Trivia: Born Carlos Ray Norris, Chuck Norris served in Korea in the Army. While there, he studied karate and later became the World Middleweight Karate Champion. He was encouraged by one of his karate students, actor Steve McQueen, to go into acting. He debuted onscreen in the enormously popular Bruce Lee vehicle Enter the Dragon (1973); since the death of Lee he has been the screen's premier martial arts star. He has appeared primarily in militaristic movies in which he single-handedly kills many enemies. His breakthrough film was Missing in Action (1984), in which he played an ex-POW in search of American prisoners still held in Vietnam.

Trivia: Formerly a schoolteacher, Texas-born Noble Willingham has been essaying crusty character roles since 1969. Willingham's resumé includes a brace of location-filmed Peter Bogdanovich films, The Last Picture Show (1971) and Paper Moon (1973), and the role of Clay Stone in both of Billy Crystal's City Slickers comedies. Among his TV-movie credits is the part of President James Knox Polk in 1985's Dream West. A regular on several TV series (The Ann Jillian Show, Texas Wheelers, Cutter to Houston, AfterMASH, When the Whistle Blows), Willingham is best known to 1990s viewers as Mr. Binford (of Binford Tools) in Home Improvement and C. D. Parker in Walker, Texas Ranger. Noble Willingham's most recent film assignments include Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994) Up Close and Personal (1996) and Space Jam (1996). In 2000, Willingham left Walker, Texas Ranger to run for Congress in Texas. After losing the election to his Democratic opponent, Max Sandlin, Willingham returned to acting with a supporting role in the Val Kilmer thriller Blind Horizon. Sadly, the part would be the actor's last. In early 2004, at the age of 72, Willingham passed away at home from natural causes.

Trivia: Before underappreciated character actor Steve Railsback became a fixture in the direct-to-video market, he studied with Lee Strasberg and spent a decade acting on the N.Y.C. theater circuit. His made his film debut in Elia Kazan's 1972 crime thriller The Visitors, and followed that up with a role in the 1974 action drama Cockfighter. His first major film role was as the cult leader Charles Manson in the 1976 CBS movie Helter Skelter, based on the book by Vincent Bugliosi. He starred opposite Sophia Loren in the barely released Canadian film Angela and opposite Kim Basinger in the six-hour romantic miniseries From Here to Eternity. His last mainstream starring role was in the 1980 offbeat action movie The Stunt Man, as a fugitive who stumbles onto the set of a fictional movie directed by Peter O'Toole and starring Barbara Hershey. The movie developed a bit of a cult following, and as a result Railsback developed a small but appreciative audience.Throughout the remainder of the '80s, Railsback thrived as a leading man in the special area of low-budget B-movies seen mostly on cable or home video. Some schlocky favorites include the British sci-fi horror flick Lifeforce and the Australian action movie Escape 2000. A few exceptions to his action-filled resumé are the family drama The Golden Seal and the period comedy Calender Girl. In the '90s he tried producing and screenwriting while also playing recurring psychopath Duane Barry on FOX's The X-Files. He made his directorial debut in 1994 with The Spy Within, an erotic thriller starring Scott Glenn and Theresa Russell. In 1997 he joined the cast of the FOX sci-fi drama series The Visitor for a season. In 2000 he returned to playing sicko psychopaths as the title character in the creepy biopic Ed Gein. In addition to portraying the farmer-turned-serial killer, he also served as executive producer. He stayed with the horror genre for his next appearance in the South African movie Slash (2002).

Trivia: To overcome a childhood bout with infantile paralysis, Alex Cord put himself on a rigorous athletic regimen. By the time he reached his late teens, Cord was an accomplished rodeo performer. After preparing for a theatrical career in New York and London, he made his film debut with a small part in 1962's The Chapman Report. Among his American starring features was the 1966 remake of Stagecoach and the 1978 Western Grayeagle, in which he essayed the title role. Most of his biggest and best screen opportunities came his way when he plunged into the European film scene of the 1970s. On television, Alex Cord has played ruthless network programming chief Jack Kiley on W.E.B. (1978), D.A. Mike Holland on the Angie Dickinson starrer Cassie and Company (1982), and the enigmatic, eye-patched Michael Archangel on Airwolf (1984-1986).

Trivia: Lead actor, onscreen from the '80s. He is the brother of actor Patrick Swayze.