Career: John's big break came in 1971 when he joined The Second City improvisational theatre troupe in Chicago. A year later, he was cast in an off-Broadway rock musical revue that was originally booked for a six-week run but ended up playing to full houses for nearly 10 months. In 1973, he was hired as a writer for the National Lampoon's Radio Hour which became the National Lampoon Show in 1975. In the same year, he joined Saturday Night Live (SNL), where he performed in sketches alongside Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. In 1978, he made one of his best-known movies, Animal House. He left SNL in 1979 to pursue a film career and went on to make four movies, including The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd. On March 5, 1982, John was found dead in his room at the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Cathy Smith served 15 months in a California state prison for supplying John with the heroin and cocaine that killed him. He was only 33.

Career: Aykroyd met John Belushi in Chicago and introduced him to the blues before the pair appeared as The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live. He worked on the show between 1975 and 1979. Steven Spielberg cast him in his flop war comedy 1941, and a year later he and Belushi starred in a big-screen comedy featuring their Blues Brothers characters. They reunited for flop Neighbors before Belushi's death in 1982. Following the smash hit Trading Places, Aykroyd wrote and starred in 1984 hit Ghostbusters. A string of projects followed, including Spies Like Us, Dragnet, Driving Miss Daisy, Grosse Pointe Blank and 50 First Dates. He lent his vocal talents to the 3D Yogi Bear movie, working alongside pop star Justin Timberlake, and makes regular cameo appearances.

Career: Fisher appeared alongside her mother in the 1973 Broadway revival of the musical Irene, and two years later made her film debut in Shampoo. Her big break came in 1977 when she played Princess Leia in Star Wars: A New Hope. She reprised her role as Leia in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. During the 1980s, she appeared in the Broadway production of Agnes of God, published her first novel, Postcards from the Edge, and starred on the big screen in When Harry Met Sally. She wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film version of Postcards from the Edge, and spent a number of years as a leading Hollywood script doctor. In 2007, she took to the stage to perform her one-woman play Wishful Drinking. In 2015, she returned to her most famous role as Princess Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She died on December 27, 2016, at the age of 60. A day later, her mother died at the age of 84.

Career: Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel paved the way for feature film The Sugarland Express, a modest hit. In 1975, Jaws started a long run of successes, including the Indiana Jones films, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He also co-founded studio Dreamworks SKG, which has backed various hits, including Shrek, American Beauty and Gladiator. Spielberg's recent films include The Terminal, Munich and War of the Worlds. He has also worked as the producer on a string of hit films, including The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Transformers trilogy, and True Grit. His recent work includes The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse and Lincoln. He won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and an honorary award in 1987.