Career: After the war, Heston worked as a model and honed his skills while running a theatre in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1947, he made his Broadway debut in Antony and Cleopatra. His first film was 1950's Dark City. Other major movies include Ben-Hur (for which he won an Oscar), Touch of Evil, The Big Country, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes and Earthquake. He also appeared in The Colbys, Wayne's World 2, and provided a voice for Cats and Dogs. Heston died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills on April 5, 2008, at the age of 84.

Career: In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Fonda landed his first professional role in the University Players production of The Jest. It wasn't long before he headed to New York. Along with roommate James Stewart, he developed his acting skills on Broadway and appeared in a number of stage productions between 1926 and 1934. Fonda got his big break when he made his first film appearance in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935). His movie career took off and in 1936 he starred in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the first Technicolor movie filmed outdoors. He went on to star in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Rings On Her Fingers (1942), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). He served in the Navy during the Second World War. In 1948, Fonda won a Tony Award for playing the title role in Mister Roberts, a role he would later play on the big screen in 1955. He went on to star in War in Peace (1956), The Wrong Man (1956), 12 Angry Men (1957), How the West Was Won (1962) and Spencer's Mountain (1963). Fonda continued to act throughout his final years and he won his only Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in On Golden Pond (1981). He died a year later in Los Angeles at the age of 77.

Career: Coburn raised his profile following appearances in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), Charade (1963), The Americanisation of Emily, and Major Dundee (1965). His other film credits include A Fistful of Dynamite (1972), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) and Cross of Iron (1977). Rheumatoid arthritis limited his output in the 1980s but he enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1990s with supporting roles in the likes of Young Guns II (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Maverick (1994), Eraser (1996), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Affliction (1997), for which he won an Academy Award. He died of a heart attack on November 18, 2002, at the age of 74.

Career: Wagner's first movie was The Happy Years in 1950. After a handful of blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances in other films, his big break came in 1952's With a Song in My Heart. Wagner became one of Hollywood's most sought after young actors, appearing in such productions as Titanic, Broken Lance, Prince Valiant, The Pink Panther and The Longest Day. His career dipped a little in the 1960s, but a decade later he was a TV regular with roles in The Streets of San Francisco, Switch and Hart to Hart. The Austin Powers movies and cameos on Two and a Half Men and NCIS have since introduced him to a whole new audience.