Trivia: The ninth in a family of 18 children, Esther Rolle left her family's Florida home for New York once she came of age. She worked her way through Hunter College, Spellman College and the New School for Social Research. Even after her 1962 New York stage debut in The Blacks, Esther was compelled to hold down a day job in the city's garment district. She appeared in such Broadway productions as The Crucible and Blues for Mr. Charlie, and toured extensively with Robert Hooks' Negro Ensemble Company. Her breakthrough role was Florida the maid in the 1972 Norman Lear sitcom Maude. Though she balked at playing a domestic, Rolle was impressed by Florida's independence and pugnaciousness. In February of 1973, the Florida character was spun off into her own series, Good Times, the saga of a tightly-knit black family surviving in the Chicago projects. Rolle welcomed the series as an opportunity to depict a poor but proud African-American family with a strong father figure (played by John Amos) at the center. But when Amos, upset that co-star Jimmie "J.J." Walker was dominating the series, left Good Times in 1974, Rolle echoed the words of such groups as the National Black Media Coalition in chastising the renovated series, wherein an irresponsible, wisecracking teenaged cut-up was now "head" of the household. When her contract ran out in 1977, Esther joined John Amos in bolting Good Times. After a year of pursuing other projects -- one of which, the made-for-TV film Summer of My German Soldier, won Rolle an Emmy -- she was back on Good Times, having been assured that she would be given full script approval and that the J.J. character had matured. But by this time, audiences had wearied of Good Times, and the series was cancelled in 1979. Since that time, Rolle has hardly wanted for work: her most recent credits include the strong role of Idella in the 1989 Oscar-winner Driving Miss Daisy, the starring part of the black owner of a Jewish deli in the 1990 sitcom Singer and Son, and a guest appearance as the dying Mammy in the 1994 Gone with the Wind sequel Scarlet. In addition, Esther Rolle has been nominated honorary chairperson of the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped, and has been honored with several Image Awards from the NAACP.

Trivia: Thin, jug-eared, and rubber-faced black comedian Jimmie Walker is best remembered for playing J.J. on the sitcom Good Times (1974-1979). His exuberant "Dyno-mite!!" was briefly a popular catch phrase back then. Walker made his feature film debut in Sing Thanksgiving (1974). Following the demise of his show, Walker embarked upon a modest film career and carried on with his standup career. He occasionally showed up on television talk shows and in 70's retrospectives, not afraid to poke fun at his '70s persona.

Trivia: In 1970, made his Broadway musical debut at the age of 9 in The Me Nobody Knows. Originated the role of Travis Younger in Raisin, a Broadway musical based on the Lorraine Hansberry drama A Raisin in the Sun. Released his first album, When You're Young and in Love, in 1975.

Trivia: Entered Miss Black America pageants as a teen, and as Miss Brooklyn eventually won first runner-up in the Miss New York State contest. Auditioned for role of Thelma Evans on the CBS comedy series Good Times while still in college. Won the part and made her TV-series debut when it premiered in 1974. In the late 1990s, appeared in a hip-hop music video for Camp Lo with former Good Times costar Jimmie Walker. Produced several plays, including Whatever Happened to Black Love. In 2006 released first book, Situations 101: Relationships The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.

Trivia: A popular Broadway actor who was blacklisted following his refusal to answer questions at the HUAC hearings, actor and World War II veteran Alan Manson rebuilt his career following the McCarthy witch hunts, though he is best remembered for his stage roles in such Broadway hits as Funny Girl and Neil Simon's Broadway Bound. A Brooklyn, NY, native, Manson made his stage debut at 16 before hitting the bright lights of Broadway with his performance in Journey to Jerusalem at 21. Joining a touring wartime acting troupe during World War II, Manson and company attempted to keep morale high in such productions as Three Men and a Horse and Brother Rat. After being noticed by famed composer Irving Berlin, Manson made his film debut in the 1943 feature This Is the Army. Returning to the United States shortly following the end of the war, the now-established actor returned to the Broadway stage with roles in Call Me Mister and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Allegro. Summoned before the HUAC shortly before he was to take the lead in 1955's Blithe Spirit, the actor paid for his silence when he was blacklisted from television until the early '60s. Returning to the stage and screen in the early '70s following a few turbulent years, Manson would continue to make a name for himself with roles in made-for-television movies (Switch [1975] and Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After [1992]), theatrical feature films (Bang the Drum Slowly [1973], The Doors [1991]), and such notable television series as Three's Company, The Rockford Files, and Kojak. In March of 2002, Alan Manson died of natural causes in New York. He was 83.

Trivia: Black supporting actress Ja'net DuBois first appeared onscreen in 1970.