CopperNCherrio's Funniest Male Celebrities

Adam Carolla was born in Los Angeles but raised in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and later North Hollywood. His mother was a recipient of welfare with a degree in Chicano studies, his dad was a psychologist, and he got where he is today, he says, in spite of them. After Adam graduated from North Hollywood High School, he spent a very short time in junior college. After dropping out, he worked a memorable stint as a carpet cleaner. Later in life, Adam worked as a skilled carpenter/builder, becoming a boxing trainer in his free time. Adam's early studies in entertainment were with The Groundlings, an improv group, which has produced a number of other famous comedic personalities. When Jimmy Kimmel was challenged to a boxing match at L.A. radio station KROQ in 1994, Adam was his trainer. Jimmy helped Adam get a job on KROQ's "Kevin and Bean Morning Show." It was on KROQ that Dr. Drew (Drew Pinsky, the original and current host of the Loveline radio show) heard Adam and liked his style. In 1995, Drew gave Adam the job of co-hosting Loveline on the radio. It was at this time that Loveline became syndicated nationally in the USA. In 1996, Loveline (1996), along with Adam and Drew, came to television on MTV. It was a popular late-night, hour-long show, which Adam and Drew co-hosted variously with Diane Farr, Catherine McCord, Laura Kightlinger, and Kris McGaha. The MTV show ran for over four years, ending in 2000, finally bowing out after what is regarded as a very successful run by MTV standards. Adam and Dr. Drew continued to co-host Loveline nightly on a syndicated national radio network, often joined on-air by celebrity guests, until 2005, when Adam left the show. Adam also writes for and occasionally guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003). Having created and worked on The Man Show (1999) and Crank Yankers (2002) with Jimmy and Daniel Kellison, Adam is putting his talents to use on more comedic ventures.

Joel Edward McHale was born in Rome, Italy, to a Canadian-born mother, Laurie (Jackson), and an American-born father, Jack McHale. His father, from Chicago, is of Irish descent, and his mother, from Vancouver, has Norwegian, Finnish, and English ancestry. Joel was raised in Seattle, Washington, and graduated from Mercer Island High School. He was a history major at the University of Washington, where he was a member of the championship football team. In addition, Joel received his master's of fine arts from UW's Actor's Training Program.

Joel was a cast member on KING-TV's Almost Live! (1984). He moved to LA after graduating college and quickly landed parts in Will & Grace (1998) and Oliver Beene (2003). 2004 was a big year for Joel, as he booked roles in Spider-Man 2 (2004), The Onion Movie (2008), and Lords of Dogtown (2005). In addition, that year he began writing, producing and starring in The Soup (2004) on E! in which he counted down the most absurd, hysterical, wacky, and surreal moments in the world of reality TV and celebrities each week. Joel's quick wit and sharp comedic timing made "The Soup" a pop-culture phenomenon.

Joel starred on the hit comedy series Community (2009). He also appeared opposite Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's comedic thriller The Informant! (2009). He hosted the 2011 Independent Spirit Awards, and co-starred in Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World (2011), opposite Jessica Alba, in which he played a spy-hunting reporter married to Alba's character, the stepmother of his children. In 2011, he also had a role in What's Your Number? (2011) with Anna Faris and The Big Year (2011) with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson.

McHale appeared in Seth MacFarlane's Ted (2012), a live-action tale of a boy and his teddy bear. Co-starring with Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Seth MacFarlane, he played a charming but sleazy boss of Mila Kunis' character.

In 2016, Joel was cast as the main character on the sitcom The Great Indoors (2016). He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two sons. He performs stand-up comedy around the country to sold-out audiences.

Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 15, 1973. His parents, Sheila Gail (Scott) and Ronald Gene Harris, were lawyers and ran a restaurant. He grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, a small town 120 miles south of Albuquerque, where he first took up acting in the fourth grade. While tagging along with his older brother of 3 years, Harris won the part of Toto in a school production of The Wizard of Oz (1939).

His parents moved the family to Albuquerque in 1988, the same year that Harris made his film debut in two movies: Purple People Eater (1988) and Clara's Heart (1988), which starred Whoopi Goldberg. A year later, when Neil was 16, he landed the lead role in Steven Bochco's television series about a teen prodigy doctor at a local hospital, Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989), which launched Harris into teen-heartthrob status. The series lasted1989-1993 and earned him a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Series (1990) and a Golden Globe Nomination (1990). Harris attended the same high school as Freddie Prinze Jr., La Cueva High School in Albuquerque. Neil acted on stage in a few plays while there, one of which was his senior play, Fiddler on the Roof (1971), in which he portrayed Lazar Wolf the butcher (1991).

When "Doogie Howser, M.D." stopped production in 1993, Harris took up stage acting, which he had always wanted to do. After a string of made-for-television movies, Harris acted in his first big screen roles in nine years, Starship Troopers (1997) with Casper Van Dien and then The Proposition (1998). In July 1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark Cohen for the Los Angeles production of the beloved musical, Rent (2005). His performance in "Rent" garnered him a Drama-League Award in 1997. He continued in the musical, to rave reviews, until January 1998. He later reprised the role for six nights in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in December 1998.

In 1999, Harris returned to television in the short-lived sitcom Stark Raving Mad (1999), with Tony Shalhoub. He was also in the big-screen projects The Next Best Thing (2000) and Undercover Brother (2002), and he can be heard as the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the newest animated Spider-Man (2003) series. Harris has continued his stage work, making his Broadway debut in 2001 in "Proof." He has also appeared on stage in "Romeo and Juliet," "Cabaret," Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001), and, most recently, "Assassins." In 2005, Harris returned to the small screen in a guest-starring role on Numb3rs (2005) and a starring role in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005). Neil played the title role in the web-exclusive musical comedy Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), widely downloaded via iTunes to become the #1 TV series for five straight weeks, despite not actually being on television.

Multi-talented Jason Jordan Segel was born in Los Angeles, California, where he was raised by his parents, Jillian (Jordan), a homemaker, and Alvin Segel, a lawyer. His mother is of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, and his father is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. He was educated at St. Matthew's Parish School in Pacific Palisades, before moving on to Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. During his education he showed an interest in acting and often performed in plays at the Palisades Playhouse.

His major break came in 1999, when he was cast as Nick Andopolis in Judd Apatow's well-regarded series Freaks and Geeks (1999). Further TV and film roles followed, notably in How I Met Your Mother (2005) and Knocked Up (2007). His film breakthrough, however, came in 2008's hit Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) which he wrote and starred in. Segel also co-wrote and starred in The Muppets (2011).

Segel is also a musician and songwriter, with his songs appearing in many projects including Freaks and Geeks (1999), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), How I Met Your Mother (2005) and Get Him to the Greek (2010).

Paul Stephen Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey. His parents, Michael and Gloria, both from Jewish families, were born in the London area, U.K. He has one sister, who is three years younger than he is. Paul traveled with his family during his early years, because of his father's airline job at TWA. His family eventually settled in Overland Park, Kansas, where his mother worked as a sales manager for TV station KSMO-TV. Paul attended Broadmoor Junior High and Shawnee Mission West High School, from which he graduated in 1987, and where he was Student Body President. He then enrolled at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, majoring in theater. He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts-West in Los Angeles and participated in a three-month intensive workshop under the guidance of Michael Kahn at the British Drama Academy at Oxford University in Britain. Rudd helped to produce the Globe Theater's production of Howard Brenton's "Bloody Poetry," which starred Rudd as Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Nathan Fillion was born on 27 March 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the son of Cookie (Early) and Bob Fillion, both retired English teachers, and has an older brother, Jeff. His father is of French-Canadian descent, and his mother is of English, German, Finnish, and Norwegian ancestry. In Canada, he attended Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Concordia University College of Alberta and University of Alberta. Before moving to New York City in 1994, he participated in improv theatre, including Theatresports with Rapid Fire Theatre and improvised soap opera Die-Nasty. He also appeared in a TV Movie Ordeal in the Arctic (1993) starring Richard Chamberlain and in Strange and Rich (1994).

