Although this film mainly has actors from A Bug’s Life, I’m devoting the intro to Tarzan since I’m writing about 3 films in the next post. While Tarzan doesn’t have as big of a cast. Still, based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan was conceived when Walt Disney Feature Animation then-president Thomas Schumacher expressed surprise that there hadn’t been an attempt to animate a Tarzan film, Here is a book that cries out to be animated. Yet we’re the first filmmakers to have ever taken Tarzan from page to screen and presented the character as Burroughs intended.” He noted that in animated form, Tarzan can connect to the animals on a deeper level than he can in live-action versions. Once Kevin Lima was contracted to direct, he read the Burroughs novel where he began imagining the theme of 2 hands held up against each other. This became a key symbol between the characters’ relationships in the film and a metaphor of Tarzan’s search for identity. Lima said, I was looking for something that would underscore Tarzan’s sense of being alike, yet different from his ape family. The image of touching hands was first conceived as an idea for how Tarzan realizes he and Jane are physically the same.” Since the theme revolves around what defines a family, the writers axed the notion of Tarzan going to England what he does in the book. They added a villain named Clayton as well as recharacterized Kerchak from a savage silverback to a tribe protector. To prepare for animating the gorillas, the animation team attended lectures on primates, made zoo trips, studied nature documentaries, witnessed a dissection to study musculature, and went on a 2-week safari in Kenya and Uganda. They also had the Paris animation team study different animals and consulted with an anatomy professor in order to give the Tarzan character working muscles. In addition, Disney developed a 3D painting and rendering technique known as Deep Canvas allowing artists to produce CGI backgrounds that resemble traditional paintings, which got the team a special Science and Technical Academy Award in 2003. Upon its 1999 release, Tarzan grossed $448.2 million at the worldwide box office, received good reviews, and won an Academy Award for Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart.” However, due to licensing issues with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Disney’s use of the characters is limited. In this post we’ll meet actors Jonathan Harris, Bonnie Hunt, and Brad Garrett, the voices behind 6 more characters from A Bug’s Life, and the voice behind Tarzan.

251. Jonathan Harris

Dates: 1914-2002

Early Life and Career: Born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin in the Bronx, New York City. Parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. Father worked in Manhattan’s Garment District. Family lived in a 6-story tenement and his mom often took in boarders to make ends meet, giving them Jonathan’s room and bed and often relegated the boy to sleep on the dining room chairs. By 12, he was working as a pharmacy stock boy. While his family had little money, Harris’ father made efforts to expand his son’s cultural horizons with occasional Yiddish theatre trips and by listening to opera on the dining room radio. This enthralled the boy. Although he could seldom afford admission, Harris also took an interest in Broadway plays. He also detested his Bronx accent and had cultivated an English one in its place by high school through watching British B-movies at the arts theater. He also developed interests in archaeology, Latin, romantic poetry, and Shakespeare. Legally changed his name to Harris before entering college and after a year-long standoff with his father who disagreed with the change. Graduated from Fordham University in 1936 with a degree in pharmacology. Yet, it’s clear that acting was Harris’ first love. In 1939 at 24, Harris prepared a fake resume and tried out for a repertory company at Long Island’s Millpond Playhouse. Was hired by director Richard Brooks to appear in a series of 26 plays the company performed in the summer of 1940.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998) and Toy Story 2 (1999) as well as various series, the short Geri’s Game, and A Bug’s Life video game.

Characters: Manny, Geri, and The Cleaner

Also Known For: Character actor whose career included more than 500 television, film, and voiceover appearances. Best known roles are as the prudent accountant in the TV version of The Third Man and as the fussy villain Dr. Zachary Smith in the original 1960s series Lost in Space. Was a popular character actor on television for over 30 years. Film appearances include Botany Bay, The Big Fisherman, Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer, Pinocchio and the Emperor of Night, Happily Ever After, Hubert’s Brain, and The Bolt Who Screwed Christmas. TV appearances include The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Colgate Theatre, Zorrow, Outlaws, Twilight Zone, The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Bewitched, Land of the Giants, Get Smart, Sanford & Son, Uncle Croc’s Block, Monster Squad, Space Academy, Battlestar Galactica, Diff’rent Strokes, Rainbow Brite, Foofur, Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, Paddington Bear, Freakazoid!, Superman: The Animated Series, Extreme Ghostbusters, Spider-Man, Channel Umptee-3, The Angry Beavers, and The New Woody Woodpecker Show.

Personal Life: Married to his high school sweetheart Gertrude Bergman from 1938 until his death. They had a son named Richard born in 1942 (and no, that guy didn’t end up playing Dumbledore either).

Later Life: Died of a blood clot after being in a hospital for a back injury in 2002 in Los Angeles at 88.

Trivia: Although he played Dr. Smith as a straight villain in the first season of Lost in Space, Harris soon began to rewrite his own dialogue in order to add more comedy because he felt his strength was in portraying a comic building. Was a well-known TV spokesman for IHOP. A childhood hero of Weird Al Yankovic and Bill Maher.

252. Madeline Kahn

Dates: 1942-1999

Early Life and Career: Born Madeline Gail Wolfson in Boston, Massachusetts. Raised in a nonobservant Jewish family. Father was a garment worker. Mother was an aspiring actress. Parents divorced when she was 2 and she moved with her mother to New York City. Mother remarried a man named Kahn in 1953 who adopted her. Sent to the progressive Manumit School in Bristol, Pennsylvania in 1948, where she began acting and performed in several school productions. Graduated from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, New York in 1960. Earned a drama scholarship to Hofstra University on Long Island, where she studied drama, music, and speech therapy as well as a member of the Delta Chi Delta sorority. All while working as a singing waitress at a Hofbrauhaus in New York’s Hudson Valley called the Bavarian Manor as  well  as sang musical numbers during shows. Graduated from Hofstra with a speech therapy degree in 1964. Later studied singing in New York City with Beverly Peck Jackson. Began auditioning for acting roles after graduation and briefly taught public school. Made professional debut as a chorus girl on Kiss Me, Kate, which led her to join the Actors’ Equity. Made her Broadway debut in 1968.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998)

Characters: Gypsy

Also Known For: Actress, comedian, and singer known for her comedic roles in Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks films such as What’s Up, Doc?, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, Paper Moon, and Blazing Saddles. Film appearances include The Cheap Detective, Yellowbeard, City Heat, Clue, Nixon, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, The Muppet Movie, First Family, Wholly Moses!, Slapstick of Another Kind, My Little Pony: The Movie, Mixed Nuts, Betsy’s Wedding, and Judy Berlin. TV appearances Oh Madeline!, ABC Afterschool Special, The Carol Burnett Show, Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fridays, Mr. President, Road to Avonlea, Lucky Luke, Monkey House, New York News, London Suite, Cosby, and Little Bill. Stage appearances include Kiss Me, Kate, Mixed Doubles, Candide, New Faces of 1968, Promenade, Two by Two, In the Boom Boom Room, She Loves Me, Maro Polo Sings a Solo, On the Twentieth Century, Blithe Spirit, Born Yesterday, Hello, Dolly!, The Sisters Rosenweig, Anyone Can Whistle, and Dear World.

Personal Life: Married to John Hansbury from 1999 until her death. Given she married him close to her death, Hansbury was likely Kahn’s long-term boyfriend.

Later Life: Was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1998. Underwent treatment, continued to work on Cosby, and married Hansbury. However, the disease spread rapidly and she died in New York City at the end of 1999 at 57. Cremated at Garden State Crematory in North Bergan, New Jersey. Husband John and brother Jeffrey erected a bench in Central Park dedicated to her memory. It’s located near the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir on West 87^th Street.

Trivia: Nominated for an Academy Award for her roles in Paper Moon and Blazing Saddles as well as 2 Golden Globes. Has also won a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy. Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2003.

253. Bonnie Hunt

Dates: 1961-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Chicago, Illinois as one of seven children. Father was an electrician. Was educated at the Saint Ferdinand School and Notre Dame High School for Girls, the latter while working part-time as a nurse’s aide. In 1982, Hunt worked as an oncology nurse at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In 1984, she co-founded an improvisational comedy troupe called An Impulsive Thing. In 1986, she joined Chicago’s world famous Second City troupe. While still a nurse in 1988, Hunt auditioned on her lunch break for the role of waitress Sally Dibbs in Rain Man, which she won.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Cars (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011), Monsters University (2013), Zootopia (2016), Cars 3 (2017), and Toy Story 4 (2019) as well as the Hawaiian Vacation short, a few series, the Radiator Springs Racer theme park attraction, and a few video games.

Characters: Rosie, Mrs. Flint, Sally Carrera, Dolly, Karen Graves, and Bonnie Hopps.

Also Known For: Actress and comedian best known for Rain Man, Beethoven, Jumanji, Jerry Maguire, The Green Mile, Cheaper by the Dozen, Grand, Davis Rules, The Building, Bonnie, Life with Bonnie, and The Bonnie Hunt Show. Film appearances include Dave, Only You, Now and Then, Getting Away with Murder, Kissing a Fool, Random Hearts, Return to Me, Stolen Summer, Loggerheads, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With, Stolen Summer, The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, and Red One. TV appearances include Wheel of Fortune, Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground, Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, Escape from Dannemora, and Amber Brown.

Personal Life: Married to investment banker John Murphy from 1988 until their divorce in 2006.

Later Life: Still actively working as of 2025.

Trivia: Is a Chicago Cubs fan who’s never missed an opening game at Wrigley Field as well as was in attendance in Cleveland when they won its most recent World Series. Supports the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, of which she’s an honorary board member. Has been nominated for 2 Emmys and 2 Golden Globes.

254. Mike McShane

Dates: 1955-present

Early Life and Career: Born Michael McShane in Boston, Massachusetts. Studied drama at San Joaquin Delta College and San Francisco State University, while performing with the Faultline Theatre, the San Francsico Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theater, and the Eureka Theatre. Is also an alumnus of Los Angeles Theatresports. Gained exposure in 1988 on the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? where he remained a regular performer on the show for the next 10 years.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998) and Treasure Planet (2002) as well as series like The Wonderful World of Disney and The Legend of Tarzan and A Bug’s Life video game.

Characters: Tuck and Roll and Hands

Also Known For: Actor, singer, and improvisational comedian who’s best known as Kramer’s nemesis Franklin Delano Romanowski in Seinfeld. Film appearances include Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Richie Rich, Office Space, Tom and Huck, Brotherly Love, Tower of Terror, The Spirit of ’76, Balto, Princess Mononoke, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Battle of Shaker Heights, Happily N’Ever After, Big Trouble, Memron, and Love in a Time of Monsters. TV appearances include Crashbox, Avenger Penguins, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, Dave the Barbarian, The Big One, The Comic Strip Presents…,  Broadway Stories, Performance, Jackanory, Screen Two, ER, Brotherly Love, Fraiser, Caroline in the City, The Drew Carey Show, 3^rd Rock from the Sun, Animated Tales of the World, Samurai Jack, King of the Hill, Oliver Beene, Malcolm in the Middle, Lab Rats, American Dad!, Doctor Who, Wayward Pines, Red Bird, NCIS: Los Angeles, Barbarians, and NCIS. Video game appearances include Blade Runner, Emperor: Battle for Dune, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2.

Personal Life: I can’t find a thing about his personal life. Although his Imdb bio says he’s married.

Later Life: Still working as of 2025.

Trivia: His death was reported on Radio 5 in 2013 following the death of Paul Shane. A retraction was issued.

255. Brad Garrett

Dates: 1960-present

Early Life and Career: Born Brad H. Gerstenfeld to a Jewish family, in Oxnard, California. Father was a hearing aid specialist in geriatrics. Attended George Ellery Middle School and graduated from El Camino Real High School in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. Attended UCLA for less than 2 months before dropping out to pursue his comedy career. Before comedy, Garrett was known for being on the back cover of ELO’s album Discovery. During the early 1980s, he started doing standup at various Los Angeles including Hollywood’s The Improv and Pasadena’s The Ice House. In 1984, Garrett became the first $100,000 grand champion winner in the comedy category of the TV show Star Search. This led him to his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson at 23, one of the youngest to ever perform on the show. This brought Garrett more national attention and soon he appeared as an opening act for headliners like Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, David Copperfield, Smokey Robinson, Sammy Davis Jr., the Beach Boys, the Righteous Brothers, and Julio Iglesias. After achieving a strong measure of success in stand-up Garrett began performing on TV. 

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998), Finding Nemo (2003), Ratatouille (2007), Tangled (2010), Planes (2013), Finding Dory (2016), and Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) as well as the live-action Christopher Robin and The Country Bears, various direct-to-video installments, series, shorts, and video games.

Characters: Dim, Bloat, Gusteau, Hooked Hand Thug, Chug and Eeyore.

Also Known For: Actor and stand-up comedian who’s best known as Robert Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond. Other roles include Jackie Gleason in Gleason, Eddie Stark in ‘Til Death, Easter Island Head in the Night at the Museum trilogy, and Big Dog in 2 Stupid Dogs. Film appearances include The Jetsons: The Movie, Casper, Spy Hard, Suicide Kings, Sweet and Lowdown, The Amateurs, Porco Rosso, The Pacifier, Asterix and Obelix, Music and Lyrics, Underdog, 3 Pigs and a Baby, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, Delhi Safari, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Clockwork Girl, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Gloria Bell, Cha Cha Real Smooth, Wildflower, Saturday Night, Magic Hour, and Elio. TV appearances include Single Parents, Big Shot, Star Search, Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, The Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters, The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda, Roseanne, Tom & Jerry Kids, Eek! The Cat, The Legend of Prince Valiant, Mighty Max, Biker Mice from Mars, Wild West C. O. W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, Problem Child, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Batman: The Animated Series, The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Schnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show, Fantastic Four, Mad About You, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Tales from the Crypt, The Tick, Earthworm Jim, Mighty Ducks, Superman: The Animated Series, Dexter’s Laboratory, One Saturday Morning, Murphy Brown, The King of Queens, Toonsylvania, Ozzy & Drix, Justice League, Eloise: The Animated Series, Monk, Glory Daze, I Kid with Brad Garrett, The Crazy Ones, The Writers Guild Awards, Fargo, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, This Is Us, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, To Tell the Truth, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, Hell’s Kitchen, Bubble Guppies, SpongeBob SquarePants, High Desert, Not Dead Yet, WondLa, and Bookie. Video game appearances include Fallout and Sacrifice.

Personal Life: Married twice. First wife was Jill Diven whom he proposed to on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond in 1998. They were married from 1999 until their divorce in 2007. They have 2 children and remain good friends. Second and current wife is IsaBeall Quellen whom he met at a Vose art gallery in Boston in 2008. Became engaged in 2015 and have been married since 2021. Said during an interview in 2015 that he had given up drinking as his acting career began, later admitting he was a “high-functioning alcoholic.”

Later Life: Still prominent within stand-up comedy and owns a comedy club at the MGM Grand called Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club where he performs regularly. Also, as of 2021, he’s a character named John Bolognavich in Jimmy Johns’ commercials.

Trivia: Has won 3 Emmy Awards. Acting mentor was Doris Roberts. Stands at 6’9” and has a deep booming voice (although he deliberately deepened his voice while playing Robert Barone).

256. Alex Rocco

Dates: 1936-2015

Early Life and Career: Born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr. in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Italian immigrants. Raised in Somerville. Served in the National Guard during the Korean War. In January 1960, Rocco was one of 28 people indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury in a gambling case. In September 1961, he was arrested along with mob boss James McLean and others on charges of an assault of a Somerville diner owner and the destruction his establishment in August. According to organized crime turncoat Vincent Teresa, Rocco was a hanger-on with Boston’s Winter Hill Gang and known as Alexander F. Petricone. An unwanted advance toward his girlfriend by Georgie MacLaughlin on Labor Day kicked off the Boston Irish Gang War of the 1960s. Mainly because the Winter Hill Gang practically beat the shit on him for harassing Rocco’s girl. Was arrested that October along with McLean on suspicion of murder following the death of the Charlestown Mob’s Bernie MacLaughlin, first murder of the War. Rocco was working as a bartender. A witness claimed that Rocco was the getaway driver and he and McLean were formally charged in the slaying that November. But they were both released after a jury found a lack of evidence. Yet, both served a prison sentence for wrecking the diner. In 1962, Rocco’s first wife had her car bombed which police believed was for Winter Hill Gang boss Howie Winter, who drove the car earlier. After completing his prison term, Rocco and his first wife divorced (for obvious reasons), and he moved to California. Began taking acting lessons from actor and fellow Boston native Leonard Nimoy who worked with him to eliminate his Boston accent and had him take speech lessons. Rocco followed through Nimoy’s instructions, and started working in the film industry, adopting the name “Alex Rocco” after seeing “Rocco” on a bakery truck.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998) as well as the live-action The Country Bears.

Characters: Thorny

Also Known For: Actor known for his distinctive gravelly voice and was often cast as villains. Best known roles are Moe Greene from The Godfather and Al Floss in The Famous Teddy Z. Film appearances include Motorpsycho, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Boston Strangler, Blood Mania, Brute Corps, Bonnie’s Kids, The Outside Man, Slither, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Detroit 9000, Three the Hard Way, Freebie and the Bean, Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins, Hearts of the West, Fire Sale, Rabbit Test, Voices, Herbie Goes Bananas, The Stunt Man, Nobody’s Perfekt, The Entity, Cannonball Run II, Stick, Gotcha!, P. K. and the Kid, Lady in White, Dream a Little Dream, How to Murder a Millionaire, Wired, The Pope Must Die, Boris and Natasha: The Movie, Get Shorty, That Thing You Do!, Just Write, Goodbye Lover, Dudley Do-Right, The Wedding Planner, Find Me Guilty, Smokin’ Aces, Scammerhead, Batman: Year One, Silver Skies, and Don’t Sleep. TV appearances include Batman, That Girl, Mission: Impossible, The F. B. I., Three for the Road, The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank, The Facts of Life, CHiPs, St. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, The A-Team, Murphy Brown, The Simpsons, The George Carlin Show, Pinky and the Brain, Mad About You, Home Improvement, Family Guy, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Just Shoot Me!, ER, Magic City, Private Practice, Episodes, and Maron.

Personal Life: Married 3 times. First wife was a woman named Gracie with whom he had a daughter Maryann during his wild criminal days. They divorced after his prison stint. Second wife was former professional square dancer and nightclub performer Sandra Elaine Garrett from 1964 until her death of cancer at 59. They adopted a son who became a film producer, screenwriter, and director Marc Rocco (who predeceased him in 2009) as well as had a daughter named Jennifer (who’s an attorney) and son named Lucien (who’s a poet). They also had a grandson as well. Third wife was character actress Shannon Wilcox from 2005 until his death. Joined the Baha’i Faith after moving to Los Angeles and appeared in a number of productions related to the religion over the years as well as thanked the Baha’i Faith’s Prophet Founder Baha’u’llah in his Emmy acceptance speech.

Later Life: Died from pancreatic cancer in 2015 at his Studio City home at 79.

Trivia: Although Moe Greene is a Jewish mobster in Las Vegas, Rocco originally sought an Italian role until Francis Ford Coppola said, “I got my Jew!” While filming The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Rocco once set up a meeting between Robert Mitchum and Boston-area Irish-American gangsters to help Mitchum research Eddie Coyle, a low-level Irish American criminal. Rocco introduced Mitchum to his former boss Howie Winter and Johnny Martorano known for murdering another low-level gangster named Billy O’Brien. No word on whether he met James “Whitey” Bulger though. Won an Emmy for The Famous Teddy Z.

257. David Lander

Dates: 1947-2002

Early Life and Career: Born David Leonard Landau in Brooklyn, New York City. Parents were Jewish schoolteachers. Decided to become an actor at 10. Studied at the High School of the Performing Arts as well as continued to what is now Carnegie Mellon University and New York University. Took the stage name of David Lander in high school, which he’d later legally adopt, after a classmate “borrowed” his real name to register with an actors’ union. During his days at Carnegie Mellon, Lander teamed up with classmate Mike McKean during acting classes and they developed the characters Lenny and Squiggy. After Pittsburgh, they teamed up in the Los Angeles-based comedy ensemble The Credibility Gap.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998) as well as various series.

Characters: Thumper

Also Known For: Actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. Best known as Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman in Laverne & Shirley. Film appearances include Cracking Up, 1941, Wholly Moses!, Used Cars, Pandemonium, The Man with One Red Shoe, The Big Bang, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Masters and Menace, A League of Their Own, Tom & Jerry: The Movie, Betrayal of the Dove, Titan A. E., Scary Movie, Say It Isn’t So, Doctor Doolittle 2, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Jane White Is Sick & Twisted, Christmas with the Kranks, and Zoom. TV appearances include Will the Real Jerry Lewis Please Sit Down, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda, Barney Miller, Happy Days, The Love Boat, Tall Tales & Legends, Matlock, A Garfield Christmas, Father Dowling Mysteries, Married…with Children, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tom & Jerry Kids, Batman: The Animated Series, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Life, Family Matters, The Nanny, The Tick, Superman: The Animated Series, Nash Bridges, Johnny Bravo, The Weird Al Show, The Bold and the Beautiful, Diagnosis: Murder, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Mad About You, The Simpsons, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, The Garfield Show, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Goldie & Bear. Video games include Down in the Dumps, Lego Island, and Zork: Grand Inquisition.

