The Celebrity Archaeology Podcast

While Myrna Loy was dancing in prologues at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, portrait photographer Henry Waxman took several pictures of her that were noticed by Rudolph Valentino when the actor went to Waxman's studio for a sitting. Valentino was looking for a leading lady for Cobra, the first independent project he was producing. She was hired as an extra for Pretty Ladies (1925), in which she and fellow newcomer Joan Crawford were among a bevy of chorus girls dangling from an elaborate chandelier.

In his first professional acting performance, James Cagney danced costumed as a woman in the chorus line of the revue Every Sailor, in 1919. He secured several other roles, receiving good notices, before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews, Warner Bros. signed him for an initial $500-a-week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven-year contract.

Frankie Valli began his singing career in the early 1950s with A Variety Trio. Valli's desire to sing in public was initially granted when, having heard Valli sing, the group offered him a guest spot when the group performed. In late 1952, the Variety Trio disbanded and Valli, along with Tommy DeVito, became part of the house band at The Strand in New Brunswick, New Jersey. For his part, Valli played bass and sang.

In 1971, Arthur was invited by Norman Lear to guest-star on his sitcom All in the Family, as Maude Findlay, the cousin of Edith Bunker. An outspoken liberal feminist, Maude was the antithesis role to the conservative Republican character Archie Bunker, who described her as a "New Deal fanatic". Nearly 50, Arthur's tart turn on All in the Family impressed viewers as well as executives at CBS who, she would later recall, asked "'Who is that girl? Let's give her her own series.’"

Born in Los Angeles, Foster was a gifted child who learned to read at the age of three. She attended a French-language prep school, the Lycée Français in Los Angeles. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, and she also dubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films.

Gloria Vanderbilt was married to author Wyatt Emory Cooper, on 24 December 1963. She was his only wife. The marriage, which lasted 15 years, ended with his death in 1978 while undergoing open-heart surgery. They had two sons: Carter Vanderbilt Cooper who committed suicide at age 23 by jumping from the family's 14th-floor apartment. and Anderson Hays Cooper, the CNN news anchor.

George Michael formed the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. The band's first album Fantastic reached No. 1 in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top 10 singles including "Young Guns", "Wham Rap!" and "Club Tropicana". Their second album, Make It Big, reached No. 1 on the charts in the US. Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (No. 1 in the UK and US), "Freedom", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper".

Her first film was The Last Picture Show, also starring Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms. The film became a critical and box office hit, earning several Academy Awards and nominations. Shepherd was nominated for a Golden Globe. Shepherd was cast opposite Charles Grodin in The Heartbreak Kid (1972). She played Kelly, the beautiful, sun-kissed young woman for whom Grodin's character falls while on his honeymoon in Miami. Directed by Elaine May, it was another critical and box office hit.

Jessica Ann Johnson, known as Jessica Simpson; born July 10, 1980, is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. Simpson signed a recording contract with Columbia Records when she was sixteen, and released her debut studio album Sweet Kisses in 1999. It sold over four million copies worldwide, and spawned the top three song "I Wanna Love You Forever" (1999). 

During a career spanning more than half a century, Perry Como recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. Bing Crosby once described him as, "the man who invented casual”.

Redford began acting on television in the early 1960s. He earned an Emmy nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Voice of Charlie Pont in 1962.  Between 1974 and 1976, exhibitors voted Redford Hollywood's top box-office name. His hits included The Great Gatsby (1974), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), and Three Days of the Condor (1975). 

Don Ameche played so many roles based on real people that on one of his radio broadcasts, Fred Allen joked, "Pretty soon, Don Ameche will be playing Don Ameche." Soon afterwards, in It's in the Bag! (1945), which starred Allen, Ameche indeed played himself in a bit part.

Karen Black made her Broadway debut in 1965's The Playroom, which received good reviews and for which she was nominated for a Drama Circle Critic Award for Best Actress. Her film debut was in The Prime Time (1960) and her first big role was in You're a Big Boy Now (1966), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 

Tennessee Williams, along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. After years of obscurity, he suddenly became famous with The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Dennis Weaver was an American actor best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s to not long before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most notable roles were as Marshal Matt Dillon's trusty partner Chester Goode on the CBS western Gunsmoke and as Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud.