Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome in childhood.
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta, including many of the characters. Wilson once told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he selected WKRP as the call sign to stand for C-R-A-P.
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups. There have been instances in which an actor has been so strongly identified with a role as to make it difficult for them to find work playing other characters.
Daphne Etta Maxwell Reid is an American actress, comedian, designer and former model. She is best known for her role as the second Vivian Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1993 to 1996.
Howard Hesseman was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey (DJ) Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class. He appeared regularly on television and in film from the 1970s to 2010s, with his other noteworthy roles including Sam Royer in the last two seasons of One Day at a Time and a supporting role as Captain Pete Lassard in the film Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.
John Witherspoon, was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films. Witherspoon played Willie Jones in the Friday series, and starred in films such as Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Boomerang (1992), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). In addition, Witherspoon made appearances on television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994), The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999), The Tracy Morgan Show (2003), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Boondocks (2005–2014), and Black Jesus (2014–2019). He wrote a film, From the Old School, in which he played an elderly working man who tries to prevent a neighborhood convenience store from being developed into a strip club.
William T. Woodson was an American film, stage, radio and voice actor, best known for his narration of the radio series This is Your FBI, The Invaders, the animated series Super Friends and all its spin-offs, and the opening of The Odd Couple television series.
Frank's Place is an American comedy-drama series that aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television season. The series was created by Hugh Wilson and executive produced by Wilson and series star and fellow WKRP in Cincinnati alumnus Tim Reid.
Hugh Hamilton Wilson Jr. was an American film director, writer and television showrunner. He is best known as the creator of the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and Frank's Place, and as the director of the film comedies Police Academy and The First Wives Club.
Timothy David Key is an English poet, comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality. He is best known for playing Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in Mid Morning Matters, Alpha Papa, and This Time, as well as his work as a member of the comedy group Cowards and his extensive list of performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2009, he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award and was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality.
Gideon Emery is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Deucalion in Teen Wolf and for providing voice-over work in video games, television series and films.
Richard Stahl was an American actor who mostly appeared in comic roles on television and in films.
Venus Flytrap is a character on the television situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82), played by Tim Reid. He is the evening and early night-time disc jockey at WKRP, and during the course of the series he also becomes the assistant program director.
Linc's is an American comedy-drama television sitcom created by Tim Reid and Susan Fales-Hill. The series starred Steven Williams, Pam Grier and Golden Brooks, and was set in a bar in Washington, D.C. It aired on Showtime for two seasons from August 1998 to February 2000. After its cancellation, it was briefly syndicated on Showtime's former sister network BET.
Taurean Blacque was an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series Hill Street Blues. He stated that he chose the name "Taurean" because his astrological sign was Taurus. He was at one time a national spokesman for adoptive services. Blacque was a Christian, and his faith influenced his desire to be involved with adoption.
Matt Malloy is an American actor and producer who has appeared extensively on television, film, and radio. Malloy's break-out performance was his co-starring role alongside Aaron Eckhart and Stacy Edwards in the 1997 black comedy movie In the Company of Men, which he co-executive produced. He also co-starred in the Amazon Prime Video comedy series Alpha House as Mormon GOP Senator Louis Laffer from Nevada.
Simon Antony Bird is an English comedian, actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the multi-award-winning E4 comedy series The Inbetweeners (2008–2010), as well as its two films, and Adam Goodman in the Channel 4 comedy series Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020).
Tom Dreesen is an American actor and stand-up comedian.
Tim and Tom were an American comedy duo made up of Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen. DuPont marketing manager Reid and insurance salesman Dreesen met at a Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting near Chicago in 1968. They were "put together to promote an anti-drug program in the local schools" and, prompted by a comment from a child, decided to form a comedy team. The team, later billed as "Tim & Tom", was the first interracial comedy duo. Years later, Reid and Dreesen co-wrote a book about those years called Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White.
Francesca P. Roberts is an American film and television actress known for playing Big Bertha in the live action movie Super Mario Bros. in 1993, as well as Anita Craig in ABC's sitcom TV series Baby Talk, which lasted from 1991 to 1992, and Anna-May in Frank's Place.
