Career: In 1941 he landed his first role on Broadway in the play Spring Again and changed his name to Kirk Douglas, but his career was put on hold when he signed up with the US Navy; he was discharged in 1944 after being injured. He returned to Broadway, where he was spotted by Hollywood scouts. His film debut was 1946's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers; his first Oscar nomination came three years later for Champion. He received further nominations for the Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life. Douglas formed his own production company, Bryna (named after his mother), which made many of his best-known films, including The Vikings and Seven Days in May. He also produced Spartacus, and caused controversy when he gave a screen credit to the blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. He continues to make public appearances despite suffering a debilitating stroke in 1996.

Career: After being spotted by a talent scout, Curtis was signed by Universal Pictures in 1948. He admits he was interested only in earning money and wooing girls, but he quickly built a hugely successful career. He made his screen debut with walk-on parts in several movies in 1949. By the end of the 1950s, he'd become a major star thanks to films such as The Sweet Smell of Success, The Vikings, The Defiant Ones and Some Like It Hot. More major films followed in the next decade, but in the 1970s he won new fans with TV series The Persuaders! and McCoy. Away from acting, Curtis was an accomplished artist. He suffered from several illnesses in his later years, and underwent heart bypass surgery in 1994. He died from a cardiac arrest on September 29, 2010, at the age of 85.

Career: After moving to Los Angeles to pursue a movie career, Borgnine made his film debut in Richer Than the Earth (1951). In 1953, he played Sgt 'Fatso' Judson in From Here to Eternity, and he won an Academy Award for his performance as a sensitive butcher in Marty (1955). Other films included Wedding Breakfast (1956), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Ice Station Zebra (1968), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Emperor of the North Pole (1973). On the small screen, he starred in the popular TV series McHale's Navy, and the action series Airwolf. He earned an Emmy Award nomination at the age of 92 for his work on the series ER. He died on July 8, 2012, at the age of 95.