Fillion's first regular role was on a daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), as Joey Buchanan, for which role he was nominated in 1996 for a Daytime Emmy Award. He left the series after three years in 1997. During the late 1990's, he appeared in small roles in the films Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Blast from the Past (1999). Fillion also guest starred on Das Bootie (1997), Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (1998) and Starcrossed (1999). His biggest break by then happened in 1998, when he was cast as Johnny Donnelly on the 2nd season of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998) opposite Traylor Howard, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Ruccolo and Suzanne Cryer. He starred on the show for 60 episodes.

After "Two Guys" ended in 2001, Fillion gained critical acclaim and a large cult of fans when he starred as Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the Joss Whedon's Firefly (2002). Unfortunately the show was prematurely canceled in late 2002. He also guest starred on several episodes of two short lived TV shows, Pasadena (2001), as Rev. Glenn Collins and Miss Match (2003), as Adam Logan. In 2003, Whedon gave Fillion another chance to display his range when he cast Fillion as the twisted preacher Caleb, a villain, in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997). Before and after "Firefly", Fillion appeared in many movies, Dracula 2000 (2000), Alligator Point (2003), Water's Edge (2003), If Dad Only Knew (2004) and Hollywood Division (2004).

Whedon vowed to resurrect "Firefly" in some way, and Fillion played Captain Reynolds again in the feature-film Serenity (2005). Fillion followed this film with more big screen leading roles, in the horror-comedy Slither (2006), in White Noise 2: The Light (2007), in the indie hit Waitress (2007) opposite Keri Russell and in Trucker (2008). He also continued to be a force in television, starring in the short-lived Fox-TV series Drive (2007) and appearing on a recurring role as Dr. Adam Mayfair on the 4th season of ABC's Desperate Housewives (2004), opposite Dana Delany. He also appeared on I Do (2006) and was a voice actor on many video games (e.g. Halo 3 (2007)).

In 2008, he took his first singing part (and cemented his cult appeal) as Captain Hammer in Whedon's musical Internet smash Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), with Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. In 2009, he was cast as the title character Richard Castle in ABC's hit television series, Castle (2009). The show has aired more than 160 episodes and Nathan Fillion has won four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor, as of 2016. In 2018, Fillion took the starring role in The Rookie (2018) as John Nolan, a contractor who starts over as a rookie police officer in the LAPD after a life-altering event. Besides starring on "Castle", he has appeared in many movies, in Super (2010) as The Holy Avenger, in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (2012) as Dogberry, the incompetent chief of security, in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (2013) as Hermes and in Thrilling Adventure Hour Live (2015).

His credits as a voice-actor are numerous: on Bright Lights, Dean City (2010) as Brown Widow, in Wonder Woman (2009) as Steve Trevor, in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: Doom (2012), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015) as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, in Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special (2012) as Green Lantern/Mr. Freeze, on American Dad! (2005), in Pixar's Monsters University (2013) as Johnny, in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as Monstrous Inmate and on Gravity Falls (2012) as Preston Northwest. He also voices the lead, Shojun in the animated movie, Yamasong: March of the Hollows (2017). He has also continued voicing characters in video games, such as in Destiny (2014) and in Halo 5: Guardians (2015).

He has also guest starred on The Daly Superheroes (2012) as himself, on Community (2009) as Bob Waite, on The Comic Book Store Regeneration (2015) as himself, on Twins (2015) as Mountie McMinniman, on Con Man (2015) as Jack Moore and on Space (2015) as Wernher Von Braun. He also narrated the documentary, Highway of Tears (2015).

Bradley Charles Cooper was born on January 5, 1975 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, Gloria (Campano), is of Italian descent, and worked for a local NBC station. His father, Charles John Cooper, who was of Irish descent, was a stockbroker. Immediately after Bradley graduated from the Honors English program at Georgetown University in 1997, he moved to New York City to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University. There, he developed his stage work, culminating with his thesis performance as John Merrick in Bernard Pomerance's "The Elephant Man", performed in New York's Circle in the Square.

