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Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in her films and they ultimately bought millions of dollars' worth of products that had her likeness on them. Dolls, phonograph records, mugs, hats, dresses, whatever it was, if it had her picture on there they bought it. Shirley was box-office champion for the consecutive years 1935-36-37-38, beating out such great grown-up stars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford. By 1939, her popularity declined. Although she starred in some very good movies like Since You Went Away (1944) and the The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), her career was nearing its end. Later, she served as an ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. It was once guessed that she had more than 50 golden curls on her head.

An honest-to-goodness Southern Belle, similar to her most famous character role, "Elly May Clampett" on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Donna Douglas grew up in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area, loving "critters". She got married soon after high school, had a son, divorced and won a couple of beauty contests, all within the span of a few years. She moved to New York and soon appeared on television series, including a well-remembered guest-star shot on The Twilight Zone (1959) in one of the series' most famous episodes, Eye of the Beholder (1960), in which she plays a woman who tries to undergo a series of experimental treatments to make her beautiful, only for the treatments to fail. The twist was she was beautiful, at least to the viewers, but considered hideous to the pig people of the planet, she was on. She immediately won the character role of "Elly May Clampett" on one of the greatest situation comedies of all time, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). This extremely comical series debuted with The Clampetts Strike Oil (1962), on her 30th birthday, Wednesday, September 26th, 1962, which is among the narrowest & sheerest coincidences, that are hardest to believe.

A familiar character actress, Marianna Hill is the daughter of a building contractor. From her native southern California, her family moved around frequently, including to Canada, Spain and Great Britain. As a result, she became familiar with different accents and dialects, whether a French accent (for a guest appearance on My Three Sons (1960), or German Hogan's Heroes (1965). She started acting while a teenager, apprenticing at the La Jolla (Calif.) Playhouse, and also studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Marianna's exotic looks enabled her to portray a variety of types, including a Hawaiian girl, an Irish lass and Greek beauty. She has also been an acting coach and teacher at the Lee Strasberg Institute in London.

A wholesome beauty with comedic appeal, Dawn Elberta Wells was born on October 18, 1938 in Reno, Nevada. Wells' childhood was a happy and healthy one. She and her mother grew their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens and Dawn rode horses. In her high school years, she was the class treasurer, President of the debate team and an honor roll student. Dawn was on her way to becoming a ballerina, but bad knees prevented her from realizing the dream. She was Miss Nevada in 1959 and went on to the 1960 Miss America Pageant. Dawn had wanted to be a doctor, and enrolled in the elite Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri to study medicine, but then she discovered the Drama Club. She then transferred to the University of Washington, which was known for their Theatre Department, and she graduated with a Degree in Theatre.

Dawn moved to Hollywood and was cast as Mary Ann Summers on CBS's Gilligan's Island (1964). The rest is history. However, there was much more to Dawn than her simple Mary Ann character. Wells refused to be an unemployed actor after the show ended and was never out of work since the show decades ago. She performed in over 66 theatrical productions, including the National Touring Company of "They're Playing Our Song!" She did countless voice-overs, commercials and talk shows. She worked for the Australian news show "Midday" and interviewed such talents as Julia Roberts, Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks, to name a few. Dawn has also had great success as a producer and has a number of television movies to her credit. After years of touring and performing in dramas, comedies, and musical theatre, Dawn slowed down a little. In 1998, she founded the Dawn Wells' Film Actors Boot Camp in Driggs, Idaho. The camp is for the already trained actor looking to make the transition from the amateur to the professional actor.

Wells managed the camp for many years. She has been in a popular commercial for Western Union, capitalizing on her character Mary Ann Summers. In 2003, Dawn did tours of the plays "Love Letters" with Adam West and Eve Ensler's Award Winning "The Vagina Monologues." In early 2004, Dawn established and founded The Spud Film Institute in Idaho and Wyoming, and held the first ever Spud Drive in Film and Music Festival in the summer of 2004. She was also the artistic director of the festival. If that is not enough, Ms. Wells also had her own clothing line for the physically challenged called "Wishing Wells Collections" and she recently launched her own skin care line, Classic Beauty. Dawn Wells continued to contribute to the business she loved so much and constantly gave back to the acting community. She mentored young actors and traveled to colleges all across the United States to teach Master Classes. She served as Artist in Residence at several Universities. Dawn was in constant demand for personal appearances and speaking engagements, yet never forgot to give back to the Artistic community. She will surely be remembered for all her good work. Wells passed away on December 30, 2020 at age 82. You can get information about all of Dawn's organizations at her website, dawn-wells.com.