Personal Life: Married twice. First wife was Thea Markus from 1969 until their divorce in 1976. Second wife was actress and photographer Kathy Fields from 1979 until his death. Daughter is actress Natalie Lander.

Later Life: Had a small stake in the Portland Beavers minor league baseball team. Began work as a baseball talent scout in 1997, first with the Anaheim Angels and later for the Seattle Mariners. Was a member of the Society for American Baseball Research for many years. Was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles in 1999 and regularly spoke at related conventions. Autobiography that he wrote with Lee Montgomery that’s titled Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn’t Tell Nobody was published in 2002. Died from complications from multiple sclerosis at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2020 at 73.

Trivia: Served as a goodwill ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

258. Ashley Tisdale

Dates: 1985-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Father was a contractor. Despite working in film and television at a young age, Tisdale also worked retail jobs and attended public school. At 3, she met her manager Bill Perlman at a New Jersey mall. He sent her to various auditions for commercials and she was placed in more than 100 national TV advertisements as a child. Began her theater career by appearing in Gypsy: A Musical Fable and The Sound of Music at Monmouth County’s Jewish Community Center. At 8, she was cast as Cosette in Les Miserables before landing a role in a touring production of Annie in South Korea. At 12, she sang for then-President Bill Clinton at the White House as part of a troupe. Landed her first role in 1997 as well as did modeling work for Ford Models. Joined the main cast of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in 2005 and would continue to star in the series until its end in 2008. Show proved to be a hit and she received A Nickelodeon UK Kids’ Choice Award. Had her breakout role as Sharpay Evans in the 2006 High School Musical, which proved to be the network’s most successful film of the year. With that, Warner Bros. Records offered Tisdale a record contract, which kicked off her music career.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998) as well as various live action movies and series for the Disney Channel like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and High School Musical, along with the cartoon Phineas and Ferb and Kim Possible and direct-to-video installments.

Characters: Blueberry Scout Leader

Also Known For: Actress and pop singer who’s best known as Maddie Fitzpatrick in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical series. Film appearances include Donnie Darko, The Mayor of Oyster Bay, Bring It On: In It to Win It, Picture This, Aliens in the Attic, Playing It Cool, Amateur Night, Whisper of the Heart, Birds of Paradise, and Charming. TV appearances include Sesame Street, Smart Guy, 7^th Heaven, Beverly Hills 90210, Boston Public, Charmed, The Hughleys, Malcolm in the Middle, Grounded for Life, George Lopez, Still Standing, Hellcats, Raising Hope, Sons of Anarchy, Super Fun Night, Review, Young & Hungry, Truth Be Told, McGyver, Merry Happy Whatever, Carol’s Second Act, Glenn Martin DDS, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch, Robot Chicken, American Dad!, Skylanders Academy, Ginger Snaps, Punk’d, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Walmart Soundcheck, Project Runway, The Masked Dancer, and Milo Murphy’s Law. Albums include Headstrong, Guilty Pleasure, and Symptoms.

Personal Life: Older sister Jennifer is an actress and producer. Married to singer Christoper French since 2014. Were engaged in 2013 and wed in a small private ceremony. Have 2 daughters born in 2021 and 2024.

Later Life: Promoted the US launch of Lindt HELLO chocolates by producing an online series It Started with HELLO in 2014. Later that year, Tisdale became the creative director of Signorelli, and launched a clothing line with the company in 2016. Oversaw their creation of their 2017 sportswear line. Also launched her Illuminate makeup line in 2016.

Trivia: Was on Maxim’s Hot 100 List in 2008, 2013, and 2014. Posed completely nude on the May 2011 issue of Allure magazine. Named the 45^th most influential woman on Twitter by The Huffington Post in 2015. Has collaborated with Make a Wish Foundation in 2008 by visiting sick kids in hospitals and helped raise funds for the organization. Was a telephone operator for Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon in 2010.

259. Lee Unkrich

Dates: 1967-present

Early Life and Career: Born in Cleveland and raised in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Father was a World War II veteran who participated in D-Day. Spent his youth acting in The Cleveland Playhouse. Graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts in 1990. Joined Pixar in 1994 as an editor and rose to become a co-director of Toy Story 2. But before then, he worked for several years as an editor and director in television. And when Pixar hired him, Unkrich was initially supposed to be there for a few weeks instead of 25 years where he wound up becoming its Vice-President of Editorial and Layout.