While still in school, Bradley began his professional career, appearing opposite Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex and the City (1998) and on the drama series The Beat (2000). His weekends were spent with LEAP (Learning through the Expanded Arts Program), a non-profit organization that teaches acting and movement to inner city school children. The summers took him all across the globe, from kayaking in British Columbia with Orca Whales to ice-climbing in the Peruvian Andes, while hosting Lonely Planet's Treks in a Wild World (2000) for the Discovery Channel. Bradley had to miss his graduation ceremony from the Actors Studio in order to star in his first feature Wet Hot American Summer (2001). After finishing his second feature Bending All the Rules (2002), his plans to relocate to Los Angeles were delayed when Darren Star hired him to star on the drama series The $treet (2000).

Bradley went on to win the role of young law student Gordon Pinella in Changing Lanes (2002), starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, and also played Travis Paterson in My Little Eye (2002). He finally decided that it was time to forgo his other New York projects and move to Los Angeles when he was cast on Alias (2001). After supporting roles in Wedding Crashers (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), The Comebacks (2007), The Rocker (2008) and Yes Man (2008), Cooper broke out with major roles in He's Just Not That Into You (2009), The Hangover (2009) and Valentine's Day (2010). He co-starred in the action film The A-Team (2010) and headlined the thriller film Limitless (2011).

Cooper received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor after starring opposite Jennifer Lawrence in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook (2012). He then received two more consecutive Oscar nominations, Best Supporting Actor for playing Richie DiMaso in Russell's American Hustle (2013) (again opposite Lawrence, though their characters shared no significant screen time), and Best Actor for playing Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper (2014), the highest grossing film of 2014. During this time period, Cooper also reprised his role in The Hangover Part II (2011) and The Hangover Part III (2013), turned in another strong dramatic turn in The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), and voiced Rocket Raccoon in the third highest grossing film of 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

In 2015, Bradley headlined two comedies, Cameron Crowe's Aloha (2015), set in Hawaii, and John Wells' Burnt (2015), set in London, and starred opposite Jennifer Lawrence again in David O. Russell's Joy (2015).

Bradley has a daughter (born 2017) with his former partner, model Irina Shayk.

John Yohan Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Los Angeles, California as a child. His father was a Christian minister. Cho was educated at Herbert Hoover High School at Glendale, before moving on to the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied English literature. Upon graduation, he moved back to Los Angeles, working for a while as a teacher at Pacific Hills School where he taught 7th grade English. He also began acting with the famed Asian American theatre company East West Players.

A screen acting career began with small roles in projects such as Wag the Dog (1997), Bowfinger (1999), and the critical favorite Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). His breakthrough came when he appeared in the teen romance comedy American Pie (1999) and helped coin the phrase "MILF". Other roles followed, and he scored another hit in the slacker comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). Cho also starred in the hugely successful franchise reboot Star Trek (2009), in the sought-after role of Hikaru Sulu, and has continued working steadily in Hollywood, starring in the indie drama Columbus (2017), thriller film Searching (2018), and the horror follow-up The Grudge (2019). As well as acting, Cho is also a singer and performs in the band Viva La Union.

He is married to actress Kerri Higuchi, and they have two children.

Bryan Lee Cranston was born on March 7, 1956 in Hollywood, California, to Audrey Peggy Sell, a radio actress, and Joe Cranston, an actor and former amateur boxer. His maternal grandparents were German, and his father was of Irish, German, and Austrian-Jewish ancestry. He was raised in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and also stayed with his grandparents, living on their poultry farm in Yucaipa. Cranston's father walked out on the family when Cranston was eleven, and they did not see each other again until 11 years later, when Cranston and his brother decide to track down their father.

Cranston is known for his roles as Walter White on the AMC crime drama Breaking Bad (2008), Hal on the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle (2000), and Dr. Tim Whatley on five episodes of the NBC situation comedy Seinfeld (1989). For his role on "Breaking Bad", he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times (2008-2010, 2014), including three consecutive wins. After becoming one of the producers during the series' fourth and fifth seasons, he also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series twice.

In June 2014, Cranston won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson in the play "All the Way" on Broadway. He reprised the role of Lyndon Johnson in the television adaptation All the Way (2016), which earned him widespread praise by critics. For the biographical drama Trumbo (2015), he earned widespread acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Cranston also appeared in several acclaimed films, such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Drive (2011), Argo (2012) and Godzilla (2014). In 2019, he starred with Kevin Hart in the box office hit The Upside (2017).