Long before he was known as "The Professor" in the cult comedy classic Gilligan's Island (1964), Russell Johnson was a well-known character actor, starring in several Westerns and Sci-Fi classics as This Island Earth (1955) and It Came from Outer Space (1953). Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania and was sent to a boarding school in Philadelphia with his brothers when his father died.

Johnson said that, unlike his Professor character, he was not a bright student early on and was, in fact, held back a grade. However, he did redeem himself later on by making the National Honor Society in high school. He joined the Army Air Corps in World War II. Both his ankles were broken when his B-24 Liberator was shot down over the Philippines during a bombing raid in March of 1945 and he was awarded the Purple Heart as he recovered in the hospital. After the war, he used the G.I. Bill to enroll in acting school to pursue his new trade.

Johnson lived in the state of Washington and did several guest appearances on television shows. He passed away peacefully on the morning of Thursday January 16, 2014 from kidney failure, with his wife, Constance Dane, and his two children by his side. Connie described her husband as a very brave man.

The son of the great character actor (and Errol Flynn sidekick) Alan Hale, Alan Hale Jr. (he dropped the Jr. after his father passed away) was literally born into the movies. Hale did his first movie as a baby and continued to act until his death. Unlike other child actors, Hale made a smooth transition in the movies and starred in several classics like Up Periscope (1959), The Lady Takes a Flyer (1957) and The West Point Story (1950), as well as many westerns. He did many television guest appearances as well before getting his role as Skipper Jonas Grumby on the cult comedy Gilligan's Island (1964). After the sitcom went off the air, Hale continued to act and even teamed up with Gilligan co-star Bob Denver in The Good Guys (1968), a CBS-TV comedy that lasted only two years. After that ended, Hale keep busy acting in guest appearances and maintained his business interests which included a restaurant and travel agency. On January 2, 1990, Alan Hale Jr. died at age 68 of thymus cancer at St. Vincent Medical Center (SVMC) in Los Angeles, California. Upon his death, his remains were cremated and his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.

The son of former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer, Max Baer Jr. is a classic (except probably to him) example of Hollywood typecasting. Known around the world as "Jethro Bodine" in the smash TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Baer did not find work as an actor in Hollywood for three years after the Hillbillies went off the air. Baer finally had to put himself to work as an actor in his movie Macon County Line (1974), which he also wrote and produced with a friend. Although it didn't let him escape his Jethro character, he did earn more than $35 million dollars in box office and (later) rental receipts. This after an initial investment of just over $100,000. Not bad for a boy with a "sixth grade education!"

Bob Denver was attending college at Loyola-Marymount University, in Los Angeles, when he got into acting. At first, Denver wasn't sure he wanted to be an actor, but gradually gave in, deciding that's what he was going to do for a career. Before he became established, he worked as a mailman and teacher. He then got a screen test for the part of Maynard G. Krebs and to his surprise won the part. After four years on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959), Denver got his most famous part of Gilligan, in Gilligan's Island (1964). After Gilligan's three-year run ended he did a few other television shows (including the Gilligan wannabe Dusty's Trail (1973)) and Broadway plays. On September 2, 2005, he died of complications related to cancer treatment at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina. He had most recently lived in Princeton, West Virgina. He is survived by his wife Dreama Perry Denver, and four children.

Nancy Kulp wore many hats: Publicity person, actress, linguist, would-be politician, and teacher. Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kulp attended college in Florida, then headed for Hollywood to work in publicity for the movies, not star in them. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Kulp was convinced by director George Cukor and casting director Billy Gordon that she should be in front of the camera, not behind the scenes. She then began a solid career as a character actress in films and television, including two memorable roles: on The Bob Cummings Show (1955) as bird-loving "Pamela Livingstone", and on The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) as the long-suffering, lovesick, and bird-loving "Miss Jane Hathaway". After the Hillbillies ended its 9-year run, Kulp found work in theater, Broadway, and television, and dabbled in politics, making an unsuccessful 1984 run for Congress in Pennsylvania. Later, she taught acting and retired to a farm in Connecticut and, later, Palm Springs, where she died of cancer in 1991.