Movies and Cartoons: A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Coco (2017)

Characters: Red Rocker, Jack-in-the-Box, Scotch-Taped Monkey, and Elote Skeleton

Also Known For: Film director, editor, and writer who’s best known for his work with Pixar. Has worked behind the scenes on Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Cars (2006), Ratatouille (2007), WALL-E (2007), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011), Brave (2012), Monsters University (2013), Inside Out (2015), The Good Dinosaur (2015), Finding Dory (2016), Cars 3 (2017), Coco (2017), Incredibles 2 (2018), Toy Story 4 (2019), Onward (2020), Soul (2020), Luca (2021), Turning Red (2022), Lightyear (2022), and Elemental (2023) as well as numerous shorts and a couple of series.

Personal Life: Married to Laura Century since 1993. They have 3 children. Is also bisexual which he revealed privately in 2021 and publicly in 2022.

Later Life: Has edited a book about The Shining by J. W. Rinzler which was published by Taschen in 2023. Although he left Pixar in 2019 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interest, Unkrich returned to the company in 2023 and his currently directing a sequel to Coco.

Trivia: Is a 2011 recipient of the University of Southern California’s Mary Pickford Distinguished Alumni Award.

260. Tony Goldwyn

Dates:1960-present

Early Life and Career: Born Anthony Howard Goldwyn in Los Angeles, California. Father was producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Mother was actress Jennifer Howard. Attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Also studied acting at HB Studio in New York City. After drama school, Goldwyn began acting in guest-star roles during the 1980s, breaking through as Patrick Swayze’s turncoat friend in Ghost.

Movies and Cartoons: Tarzan (1999) as well as a few video games.

Characters: Tarzan

Also Known For: Actor, singer, producer, director, and political activist. Best known as Darren in Friday the 13^th Part VI: Jason Lives, Carl Bruner in Ghost, Harold Nixon in Nixon, Neil Armstrong in From Earth to the Moon, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, Johnathan “John” Collingwood in The Last House on the Left, Andrew Prior in the Divergent series, Paul Cohen in King Richard, President Fitgerald Grant III in Scandal, and District Attorney Nicholas Baxter in Law & Order. Film appearances include The Pelican Brief, The Last Tattoo, The Last Word, Pocahontas: The Legend, Kiss the Girls, The Lesser Evil,  An American Rhapsody, Joshua, Ash Tuesday, The Godfather of Green Bay, American Gun, Romance and Cigarettes, The Mechanic, The Belko Experiment, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, The People We Hate at the Wedding, Plane, Oppenheimer, and Ezra.  TV appearances include St. Elsewhere, Matlock, CBS Summer Playhouse, Designing Women, L. A. Law, Murphy Brown, Tales from the Crypt, Truman, A Woman of Independent Means, The Boys Next Door, Fraiser, American Masters, The L Word, Without a Trace, Dexter, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, Drop Dead Diva, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Lovecraft Country, Hacks, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Directed episodes for A Walk on the Moon, Without a Trace, The L Word, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order, Dexter, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money, Damages, Justified, Hawthorne, Scandal, and Ezra. Audiobook appearances include The Grifters, The Devil in White City, A Death in Vienna, and Kate Remembered. Stage appearances include The Sum of Us, Picnic, Lady in the Dark, Holiday, Promises, Promises, The Sound of Music, Network, and The Inheritance.

Personal Life: Grandson of movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn and actress Frances Howard. Also grandson of legendary screenwriter Sidney Howard and actress Claire Eames. Brother of former Paramount executive and executive producer John Goldwyn and producer and Samuel Goldwyn Films president Peter Goldwyn. Half-brother of filmmaker, artist, and writer Liz Goldwyn. Has been married to production designer Jane Musky since 1987. They have 2 daughters.

Later Life: Directed a 2016 commercial for Hillary Clinton that featured Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Ellen Pompeo, and Viola Davis. Was president of the Creative Coalition. Is spokesman for AmeriCares Foundation, ambassador for The Innocence Project, and on the Board of Governors for the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

Trivia: Descendant of Governor and Senator William Thomas Hamilton. Hosted the Virtual Parade Across America during President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Has won a Peabody Award as well as been nominated for 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards.