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: Widmark was performing in a stage production in Chicago when 20th Century Fox signed him to a seven-year film contract. His first movie role was Kiss of Death (1947), a part that earned him a Golden Globe and his only Academy Award nomination. His early films were The Street with No Name (1948), Road House (1948) and Yellow Sky (1948) and he quickly developed a reputation for playing movie villains. After demanding more diverse roles, he went on play a wide range of parts in the likes of Panic in the Streets (1950), No Way Out (1950), Night and the City (1950), Broken Lance (1954), The Alamo (1960), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and Madigan (1968). He made the transition to the small screen in 1971 with the TV movie Vanished, and he reprised his detective role from Madigan in six TV movies. After a career that had seen him star in more than 60 films, he retired from acting in 2001. After a long illness, he died in 2008 at the age of 93.

Career: Gidget lasted for only one series, but Field proved a hit with TV audiences and in 1967 was given the lead role in the sitcom The Flying Nun, which ran for three years. When that came to an end, she was afraid she would never be taken seriously and signed up to study at the prestigious Actors Studio. In 1976, she won an Emmy for her performance in TV movie Sybill and big-screen success soon followed in Smokey and the Bandit. In 1979, Field picked up the Best Actress Oscar for Norma Rae, going on to win a second five years later for Places in the Heart. Her career has since struggled to reach those heights, but Field has appeared in successful movies including Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump and Say It Isn't So, and in 2001 won an Emmy for her recurring guest role in ER. She has since won further rave reviews for her role in US drama Brothers and Sisters. Her recent credits include Lincoln and The Amazing Spider-Man movies.