Jim Backus was born James Gilmore Backus on February 25, 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was one of the few actors to do it all: radio, Broadway, movies, television and cartoons. After attending preparatory school in his hometown Cleveland, Backus enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, to ply his trade. While waiting for parts, he did radio and became friends with such future notables as Garson Kanin and Keenan Wynn. Backus stuck it out and soon was doing motion pictures in addition to radio. He was typecast in roles as "rich types" but broke the mold when he portrayed James Dean's father in the classic Rebel Without a Cause (1955). With his career in full swing, Backus also tackled two roles that he would be best known for, Mr. Magoo in cartoons and Thurston Howell III in Gilligan's Island (1964). After the series' run ended, he continued doing guest spots on television and movies, before passing away on July 3, 1989.

Natalie Schafer got her start doing Broadway plays then making the move to the big screen. Even before Gilligan's Island (1964), she was typecast in roles as society women, or elegant, fashionable ladies. It was her role as "Eunice 'Lovey' Wentworth Howell" wife of multi-millionaire Thurston Howell III, that she was best known for. After the show ended its run in 1967, Schafer did a few guest appearances on shows, most notably The Brady Bunch (1969).

Bea Benaderet had a remarkable career in radio and television. In the earlier days of radio, before television, she provided the voice for numerous names of characters on the radio, on shows like "Fibber McGee and Molly," "My Favorite Husband" with Lucille Ball & "The Jack Benny Show. She was born in New York City but raised in San Francisco and made her radio debut when she was 12 years young. After doing voice-overs and various roles, Orson Welles gave her a regular role on "Campbell Playhouse." Bea made a smooth move from radio to television as she was cast in the role as Blanche Morton in The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950). It was because of her role as Blanche that she could not accept the part of Ethel Mertz in I Love Lucy (1951), which was offered to her by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She also provided the voice for several Warner Brothers cartoons, usually for females (those Mel Blanc could not do), like Tweety's owner, "Granny". Later, she worked with Blanc again on one of the most famous cartoons, Tweetie Pie (1947). It was 1947's Academy Award winning animation short of the year, featuring "Tweety", (the yellow Canary) & "Sylvester, the Siamese Cat".

Raymond Bailey was a great example of "If at first you don't succeed..." After high school, Bailey headed for Hollywood with the intent on becoming a movie star, but soon found it tougher than he thought. Instead Bailey went into a high finance career working as stockbroker and banker. He made a second stab at Hollywood, and again had no success. He then became a seaman, working on various freighters and travelling all over the world. Bailey also worked on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii, and tried his luck in the local theatre. Deciding to give Hollywood one more try in 1938, he got lucky getting several small parts in the movies which eventually evolved into bigger character roles. When television became big, Bailey was in demand for parts and it was there he got his most famous part on the hit sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), as (ironically) banker Milburn Drysdale. After the show ended, he did a few movie roles.

Dorothy Stratten's story was brief, glorious and tragic. She was born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten on February 28, 1960 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She grew up in a rough neighborhood in Vancouver, but kept out of trouble and went through the motions of school. While not a beauty as a child, nor early teen, Stratten came into her own out of high school and attracted the attention of Paul Snider, a promoter and wannabe star. He started dating her and after seeing an advertisement for Playboy's 25th Anniversary Playmate search in 1978, convinced her to pose for photos. Playboy saw the potential in Stratten and flew her out to Los Angeles, California, where she became a candidate. Although she lost out to Candy Loving, Stratten was made a Playmate in the August 1979 issue of Playboy. Soon after, she was pressured into marrying Snider, who had a Svengali-like influence on her.

After her centerfold came out, Stratten found work in a few movies, notably Americathon (1979) and Skatetown U.S.A. (1979), as well as being the object of Richard Dawson's affection in an ABC-TV special shot at the Playboy mansion. Clearly, her star was on the rise. In 1980, it was revealed that Stratten would be tabbed as the Playmate of the Year by Playboy publisher and founder Hugh Hefner. While this was one of the crowning achievements of her career, things were not going well in her marriage to Snider. He bothered her on the set of the movie Galaxina (1980) and when Snider found out she was developing more than a friendly relationship with director Peter Bogdanovich, Snider grew increasingly frustrated.

After a separation, Snider bought a shotgun and talked Stratten into coming to the apartment they used to share in West Los Angeles. Snider tied her up, sexually assaulted her and put the shotgun next to her face and pulled the trigger. Snider then turned the shotgun on himself to complete the murder-suicide. Since her death, Stratten has become something of a minor cult fixture, and has had two (one a television) movies, a song, and a couple of books written about her. The last movie she was in, They All Laughed (1981), was released after her death.

