Terry Gross

Film director Carl Reiner. He was a writer and appeared in Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows." He's best-known to baby boomer audiences as the creator and writer of "The Dick Van Dyke Show." He also staged several Broadway plays, including "Enter Laughing," which is based on his novel and which he later adapted to the screen. Since then, he has concentrated on film direction, specifically comedies.

Actor and comedian David Alan Grier. Grier got his start on the TV sketch comedy show In Living Color. He's films include Boomerang, Blankman, and Return to Me(REBROADCAST from 4/01/91).

Dick and Tom Smothers of the comedy duo The Smothers Brothers. In 1967, their show The Smothers Brothers Comedy hour first went on the air. The show has been credited with helping pave the way for a new generation of TV comedy shows including Saturday Night Live. (REBROADCAST from a 12/31/1985 interview.)

Actor James McDaniel is Lieutenant Arthur Fancy on NYPD Blue. McDaniel has appeared in numerous television, film and theater productions, including the films "Strictly Business," "Malcolm X," and "Alice." He's also received the Clarence Derwent Award for his performance in the Broadway play, "Six Degrees of Separation." McDaniel has appeared on the television shows "Kate and Allie," "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law," and "Civil Wars." (REBROADCAST from 12/10/96)

Actor Peter Falk (pronounced like “Talk”). He’s best known for his role as a rumpled L.A. detective in the 1970s TV series "Columbo," where he garnered three Emmy awards. (REBROADCAST FROM 3/15/95)

Actor J.K. Simmons. He's a regular on HBO's "OZ" the graphic and disturbing drama of life in a maximum security prison. Simmons plays convict and neo-nazi Vernon Schillinger. And he has a recurring role in “Law & Order.” Simmons film credits include "The Jackal" and "Extreme Measures." (REBROADCAST from 7/30/98)

The stars of the 1980s TV series "Cagney & Lacey" Sharon Gless (Christine Cagney) and Tyne Daly (Mary Beth Lacy). The two played New York City Police detectives. "C&L" was the first TV crime show in which the two central characters were female. The TV series won 14 Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Award. Tyne Daly is currently starring in the CBS series “Judging Amy.” (REBROADCAST from 4/27/95)

Jay Leno host of The Tonight Show. He was doing stand up during the era that included Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, and Steve Martin. LENO took over the helm of The Tonight Show in 1992. (REBROADCAST from 10/21/96)

Former late-night talk show host Dick Cavett. He got his start writing gags for Jack Parr, when Parr was the host of The Tonight Show. Cavett then went the route of the standup comic, and in 1968 landed a morning talk show gig. Eventually he hosted his own late-night talk show opposite The Tonight Show which ran on ABC until 1975. From 1977-1982 he hosted The Dick Cavett Show five times a week on PBS. (REBROADCAST from 9/24/85)

Fred De Cordova, is the former executive producer of "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." In 1988 he wrote his autobiography, "Johnny Came Lately," a behind-the-scenes tell-all about the workings of one of television's longest-running and highest rated shows. De Cordova credits include directing Ronald Reagan in "Bedtime for Bonzo," directing "The Jack Benny Show," "The Burns and Allen Show," and "My Three Sons." (REBROADCAST from 3/21/88)