and her only marriage not to end in divorce. Despite the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970), in which she throws a package of meat into her shopping cart, Moore was a vegetarian and a proponent of animal rights. She was an active spokesperson for both diabetes issues and animal rights.

On January 25, 2017, Mary Tyler Moore died at age 80 at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia after having been placed on a respirator the previous week. She was laid to rest during a private ceremony at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield, Connecticut.

TV-talk show host, game-show host, singer, author, and TV personality, Regis Philbin became one of the most popular talk-show hosts in America and in Canada, especially. Growing up as an only child in The Bronx, New York, Philbin went to the University of Notre Dame and got a degree in sociology. Later, he would serve in the U.S. Navy and went through behind-the-scenes in radio and TV, before going into broadcasting.

After moving to California, Philin got his own show on KGTV in San Diego called That Regis Philbin Show (1964). However, with no writing team, for budget reasons, this led him to begin the show that would become his hallmark, where he engages his audience in discussions about his life and events of the day. It was then that he got his first big break as Joey Bishop's sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show (1961). Bishop liked to tease Philbin. But the teasing stopped when Philbin walked off the stage on a live broadcast and stayed away for several days. Philbin later hosted A.M. Los Angeles (1975), a local TV talk show on KABC-TV. With his presence, he brought the show to Number One in Los Angeles.

On the show, Sarah Purcell was his first co-host, followed by Cyndy Garvey. However, when Philbin moved to New York City, they both paired up on "The Morning Show". But due to low ratings, Garvey then left once again and Philbin was then joined by Kathie Lee Gifford on the show and the ratings improved and the show's name was changed to "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" (1988). Gifford left the show, which was called "Live with Regis" until a permanent replacement could be found.

During the search, Philbin won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, his first only Daytime award. When Kelly Ripa was chosen the same year, the show was later changed to "Live with Regis and Kelly." The pairing became successful.

Besides being a successful TV host, Philbin was also a game show host on a short-lived game show called The Neighbors (1975), in which part of the game is that a contestant, usually a woman, would have to find out which one of her neighbors is gossiping about her. He then hosted Almost Anything Goes (1975). Despite both shows being failures, Philbin then hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999), which became one of the most popular shows on TV before it was canceled in 2002 and came back with Meredith Vieira replacing Philbin. For his work on the show, he won his second Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host.

Philbin then signed a contract for "Millionaire's" spin-off: Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (2004). But this time, instead of one million dollars, it's 10 million. However, the show was canceled within four months. However, Philbin's game show career didn't end there; he hosted the first season of America's Got Talent (2006), with Piers Morgan, Brandy Norwood and David Hasselhoff as the judges.

Besides TV, Philbin was also an author who wrote two books: "I'm Only One Man!" and "Who Wants To Be Me?". He was also a singer, in the style of a crooner, such as Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin.

Regis Philbin died on July 24, 2020, in Greenwich, Connecticut, of natural causes. He was 88.

Paul Rudd was born on 15 May 1940 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Once Upon a Classic (1976), Knots Landing (1979) and The Last Song (1980). He was married to Martha Bannerman and Joan Mannion. He died on 12 August 2010 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

The parents of Frank McHugh ran their own stock company and he was on the stage as a child. When he was 10 he was part of an act that include his brother Matt McHugh and sister Kitty McHugh. After vaudeville and other stock companies, Frank debuted on Broadway "The Fall Guy" (1925). In 1930 he was hired at Warner Brothers as a contract player. Frank would usually play the sidekick to the lead actor and would provide the comedy relief in tense situations - if it were called for. With his nervous laugh and hangdog look, he appeared in over 90 movies in the first dozen years he worked at Warners. He would also appear with another very busy character actor, Allen Jenkins, in a dozen or so films. McHugh would be a mechanic, a song plugger, a pilot, a baseball player or a newspaperman, and would either be married or get the girl only if the girl was not the one the hero was interested in. Over the years he would work with most of the stars that Warners employed. By the early 1950s his film career started winding down. From 1964 to 1965 he played the role of Willis Walter on The Bing Crosby Show (1964).

Pianist, composer, songwriter, entertainer and actor, educated at Borgerdydskolen and the Conservatory of Copenhagen. He studied with Egon Petri and Frederic Lammond. His concert career began in 1922, and he performed in a musical revue in 1934, and in films by 1937. Arriving in the US in 1940, he made his American radio debut on the Bing Crosby show. He was featured in his own one-man show "Comedy in Music", plus concert appearances throughout the USA and Europe. Joining ASCAP in 1961, he composed "Blue Serenade".

Most of Clayton's family was in show biz, but he initially decided to go into his father's field, law. He worked his way through Fordham University as a radio actor and singer, then took a job as a law clerk. Two years later, realizing that radio was very much more lucrative a career, he changed his last name to Collyer and became a full-time actor. He was performing on every major network by the age of 32. Collyer assumed his most famous radio role in 1940, the title character in "The Adventures of Superman." Collyer used different voices for Superman and Clark Kent, while making good use of the well-known lines "This is a job for Superman!" and "Up, up, and away!" He would continue as Superman until 1949, one year before the series ended, also playing the character in animated shorts by Max Fleischer. Collyer became involved in radio game shows at about the same time. He was co-host of ABC's "Break the Bank" for five years and host of "Winner Take All." Among the few radio personalities to successfully transition into television, he hosted the TV versions of his two radio shows. In early 1950, Collyer became host of Beat the Clock (1950), which ran in prime time and daytime for the next 11 years. In late 1956, he also became the host of his biggest success, To Tell the Truth (1956). This lasted for 12 years and made his "Will the real [contestant's name] please stand up?" a part of the American lexicon. One year after his last appearance on To Tell the Truth (1956), Collyer died of a circulatory ailment at age 61.

Became host of the Tonight Show in 1957 and quickly grew very popular with viewers. So popular, in fact, that the show was renamed "The Jack Paar Show" after only one year of hosting. Paar's trademark was his great ability to engage in conversation with guests that went above and beyond the generic "chat" that other hosts never rose above. He was very emotional and was known to weep on camera at times. Once he walked off the show in a huff when the network censored a joke he made referring to a "water closet". On his program he developed a regular roster of favorite guests including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Cliff Arquette, Genevieve, Hans Conried, Hermione Gingold, and Dody Goodman. After five years of hosting, he tired of the routine and switched to a weekly NBC variety series in 1962 that flopped. He next purchased a television station in Poland Springs, Maine, and sold it several years later. In 1973 he signed with ABC to compete with his NBC successor, Johnny Carson, on a limited schedule of one week a month, but failed to garner the acclaim he once enjoyed.

Dorsey was born on November 19, 1905 in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a musician and a bandleader, whose music appeared in such films as Annie Hall (1977), Ship Ahoy (1942), and The Human Stain (2003). He also occasionally appeared as himself, frequently with his band, in a variety of films. He was previously married to Jane Karl New, Patricia Dane and Mildred Ann Kraft. He died on November 26, 1956 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Jane Henson was born on 16 June 1934 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Sesame Street (1969), Run, Run (1965) and Great Performances (1971). She was married to Jim Henson. She died on 2 April 2013 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Another mop-faced, gruff-looking character who belongs in the "Where have I seen that face?" category, Paul Reed enjoyed a long and varied career on radio, Broadway musicals, TV and commercials. Though smaller in stature, his imposing figure and ability to command made him seem much taller in his shoes. Surprisingly, one would deem his features ideal for films, but he hardly made a dent, with the exception of some minor work in a couple of comedy duds of the late 1960s. Best recalled for his balding, beleaguered police captain on the police station comedy Car 54, Where Are You? (1961), he played to amusing effect the "slow burn" nemesis to blundering officers (and future Munsters) Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis. The show, which co-starred another dunderhead on duty, Joe E. Ross, featured plain-faced but superb character actors. It ran for only two seasons but it has since reached cult status.

Reed was born Sidney Kahn in Highland Falls, New York, on June 16, 1909, one of seven children born to Russian-Jewish immigrants. His father died when he was very young and the children were spread out among several orphanages. It was the older children who eventually were able to reunite the broken family, and they set up residence in Brooklyn. As a teenager Paul already had set his mind on an acting career and earned his stripes as a radio singer initially billed as "Paul Roberts", then as "Paul Reed". With his heart set on making it on The Great White Way, he took his first Broadway bow at age 31 in a 1940 revival of the musical operetta "The Gondoliers." A strong and forceful presence, Paul had runs that included the operettas "Trial by Jury" (1940) and "La Vie, Parisienne" (1942), as well as "Up in Central Park" (1945), "Carnival in Flanders" (1953), "By the Beautiful Sea" (1954) and "Here's Love" (1963), but it was his participation in a quartet of original Broadway musical treasures that is most notable--"Guys and Dolls" (1950), "The Music Man" (1957), "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1961) and "Promises, Promises" (1968).

On TV Paul served as a hot-headed foil for Sid Caesar in a couple of his variety showcases, Caesar's Hour (1954) (during the 1956 season) and Sid Caesar Invites You (1958). He then hit his TV peak as Capt. Martin Block on "Car 54, Where Are You?", whose misadventures took place in a Bronx police station. Following this show, he played Cara Williams' blustery boss on the aptly titled The Cara Williams Show (1964), then hung around making guest appearances on the popular sitcom circuit. They included episodes of The Munsters (1964) (of course), as well as The Donna Reed Show (1958), Bewitched (1964) and The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), usually playing some sort of authority figure (military officer, business executive, politician, etc.).

Two of the three films Paul appeared in during the late 1960s were unfortunate showcases that their top comedy stars would just as soon forget. The critics reviewing Dick Van Dyke's Fitzwilly (1967) and Phyllis Diller's Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968) were none too kind to them and the comedies themselves quickly tanked at the box office. Paul more than made up for it in other mediums.

In later years the veteran character actor could be spotted in commercials, which lasted well into the 1990s as a white-haired octogenarian. The actor passed away on April 2, 2007, at age 97 at the Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was survived by his long-time wife of nearly 60 years, June MacLaren, a former Broadway dancer ("Lady in the Dark," "Something for the Boys") whom he met after returning to his role in the musical "Up in Central Park" in 1947. He was buried in Pemaquid, Maine. His beloved wife June died above seven weeks later and was interred next to him.

Howard Fast was born on 11 November 1914 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Spartacus (1960), The Lives of Benjamin Franklin (1974) and Rachel and the Stranger (1948). He was married to Mercedes Aline O'Connor and Beatrice "Bette" Cohen. He died on 12 March 2003 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Boston-born Joseph E. Levine parlayed an early career as a film exhibitor and distributor of Italian-made muscle-man pictures into a highly successful stint as America's most successful independent producer at the time of his death.

Born on September 9, 1905, Levine first worked in the clothing industry before buying a movie house in New Haven, Connecticut. Levine first tasted the fruits of big-time success by acquiring and then reworking and distributing the original "Godzilla" movie. His modus operandi was to buy the distribution rights to foreign movies on the cheap, then release them with sufficient advertising support to make a profit. His star rose in the industry due to the success of his massive advertising campaigns, including television spots, for such drive-in fare as "Hercules". By 1964, he and his Embassy Pictures minted another fortune by moving into production with the sexploitation potboiler The Carpetbaggers (1964), based on a Harold Robbins roman a clef about Howard Hughes. That year, Levine received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille Award in recognition of his lifetime achievement in motion pictures. He had also produced Zulu (1964) that year.

In 1966, Levine produced what many at the time considered one of the worst motion pictures ever made, The Oscar (1966), which featured the film debut of singer Tony Bennett as the queerly named "Hymie Kelly". Playboy Magazine's review famously denounced the film as being populated by has-beens and never-will-be's. At the time, the Big Brass Ring of the Oscar seemed very far away from Levine.

Levine reached the summit of Hollywood when Avco-Embassy produced The Graduate (1967), a cultural watershed in that it was an "art" picture that became one of the top ten grossing films of all time when it was released, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. (Director Mike Nichols won the Oscar, and it received five other nominations). Levine was listed as an executive producer while Lawrence Turman was cited by the Academy as the producer. However, Levine garnered the lion's share of the profits, which were considerable as the film cost an estimated $3 million and grossed approximately $50 million in its first release (approximately $275 million in 2005 dollars).

Levine merged Embassy Pictures with Avco in 1967, creating Avco-Embassy, with Levine as president. The company had another prestigious success with The Lion in Winter (1968) and produced the controversial Carnal Knowledge (1971) directed by Mike Nichols in 1971. Levine quit Avco-Embassy in 1974 to create the Joseph E. Levine Presents company, which produced A Bridge Too Far (1977), which at the time, was the most expensive independently produced film ever made.

Joseph E. Levine died on July 31, 1987 in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 81 years old.

Peter Iasillo Jr. was born on 27 March 1953 in White Plains, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Top Five (2014), HellBilly 58 (2009) and Generation Um... (2012). He died on 21 February 2017 in Greenwich Hospital, Connecticut, USA.

Margot Hartman was born on 15 August 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Do You Wanna Know a Secret? (2001), Descendant (2003) and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968). She was married to Del Tenney. She died on 11 April 2020 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Louis Rukeyser was born on 30 January 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Big Business (1988), Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser (1970) and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968). He was married to Gloria Alexandra Gill. He died on 2 May 2006 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Songwriter ("The Best Things in Life Are Free", "Birth of the Blues", "Button Up Your Overcoat"), composer, pianist, publisher and producer, educated at the Chicago Conservatory. He was a pianist in dance bands and an arranger for New York publishing companies in vaudeville. In 1925, he joined B. G. DeSylva and Lew Brown as a songwriting team and as music publishers. His Broadway stage scores include "George White's Scandals" (1925, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1934, and 1936), "Manhattan Mary", "Good News", "Hold Everything", "Three Cheers", "Follow Through", "Flying High", "Hot-Cha", "Say When", "Strike Me Pink" (co-librettist), and "Ziegfeld Follies of 1943". In 1929, he sold his interest in the publishing business and came to Hollywood under contract to Fox. Joining ASCAP in 1923 (he became an Ascap director in 1942, lasting into 1951), his chief musical collaborators besides Brown and DeSylva included Sam Lewis, Joe Young, Billy Rose, Mort Dixon, Jack Yellen, and Irving Caesar. His many other popular-song compositions included "That Old Gang of Mine", "Alabamy Bound", "Don't Bring Lulu", "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue", "I'm Sitting on Top of the World", "Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals", "Lucky Day", "Black Bottom", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "It All Depends on You", "Manhattan Mary", "Good News", "The Varsity Drag", "Just Imagine", "Lucky in Love", "Broken Hearted", "Just a Memory", "So Blue", "I'm on the Crest of a Wave", "You're the Cream in My Coffee", "You Wouldn't Fool Me, Would You?", "Sonny Boy", "Together", "My Sin", "I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All?", "Sunny Side Up", "If I Had a Talking Picture of You", "Little Pal", "Without Love", "Thank Your Father", "Red Hot Chicago", "You Try Somebody Else", "My Song", "The Thrill is Gone", "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries", "This Is the Missus", "Strike Me Pink", "Say When", "When Love Comes Swinging Along", "My Lucky Star", "Oh You Nasty Man", "My Dog Loves Your Dog", "Why Did I Kiss that Girl?", "If I Had a Girl Like You", "Bam Bam Bamy Shore", "Animal Crackers in My Soup", "When I Grow Up", "Life Begins at Sweet Sixteen", and "Love Songs Are Made in the Night".

Leona Helmsley was born on 4 July 1920 in Marbletown, New York, USA. She was married to Harry Helmsey, Joseph Lubin and Leo Panzirer. She died on 20 August 2007 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Mel Allen was born on 14 February 1913 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), Needful Things (1993) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). He died on 16 June 1996 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Robert McGinnis was born on 3 February 1926 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is known for How to Steal a Million (1966), The Wrecking Crew (1968) and The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968). He was married to Ferne Mitchell. He died on 10 March 2025 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Irene Champlin was born on 16 March 1932 in Waurika, Oklahoma, USA. She was an actress, known for Flash Gordon (1954), Man Against Crime (1949) and Guerrilla Girl (1953). She was married to Paul L. Field. She died on 10 July 1990 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Ralph Camargo was born on 27 February 1912 in California, USA. He was an actor and set decorator, known for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950), The Edge of Night (1956) and O Corpo Ardente (1966). He was married to Florence Skeets. He died on 15 January 1992 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Thomas Chalmers was born on 20 October 1884 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Spellbinder (1928), The Outrage (1964) and The Knife (1929). He was married to Vilma Fiorelli. He died on 12 June 1966 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Kay Campbell was born on 12 August 1904 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Guiding Light (1952), The Edge of Night (1956) and All My Children (1970). She was married to Samuel Entriken Hibben Jr.. She died on 27 May 1985 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Barbara Freking was born on 28 January 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Appointment with Murder (1948). She died on 25 August 2008 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.

Gene Tunney's parents were Mary Jean (aka Rose) Lydon and John Tunney. Both of his parents were born in Mayo, Ireland, near Kiltimagh, and moved to New York City. He won the heavyweight boxing championship from Jack Dempsey in 1926 and successfully defended his title against Dempsey in 1927. In 1928, he successfully defended his title against Tom Heeney and then retired from the ring undefeated in 1928. He then married Andrew Carnegie's great niece, Mary Josephine Lauder (aka Polly) in October, 1928, went on an extensive honeymoon, then returned to the U.S. and had four children - three sons and one daughter. He enlisted as a Marine during World War I, and he joined the Navy during World War II and was made an officer. He wrote two autobiographies - 'A Man Must Fight' in 1932 and 'Arms for Living' in 1941. He was very successful with his business interests.