Born Victoria Vetri (but also known as Angela Dorian) to Italian parents (her mother was from Rome, her father Sicily) and grew up in Los Angeles. She studied art at Los Angeles City College in the 60s before embarking on her movie-television career. Thanks to her beautiful, exotic looks she was cast in parts that required ethnic beauties or scantily clad lovelies. She then posed for Playboy, becoming Miss September, 1967; and was later honored as the 1968 Playmate of the Year, becoming one of the most popular Playmates of the Vietnam War era.

Brooks was born in Louisville, Kentucky, one of eight sons, whose father was a county sheriff. Brooks dropped out of school after the 6th grade and did a variety of jobs before beginning a career in radio at the age of 21. He was a newscaster and disc jockey in Louisville, and Buffalo before switching to television newscasting. Brooks moved to L.A. in the 60s and began acting in television. He then began his drunk act, which went over well with crowds at Las Vegas nightclubs and on television. Brooks was a frequent guest on talk and variety shows and several Dean Martin celebrity roasts.

Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Olivia Ruth (Johnson), a domestic worker, and William Chamberlain, a welder, custodian, and handyman. Wilt didn't come from a race of giants as many thought. Both his parents were no bigger than 5-9, but as a young boy he began a growth spurt which would eventually stop when he reached 7-1. That height made him legendary in sports history as arguably the greatest basketball player ever. Chamberlain played at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, and collegiately at Kansas University, where he led the Jayhawks to the NCAA finals. Kansas lost in title game to North Carolina and that game haunted Chamberlain throughout his career and gave birth to the unfair image of him as a "loser." He left Kansas as an underclassman to play professionally for the Harlem Globetrotters, and after a year with them, signed to play with his hometown team in the NBA, the then-named Philadelphia Warriors. With the Warriors he performed some astonishing feats that no NBA player before or since accomplished.

Funk has strong wrestling bloodlines. His dad, Dory Funk Sr., was a well-known grappler from the 1940s to the 1970s, and his brother, Dory Funk Jr., wrestled from 1963 until the early 90s, and won the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world heavyweight championship in 1969. Funk, himself, became NWA champion and thus the Funks have the distinction of being the only brothers to win the NWA championship. Funk made his film debut as (what else?) a wrestler in Sylvester Stallone's (a noted wrestling fan) movie Paradise Alley (1978). Funk then did double-duty as a pro wrestler and actor/stunt man (he was prominent in Patrick Swayze's movie, Road House (1989)). Not technically a great wrestler, Funk was more known for his brawling tactics, and had some great feuds during his career with "Handsome" Harley Race, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and others. After maintaining a low profile in wrestling, Funk resurfaced in the 90s in the new Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) series and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), this time in his new persona as "Chainsaw Charlie".

The son of a steel worker from Beaver Falls, Pa., Joseph William Namath (Joe Willie) came from the rich football tradition that is in Pennsylvania. After starring for Paul 'Bear' Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide teams in the 1960s, Namath was drafted by both the National Football League's (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals and the rival American Football League's (AFL) New York Jets in 1965. Namath, known as a brash performer in college, signed with the Jets for a then-record $450,000 and gave the upstart, struggling AFL instant credibility in its war with the NFL. Although he didn't turn the Jets into instant winners, he did improve their fortunes his first three years in the league. Namath delivered on his promise as one of the most exciting players in the AFL, by becoming the first quarterback in history to pass for more than 4,000 yards. Namath was also popular off the field, especially with the ladies (which he indulged in, happily) and was known for his love of the New York nightlife. Because of this, he was dubbed "Broadway Joe" by the New York press. Namath gained his legend with not only his performance, but his mouth. After leading the Jets to the AFL championship over the Oakland Raiders, Namath, weary of all the press knocking him and his team and openly favoring the NFL champion Baltimore Colts, boldly lashed out and predicted victory for him and the Jets. He also showed his poise by talking his way out of a potentially explosive situation with Colts' Defensive Tackle, Lou Michaels. Namath and a teammate were in a restaurant talking about how the Jets were a better team than the Colts, when Michaels (who was in earshot) challenged Namath. The cocky QB, instead, bought Michaels dinner, drinks and gave him a ride home. In the game that many felt made the Super Bowl the spectacle it is today, Namath and the Jets were nearly flawless in beating the 17-point favorite Colts, 16-7. Namath became a household name and gave the Jets and the AFL the respectability they were so desperate to have. Namath continued his all-star performances in New York, although he never again played in the Super Bowl. For several years, he was the entertainer of the NFL (the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970) and even dabbled in movies and television (including a memorable performance in pantyhose for a commercial). He was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1977, but his failing knees finally gave out and he retired at the end of the season. Namath was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 and, for a few years, was a member of ABC's NFL Monday Night Football (1970) crew. Namath now lives in Florida.

Harriet MacGibbon had a long and distinguished stage career in New York before entering the movies and television. She studied a variety of crafts including voice, piano and harp. Unlike her stage roles, her roles on the big and little screens were usually that of of snooty society ladies, her best-known role probably being Mrs. Margaret Drysdale, the social-climbing wife of backwoods millionaire Jed Clampett's banker, in the long-running hit The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).

Born to a wealthy family in Vienna, Niki Lauda did not use the conventional methods of a man his means to become a world champion race driver. Far from it, his family disapproved and refused to finance his career, but Lauda plodded on, racing in the lesser ranks before getting his first break in Formula 1 with March. After a couple of fruitless seasons in F1, he caught the attention of legendary car builder Enzo Ferrari, and was soon driving for the famed "Prancing Horse." Lauda came close to winning the World Championship in 1974, but secured the coveted title the next year with a stellar season. Lauda was well on his way to winning again in 1976, but was nearly killed in a fiery crash at Nurburgring, Germany. In nothing short of a miracle, Lauda was back racing in six weeks despite being scarred in the face from his burns, yet nearly won the title, losing by only a single point to James Hunt. Lauda recaptured the F1 world title in 1977, raced one more year before announcing his retirement in 1978, to devote more time to his fledgling Lauda Air. His retirement was short as he came back to race, this time for McLaren, in 1982. With McLaren, Lauda won his third and final championship in 1984, and retired for good in 1985 with 25 career wins and the admiration of the racing world. He is the founder, CEO and occasional pilot at Lauda Air, which is the second largest commercial airlines in Austria, and is a consultant for Ferrari.

The son of a professional wrestler, Ted DiBiase had started his pro wrestling career as a fan favorite, but soon "changed sides" and became a heel throughout the rest of his career. DiBiase entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late 1980s where he gained most of his fame as "The Million Dollar Man." He employed a valet "Virgil" (formerly "Soul Train Jones, " and was an instrumental story line when Hulk Hogan's long WWF championship reign ended. DiBiase stayed in the WWF for more nearly 10 years, ending up as a manager for (soon to be star) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. DiBiase left the WWF when Austin (then known as "The Ring Master") lost a match, and went to the WWF's rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as an "advisor" to Hogan's new NWO (New World Order) gang.

"High Chief" Peter Maivia, originally from Samoa, wrestled for several years in Asia and the United States. He gained his greatest fame as a fan favorite in the WWF (now WWE), taking on such heels as "Superstar" Billy Graham, Ken Patera, and Ivan Koloff. Maivia though later turned into a heel himself (at the behest of manager "Classy" Freddie Blassie) towards the end of his career. Soon after, he was diagnosed with cancer and retired from active wrestling, but was busy as a wrestling promoter in Hawaii. He died of cancer in 1982, but his legacy lives on as his grandson Dwayne Johnson, has made his name as arguably the biggest star from professional wrestling ever to successfully crossover into a sustainable Hollywood acting career.

One of the oldest actors on the screen in the 1920s and 1930s, George Arliss starred on the London stage from an early age. He came to the United States and starred in several films, but it was his role as British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929) that brought him his greatest success.

One of America's greatest racing drivers, Mario Andretti has virtually won it all, the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the International Race of Champions (IROC) series, CART, and Formula 1 World titles. Andretti was born in Montona, Italy (now Motvun, Croatia) and with his family, including twin brother Aldo, moved to the United States in 1955. Ever since he was a little boy, his goal was to win the world championship and he accomplished this in 1978 as America's second and last world champion (he was naturalized when he was in his teens). He later won the CART title (America's top open-wheel series) and retired from racing in 1995. His son Michael is also a CART champion and went on to become a successful team owner. Andretti is still enormously popular with race fans and is one of the most recognized personalities in the sport.