English actor, writer, and comedian Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, to Gillian Rosemary (Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician. His parents divorced when he was seven. He later took his stepfather's surname "Pegg." He was educated at Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School in Gloucestershire and went on to Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English literature and performance studies. He then attended the University of Bristol, and earned a bachelor's degree in drama. In the early 2000s, Pegg moved to London and began forging a successful career in stand-up comedy. Television opportunities followed including roles in Six Pairs of Pants (1995), Asylum (1996), and We Know Where You Live (1997). In 1999, Pegg and Jessica Hynes teamed up to write and star in cult sitcom Spaced (1999), directed by Edgar Wright. The series also featured Pegg's best friend Nick Frost. Pegg's breakthrough in film came with the zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead (2004), which he also co-wrote with director Edgar Wright. Again, the film featured Nick Frost. The trio also scored a hit with police comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Further film successes followed for Pegg, notably in the iconic role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek (2009) and alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011).

Ricky Dene Gervais was born in a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, to Eva Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead Comprehensive School and went on to study at University College, London, where he gained a degree in Philosophy.

After university, Gervais attempted to pursue a pop career with Seona Dancing, a duo he formed with a fellow student. Similar to many groups in the early 1980s, they were a synth-pop act with a somewhat pretentious name and exhibiting a strong musical influence by David Bowie. Gervais adopted a vocal style that has often been compared to Bowie; comedian Paul Merton would later joke that Bowie nicked their music. Seona Dancing were briefly signed to a recording contract and released two singles, "More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The latter was slightly reminiscent of Queen's "Body Language" from a year earlier, featuring a similar synthesizer riff. The act failed to breach the UK top 75 and earn a place in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, but clips have survived and they have been frequently used to tease Gervais in interviews. Despite his own lack of success, Gervais stayed within the music industry for a while and even spent time as the manager of Suede.

Gervais had to wait a long time before achieving the fame he had hoped would come with a pop career. In the 1990s he formed a writing partnership with Stephen Merchant. In 2000, he landed his own comedy chat show on Channel 4, Meet Ricky Gervais (2000), which attracted legendary guests such as Jimmy Savile, Michael Winner, Paul Daniels, Peter Purves, Stefanie Powers, Jim Bowen and Midge Ure. The series only ran for six episodes but a year later greater stardom came for Gervais with the debut of BBC comedy The Office (2001). Although it was not initially received to great acclaim or viewing figures, it is now often cited as one of the greatest comedy series of all time and has been credited with reinventing the sitcom. Gervais starred as the obnoxious and embarrassing office manager David Brent, who has since been voted in various polls one of the greatest comic characters. It also prompted an American remake, The Office (2005). Gervais had further success with another sitcom, Extras (2005), which attracted a series of celebrity guests, including Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson and his musical idol David Bowie. It served as a satire on the entertainment industry and leading stars were happy to play along by performing exaggerated versions of themselves.

Gervais has become one of the most popular and omnipresent comedy performers of the 21st century, hosting the Golden Globe awards, lending his talent to films, becoming a voice artist and appearing on numerous talk shows. He has become one of the best known British comedy figures in America. He is also regularly the subject of controversy due to his dark comedy. Some critics have called him insensitive and outrageous. Gervais has responded by saying "offense is the collateral damage of free speech", he has said that he doesn't aim for a mass audience, he's just pleased he's managed to get one, and he has compared his style of comedy and the audience he has acquired with being Iggy Pop in preference to being Phil Collins.

Hugh was born in Oxford, England in 1959, to Patricia (Laidlaw) and William George Ranald Mundell "Ran" Laurie. He was educated at Eton College and Cambridge University. He met Emma Thompson at Cambridge in 1978 when both joined the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe and was introduced to life long friend and comedy partner Stephen Fry by Emma in 1980. He is a well acclaimed actor, comedian, writer, and blues musician. Hugh is married to Jo Laurie (née Green) with whom he has three children. They live in London, England.

