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Diedrich Bader was born in Alexandria, Virginia, but moved to Paris, France, with his family at age two. While in the "City of Light" he developed an appreciation for movie legends like Fred Astaire and Charles Chaplin. So, when a fragile "Chaplin" movie reel burned in the theater's projector, four-year-old Bader hopped on stage and entertained the crowd with an imitation of the "Little Tramp." The standing ovation he received set the course for the rest of his life--he knew he wanted to perform.

He returned to the United States for high school and attended North Carolina School of the Arts. During spring break he was discovered by a casting director in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That meeting led to an audition for a small role in a TV pilot. Bader landed a starring role instead. Although the pilot wasn't picked up, Bader moved to Los Angeles and began auditioning for other roles. He landed guest spots on several series, including Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), Cheers (1982) and Quantum Leap (1989). Filmmaker Penelope Spheeris liked his tongue-in-cheek delivery when he read for her action-adventure spoof series, Danger Theatre (1993). She hired him in that role and for the feature film The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), which she directed. Bader played the dual roles of twins Jethro and Jethrine Beaudine. He also filmed the political thriller The Assassination File (1996) for the Encore Entertainment Group. Bader was excited to work on the project, as it allowed him to be shot in the head -- a first for the actor. Bader's father, William, was Chief of Staff for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is president of the Eurasia Foundation on Capitol Hill. His mother, Gretta, is a sculptor whose portrait of the late Sen. J. William Fulbright sits in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Bader's wife is actress Dulcy Rogers; they reside in Los Angeles, CA.

It's not surprising that Ryan Stiles would feel comfortable doing a comedic turn in the role of Lewis, one of Drew Carey's ever-present friends in the new comedy The Drew Carey Show (1995). After all, the first job Stiles ever had was that of a stand-up comedian. Although he was a good student, Stiles admits that "being a high-school senior gave me too much freedom." He got so carried away with his flexible schedule that he quit school a few months shy of graduation and got a job doing stand-up comedy in Vancouver. Despite his parents' objections, he was able to support himself for several years, but "I got out of stand-up when everybody else started doing it," he says. He didn't stray too far from the world of comedy. In 1986 he joined the highly acclaimed Second City comedy ensemble in Toronto, where he honed his improvisational skills. In 1990 Stiles moved to Los Angeles to perform with the Los Angeles Second City group. Film and television roles soon followed, including roles in Hot Shots! (1991) and Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993). Stiles's television credits include Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990), Mad About You (1992), and cable's The Hitchhiker (1983). He's currently a series regular on the British improvisational series Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988), which has been nominated for three CableACE awards. During the 1994-95 baseball strike, Stiles and acclaimed director Joe Pytka made some memorable commercials for Nike. That's Stiles in the empty baseball stadium doing the wave solo. When he's not at work, Stiles spends his time thinking about work.

Often considered hip-hop's first lady, the woman behind the moniker Queen Latifah was born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in East Orange, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Rita (Bray), a teacher, and Lancelot Owens Sr. She came from a police family-both her father and her older brother were cops-which would later influence her rhyming style and life philosophy. Her brother died in a motorcycle accident in 1992. Owens witnessed both sides of black urban life in the USA while growing up. After a brief stint as a Burger King employee, she soon found herself making waves in the hip-hop music scene.

After working as the human beatbox alongside Ladies Fresh, she was just 18 years old when she broke through in the late 1980s with a style that picked selectively from jazz, reggae, and soul traditions, from beats produced by D.J. Mark the 45 King. Her debut single, "Wrath of My Madness," was released in 1988. A year later, her debut long-player, "All Hail the Queen," enjoyed favored reviews: an old, wise head was evident on the top of her young shoulders. Queen Latifah maintained her early commitment to answering the misogynist armory of some of her male counterparts and, at the same time, imparted musical good times to all genders. Her name means "delicate and sensitive" in Arabic, but she has often been anything but in her rhymes and the messages she sends out through them. One of the most prominent female hip-hop artists on the scene for over a decade, Queen Latifah has also made tremendous inroads in movies, television, and artist management, with her management company, Flavor Unit, alongside her business partner Shakim Compere. A role model who takes the responsibility to heart, Latifah has carefully constructed a fine career for herself-one that is constantly moving upward.

Born in Los Angeles on June 2, 1978, Cox expressed an interest in show business at age four. She was discovered by a prominent dance agent while taking dance classes, which led to her professional debut in the comedy film Mac and Me (1988). Dancing temporarily held center stage with appearances in Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (1988); a Los Angeles Music Center Ballet Tour; The Joffrey Ballet; Paula Abdul's video "Forever Your Girl"; "The MTV Awards" and The Arsenio Hall Show (1989). At age 10, Cox won her first speaking part in a guest-starring role in Mama's Family (1983). Her other television credits included Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), Night Court (1984), Murphy Brown (1988), Baywatch (1989) and Boy Meets World (1993). Cox also had starring roles in The Ryan White Story (1989) and the sci-fi thriller The Presence (1992) - both television movies. She was also a series regular on NBC's Someone Like Me (1994). On the big screen, Cox was featured in the box-office hit Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and played Gina Cates, Jagger Cates' long-lost sister on ABC's General Hospital (1963).

Fred was born and raised in Gastonia, North Carolina. He moved to Jacksonville in his late teens and served time in the US Navy. Fred later married at age 20 and had a daughter name Adriana Durst. The marriage was turbulent - after one altercation, Durst spent a month behind bars.

Howard Allan Stern was born on January 12, 1954, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, to Rae (Schiffman), an inhalation therapist, and Bernard Stern, who co-owned a cartoon/commercial production studio. His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Stern's first radio experience was at Boston University, where he volunteered at the college radio station. Along with several other students, he created an on-air show called the King Schmaltz Bagel Hour, a takeoff on the popular King Biscuit Flour Hour. Predicting his penchant for controversy, the show was canceled after its first broadcast, which included the comedy sketch "Name That Sin," a game show where contestants confessed their worst sins. Stern graduated in 1976 with a 3.8 grade-point average and a bachelor's degree in communications. During his first paying radio gig, at an understaffed 3,000-watt station in Briarcliff Manor, New York, "It dawned on me that I would never make it as a straight deejay," Stern told James S. Kunen in an interview for People (10/22/84), "so I started to mess around. It was unheard-of to mix talking on the phone with playing music. It was outrageous, It was blasphemy."

The father of four and husband of one, Tony Hawk is arguably the single most influential skateboarder of all time. Born and raised in the hazy daze of Southern California, Tony has forgotten more tricks than most people learn in a lifetime, and his contributions to the sport are endless -- most recently, unearthing skateboarding's holy grail by becoming the only person to successfully land a 900°.

This distinctive silver-haired singer established his performing credentials as a founding member of highly successful urban R&B quartet Dru Hill, who enjoyed transatlantic hits in the late 90s with singles such as 'How Deep Is Your Love' and 'These Are The Times'. The four members of Dru Hill set up their own Dru World Order production company in 1999 in order to facilitate the recording of their own solo projects. Sisqo was the first member to branch out, releasing Unleash The Dragon the same November. The risque lead-off single, 'Thong Song', was only one of many provocative tracks on an album which dealt candidly with sex and the male psyche. The production expertise of Babyface helped forge an impressive whole out of a diverse range of styles, including up tempo dance tracks ('Got To Get It'), mid-tempo R&B ('Your Love Is Incredible') and romantic ballads (the Elton John / Tim Rice composition 'Enchantment Passing Through').

On October 12, 1972, Neriah Davis was born in Southern California to two fun- loving "hippie" parents from the 60's. Raised in a simple lifestyle in Northern California until the age of 18, Neriah did not have a TV in the town of 300 where she grew up. A simple farming life with no electricity was the way of Neriah's youth, until she left for LA once she turned 18-years-old. After arriving in LA, Neriah moved quickly into the modeling and acting scene. She shot The Bikini Carwash Company (1992) while turning 19, and then started right into modeling swimsuit and some work with Playboy Book of Lingerie. Neriah was discovered by Playboy Magazine at the age of 20 and was busy shooting her centerfold on her 21st birthday. After a wild ride as a playmate, Neriah decided she needed a break from the fast-paced LA life, so she moved back to the country for two years. The country was needed rest but eventually Neriah got the modeling/acting bug, again, and had to move back to LA. And boy did things take off when she came back... Almost instantaneously Neriah was smothered with requests from top name companies such as "Fredericks of Hollywood", "Shirleys of Hollywood", and practically ever other lingerie catalog in LA. Soon-to-follow were national commercials for the likes of Miller, Nintendo, JC Penney's, and national print ads for Camel Cigarettes, Wellbody Skincare, BodyGlove, and Inside Sports. Neriah had the opportunity to travel to such exotic and rare places as Hong Kong, Acapulco, France, London, and all over the states for the Playboy agency.

Alicia Rickter, one of Hollywood's newest and brightest ingénues to hit television, joined the "Baywatch Hawaii" (aka Baywatch (1989)) cast as lifeguard trainee "Carrie Sharpe". Alicia's previous television credits include a principal role on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973) along with guest starring roles on the WB's Unhappily Ever After (1995) and CBS-TV's Thanks (1999).

Billy Martin will always be remembered for his fiery personality, both on and off the field. Cleveland General Manager Frank Lane once said, "He's the kind of guy you'd like to kill if he's playing on the other team, but you'd like 10 of him on your side." Martin won the Most Valuable Player Award in the 1953 World Series, batting .500, with 12 hits, 2 home runs, and a series-leading 8 RBIs. His playing career ended in 1961, but his involvement in baseball was far from over. He went on to manage in Detroit, Texas, Oakland, and most notably, in New York. Martin was hired and fired five times during his career as the skipper for the Bronx Bombers. His untimely death on Christmas Day in 1989, at the age of 61, was a surprise to everyone.

Maury Wills was a star football quarterback and baseball pitcher for Cardozo High School (Washington, D.C.), and was signed to a contract by the National League Brooklyn (later Los Angeles) Dodgers in 1950. He batted both right- and left-handed and threw right-handed. He played for their minor league teams (1951-59) as a second baseman before he was called up to the parent club in 1959, where he played shortstop until he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967-68) and drafted in the expansion of the league by the Montreal Expos (1969). He was traded back to the Dodgers in that year and played with them until his retirement in 1972