Colin Andrew Mochrie was on born November 30, 1957, in Kilmarnock, Scotland. His father, an airline maintenance executive, moved the family to Montreal, Canada, in 1964, and finally to Vancouver in 1969. When asked about his childhood, Mochrie said he tended to be a bit of a loner because of moving around so much, but other than that he was a pretty typical kid: "I fought with my younger brother, was protective of my younger sister and didn't get my parents." After he dropped out of school in B.C., he did theater sports and there met Ryan Stiles, with whom he has remained friends for more than 20 years. In 1989, Mochrie married comedian Debra McGrath; they have one daughter, Kinley Mochrie. He worked at Second City in Toronto before joining the British comedy improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988) (and he also stars in the American version, Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998)). Mochrie and his family once resided in Los Angeles but moved back to Canada. He had a recurring role on The Drew Carey Show (1995) as Eugene Anderson. He won the Canadian Comedy award as Male Improvisational Comic. In addition to his TV work, Mochrie has been busy on the stage, which is where he began his career, the early part of which he spent touring with the National Touring Company, and has starred in such popular stage productions as "She Stoops to Conquer" and "The Brady Bunch." He also writes as well as stars in the Canadian comedy series Supertown Challenge (1998), as well as the sitcom Blackfly (2001). He has also appeared in such films as John Woo's Once a Thief (1991), Love and Other Disasters (2006), The Campbells (1986), The Real Blonde (1997), and The January Man (1989).

Robin McLaurin Williams was born on Saturday, July 21st, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Governor and Senator, Anselm J. McLaurin. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model from Mississippi, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford Motor Company executive from Indiana. Williams had English, German, French, Welsh, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.

Robin briefly studied political science at Claremont Men's College and theater at College of Marin before enrolling at The Juilliard School to focus on theater. After leaving Juilliard, he performed in nightclubs where he was discovered for the role of "Mork, from Ork", in an episode of Happy Days (1974). The episode, My Favorite Orkan (1978), led to his famous spin-off weekly TV series, Mork & Mindy (1978). He made his feature starring debut playing the title role in Popeye (1980), directed by Robert Altman.

Williams' continuous comedies and wild comic talents involved a great deal of improvisation, following in the footsteps of his idol Jonathan Winters. Williams also proved to be an effective dramatic actor, receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991), before winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Good Will Hunting (1997).

During the 1990s, Williams became a beloved hero to children the world over for his roles in a string of hit family-oriented films, including Hook (1991), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), Flubber (1997), and Bicentennial Man (1999). He continued entertaining children and families into the 21st century with his work in Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Happy Feet Two (2011), and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014). Other more adult-oriented films for which Williams received acclaim include The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Awakenings (1990), The Birdcage (1996), Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), World's Greatest Dad (2009), and Boulevard (2014).

On Monday, August 11th, 2014, Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California USA, the victim of an apparent suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. A 911 call was received at 11:55 a.m. PDT, firefighters and paramedics arrived at his home at 12:00 p.m. PDT, and he was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. PDT.

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.

Wayne Brady was born in Columbus, Georgia and lived in Orlando, Florida. At 16, Brady had already decided on a career in the military. Little did he know that a chance performance in a high school play would garner him not only rave reviews but also permanently alter his long-range plans. Soon, he was heavily involved in the central Florida theater community, performing in numerous stage productions including "A Chorus Line", "Fences", "A Raisin in the Sun", "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "I'm Not Rappaport". Brady moved to Las Vegas and then to Los Angeles in 1996, where he began working in theater and television. He performed at the prestigious Mark Taper Forum in its production of "Blade to the Heat". He also garnered guest starring roles in such television series as NBC's I'll Fly Away (1991) and The Home Court (1995) and In the Heat of the Night (1988) for CBS. Currently, Brady is busy hosting the VH-1 series, Vinyl Justice (1998), which premieres in August. Brady has also been honored with several nominations for his work in theater, including Best Actor in a Musical for "Cotton Patch Gospel" at the distinguished Edyth Bush Theatre. He was named Sak Theatre's 1992 Rookie of the Year for TheatreSports/Improv.