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Kathryn Grant

Kathryn Crosby (November 25, 1933 - September 20, 2024) was an American actress and singer who also performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant. Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in Houston, Texas, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1955. Two years later she became Bing Crosby's second wife. The couple had three children, Harry, Mary Frances, and Nathaniel. She appeared as a guest star on her husband's 1964–1965 ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show. She largely retired after their marriage, but did have a featured role in the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder. She also played the part of "Mama Bear" alongside her husband and children in Goldilocks and starred with Jack Lemmon in Operation Mad Ball in 1957. In the mid-1970s, she hosted The Kathryn Crosby Show, a 30-minute local talk-show on KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Husband Bing appeared as a guest occasionally. After Bing Crosby's death in 1977, she took on a few smaller roles and the lead in the short-lived 1996 Broadway musical State Fair. For 16 years ending in 2001, Crosby hosted the Crosby National Golf Tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, North Carolina. A nearby bridge carrying U.S. Route 158 over the Yadkin River is named for Crosby. On November 4, 2010, Crosby was seriously injured in an automobile accident in the Sierra Nevada that killed her 85-year-old husband, Maurice William Sullivan.

Sheldon Allman

Sheldon Allman (June 8, 1924 – January 22, 2002) was an American-Canadian actor, singer, and songwriter. Allman was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his singing career with the Royal National Guard during his World War II service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He moved to Los Angeles in 1949, to attend the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. After it, he appeared in 12 films, including such notable films as Nevada Smith, The Sons of Katie Elder, Hud and In Cold Blood. His co-stars included, respectively, Steve McQueen, John Wayne and Paul Newman. He also made appearances in numerous TV series during the 1960s and 1970s. On television, Allman provided the voice of Big H in CB Bears on CBS and played Norm Miller in Harris Against the World on NBC. He provided music on the game show Three for the Money on NBC, and he was the singing voice for TV's Mister Ed, for which he also wrote and recorded "The Pretty Little Filly with the Ponytail" and "The Empty Feedbag Blues". Mr. Allman wrote longer versions of these songs, but never recorded the longer versions.[citation needed] He was the lyricist for the theme song to George of the Jungle. Additionally, Allman worked with Stan Worth, co-writer of the "George of the Jungle" theme, to create music for a number of game shows by Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions, including the 1970s versions of Let's Make a Deal, Masquerade Party and It Pays to be Ignorant. In 1960, Allman released Folk Songs for the 21st Century, an album of novelty songs all revolving around science-fiction themes. The tongue-in-cheek material, which Allman wrote and arranged himself, included titles such as "Crawl Out Through The Fallout" and "Radioactive Mama." "Crawl Out Through The Fallout" is used in the video game Fallout 4 and the 2024 TV adaptation Fallout during the closing credits of season 1 episode one.

Jimmy Valiant

James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant. Fanning started wrestling in 1964 as "Big Jim Vallen". He went to the WWWF in the 1970s as "Handsome Jimmy Valiant" and formed a team with Johnny Valiant that would dominate the tag team scene for a while as WWWF Tag Team champions. In the later 1960s in the WWA, they were managed by Bobby Heenan. Valiant had entered the WWWF in 1971 as a babyface, originally known as "Gentleman Jim Valiant," but quickly switched to heel. He had title matches against champion Pedro Morales in secondary arenas, such as Philadelphia, and feuded with short-term tag partner Chief Jay Strongbow. Jimmy and his kayfabe brother Johnny held the tag belts from 1974 to 1975 and main evented Madison Square Garden against Chief Jay Strongbow and Bruno Sammartino. During the late 1970s – early 1980s, Valiant was a central player in the Memphis, Tennessee wrestling scene. He feuded regularly with Jerry Lawler and teamed with Bill Dundee to dominate the tag team matches of that time. Despite the Memphis promotion desperately wanting to keep him in Memphis full-time, even offering to buy him a house in Memphis according to Jerry Lawler's biography, Valiant decided to move on after holding the AWA Southern Heavyweight title for roughly a year. In the early 1980s, Valiant returned as a babyface to NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions. January 1984, Valiant was attacked by Paul Jones and The Assassins. They tied him to the wrestling ring ropes so that Jones could cut his beard off. This led to a grudge match with hyped supershow called 'Boogie Man Jam '84' in Greensboro, North Carolina. For this match, Dusty Rhodes was in Valiant's corner and tied by a rope to Paul Jones. Valiant defeated Assassin II, who was unmasked and revealed as Hercules Hernandez. Due to the beard cutting attack, he feuded heavily with Paul Jones and his army of wrestlers, from 1984 through to late 1986. This army of wrestlers included The Barbarian, Baron von Raschke, Teijo Khan, and The Assassins. During this three-year feud, Valiant received help from Héctor Guerrero and Manny Fernandez. Although Jimmy Valiant would lose a Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight to Paul Jones at Starrcade 1984 in Greensboro, North Carolina the feud with many from the Paul Jones stable continued, which would come to include Abdullah The Butcher. In 1985, Valiant and Ragin' Bull Manny Fernandez formed a team called B and B Connection. During The Great American Bash 1986 summer shows, Paul Jones adopted a military style look in his long feud with Valiant and labeled his stable of wrestlers The Army. Valiant would beat Shaska Whatley in a hair vs hair match, but with outside interference lost a hair vs hair match to Paul Jones only weeks later. In the fall of 1986, The Ragin Bull Manny Fernandez, Valiant's best friend accepted Jones' money and turned on Valiant, starting a feud between the two. Paul Jones at this point shortened his army to his newly acquired tag team of Ragin Bull and Rick Rude. The war between Valiant and Paul Jones climaxed at Starrcade 1986 with Valiant putting up the hair of his valet Big Mama against the hair of Paul Jones in a No DQ Match which Valiant won.

Bibi Mama

Lil Mama

Niatia Kirkland, better known as Lil Mama, is a multifaceted and dynamic entertainer, singer, rapper, songwriter, actress, and exceptional dancer. Lil Mama is known for her keen spirit, and in addition to her artistic abilities, she is an inspirational speaker and entrepreneur. Born in Harlem, NY, Lil Mama took to music and dance at an early age. Using poetry as a tool of self-expression, she soon found her voice in music. As she continued to grow, she learned how to combine these skills and her dedication over time led her to global success. In 2006, at 17 years old, she signed to Jive Records and soon after joined Avril Lavigne in Grammy-nominated producer Dr. Luke's remix of Lavigne's song "Girlfriend." Her first full-length album "VYP (Voice of the Young People)" was released just over a year later, debuting at number 25 on the Billboard 200, and featuring the hit single "Lip Gloss," making Lil Mama a household name. While continuing to work on her music, Lil Mama brought her dance expertise and charismatic persona to the judge's table on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" for seven seasons alongside fellow judge JC Chasez and host Mario Lopez. Lil Mama broke into acting in a major way, landing the role of the iconic Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes in the VH1 biopic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, starring alongside Keke Palmer and Drew Sidora. Lil Mama even joined TLC members Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas and Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins' in live performances surrounding the release of the film, including the 2013 American Music Awards. She also co-stars in director Benny Boom's "48 Hours to Live," a 3D hybrid merging the genres of film noir and dance. Most recently, Lil Mama's groundbreaking music video for her song "Sausage" went viral with 3 million views in its first week (and 9.2 million views as of today). The song appears on her mixtape "Take Me Back," released in December 2015, a nostalgic and upbeat ode to the golden years of hip-hop with a fresh millennial appeal. Mama is a passionate and well-rounded artist who understands the importance of constantly honing her craft and staying sharp; with her role as the lead in the raw and powerful true story "Hit a Lick", she further solidifies herself as a formidable contender in the arts and entertainment arena.

Desi Waters

Desi is a proud mama to a spirited 6-year-old, and a karaoke enthusiast. She began her career recurring on the Saturday morning TV show, "CityKids" alongside Jim Henson's Muppets. She is the Artistic Director of CityKids Rep, a program empowering teens to express themselves through ARTivism. Desi has appeared on "New Amsterdam," "Harlem," "The Blacklist," and "Broad City" in such roles as mechanic, nurse, court reporter, and witch, respectively. Her most recent TV success was finding the Apple Remote.

Miriam Makeba

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music. In 1959, Makeba had a brief role in the anti-apartheid film Come Back, Africa, which brought her international attention, and led to her performing in Venice, London, and New York City. In London, she met the American singer Harry Belafonte, who became a mentor and colleague. She moved to New York City, where she became immediately popular, and recorded her first solo album in 1960. Her attempt to return to South Africa that year for her mother's funeral was prevented by the country's government. Makeba's career flourished in the United States, and she released several albums and songs, her most popular being "Pata Pata" (1967). Along with Belafonte she received a Grammy Award for her 1965 album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba. She testified against the South African government at the United Nations and became involved in the civil rights movement. She married Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the Black Panther Party, in 1968. As a result, she lost support among white Americans. Her visa was revoked by the US government when she was traveling abroad, forcing her and Carmichael to relocate to Guinea. She continued to perform, mostly in African countries, including at several independence celebrations. She began to write and perform music more explicitly critical of apartheid; the 1977 song "Soweto Blues", written by her former husband Hugh Masekela, was about the Soweto uprising. After apartheid was dismantled in 1990, Makeba returned to South Africa. She continued recording and performing, including a 1991 album with Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie, and appeared in the 1992 film Sarafina!. She was named an FAO Goodwill Ambassador in 1999, and campaigned for humanitarian causes. She died of a heart attack during a 2008 concert in Italy. Makeba was among the first African musicians to receive worldwide recognition. She brought African music to a Western audience, and popularized the world music and Afropop genres. She also made popular several songs critical of apartheid, and became a symbol of opposition to the system, particularly after her right to return was revoked. Upon her death, former South African President Nelson Mandela said that "her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us." ... Source: Article "Miriam Makeba" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Katja Rupé

Katja Rupé is a German stage and screen actress, writer and director. She was once a member of the progressive theater group La Mama in New York.

Gael García Bernal

Cast · Known for Coco

Gael García Bernal (born November 30, 1978) is a Mexican actor and filmmaker who acts in both Spanish-language and English-language films and series. He is known for his performances in the films Y tu mamá también (2001), Bad Education (2004), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Babel (2006), Coco (2017), Old (2021), and Cassandro (2023). He has also played music conductor Rodrigo de Souza in the television drama series Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018) and starred in the Disney+ special Werewolf by Night (2022). García Bernal was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of a young Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries in 2005, and in 2016 won his first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Mozart in the Jungle. He and fellow actor Diego Luna founded the production company Canana Films in Mexico City. In 2016, Time magazine named him in the annual Time 100 Most Influential People list. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him No. 25 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

Stephen Mailer

Stephen McLeod Mailer (born March 10, 1966) is an American stage and screen actor. His credits include appearances in films like Cry-Baby, Baby Mama, and Another Woman and the television shows Gilmore Girls, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and A League of Their Own. Mailer was born in New York City, New York, the son of novelist Norman Mailer and stage actress Beverly Bentley. He was married to fashion designer and film director Visnja Rodic Clayton then to producer Lindsay Marx. He was married to Elizabeth Rainer in 2010 and he has two children, Cal and Teddy.

Lin Tucci

Lin Tucci (born Linda Petrucci, February 8, 1960) is an American actress. Tucci is known for her performance as Henrietta "Mama" Bazoom in the film Showgirls (1995). She also performed in the number of theater productions, and co-starred in several films. Tucci became interested in acting while in High School in Rhode Island. She later attended Community College of Rhode Island and Boston Conservatory of Music, where she received a fine arts degree in theater. Afterwards, Tucci moved to New York to pursue a career in acting. In 2013, Tucci began appearing in a recurring role in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black. She plays the role of Anita DeMarco, an outspoken Jersey-Italian inmate. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ted Lange

Cast · Known for The Love Boat

Theodore William Lange III is an American actor, director and screenwriter best known for his roles as bartender Isaac Washington in the TV series The Love Boat, and Junior in That's My Mama.

Vicki Lawrence

Vicki Lawrence is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence also originated many other characters on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978, the variety show's entire series run. In 1973, Lawrence became a one-hit wonder singer in the USA only, landing on the U.S. chart with "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". It reached number one on both the United States and Canada charts. Lawrence has multiple Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 1976. She is also a multiple Golden Globe nominee, all for The Carol Burnett Show.

Lisle Wilson

Lisle Astor Wilson Jr. (September 2, 1943 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor known for playing Leonard Taylor on the ABC sitcom That's My Mama which ran from 1974 to 1975. His film roles included appearances in Brian De Palma's horror film Sisters (1972) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977). He was also recognized for his guest appearances on television shows such as Lou Grant, The White Shadow, and Falcon Crest, to name a few. Lisle was the Director of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts West (in Pasadena, California) for several years. After ending his regular acting career in 1992, Lisle went on to teach Vocal Techniques, to up and coming Broadcasters at the Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Huntington Beach, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lisle Wilson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Anne Ramsey

Angelina "Anne" Ramsey (née Mobley; March 27, 1929 – August 11, 1988) was an American actress. She is best known for her film roles as Mama Fratelli in The Goonies (1985) and as Mrs. Lift in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), the latter of which earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Description above from the Wikipedia article Anne Ramsey, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Silverio Palacios

Cast · Known for Crazy Magical Mexico

Silverio Palacios Montes is a Mexican actor, screenwriter and director with a long career in film, theater and television. He is known for his roles in award-winning films such as "Matando cabos", "Y tu mamá Tambien", "La Delgada Linea Amarillo", "El Violín", among others.

Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen; September 19, 1941 - July 29, 1974), also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer, member of The Mamas & the Papas and actress. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. In 1998, Elliot, John Phillips, Denny Doherty, and Michelle Phillips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their work as The Mamas & the Papas.

Peggy Wood

Cast · Known for The Sound of Music

Mary Margaret Wood was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best remembered for her performance as the title character in the CBS television series Mama, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; her starring role as Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, in The Story of Ruth; and her final screen appearance as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Wood studied voice in France with the legendary soprano Emma Calve - the greatest exponent of the role of CARMEN in the first half of the 20th century. Upon returning to the U.S., Wood was an early member of the Actors' Equity Association, spending nearly 50 years on the stage, beginning in the chorus and becoming known as a Broadway singer and star. She made her stage debut in 1910, as part of the chorus for Naughty Marietta. In 1917, she starred in Maytime, in which she introduced the song "Will You Remember". She starred in several other musicals before playing the role of Portia in a 1928 production of The Merchant of Venice. From the late 1920s until the late 1930s, Wood had lead roles in musicals staged in London and New York. She was chosen by Noel Coward to star in the original London production of his wildly successful operetta BITTER SWEET. In 1941, she starred in the New York premiere of Blithe Spirit. Wood did not star in many films. Her few film appearances include roles in Jalna, A Star is Born, Call It a Day, The Housekeeper's Daughter, The Bride Wore Boots, Magnificent Doll, and Dream Girl. From 1949 to 1957, she played matriarch Marta Hansen in the popularTV series Mama. She co-starred with comedian Imogene Coca on Broadway in The Girls in 509. In October 1963, she and Ruth Gates appeared in a one-act play, Opening Night, which played in off-Broadway. Wood portrayed Fanny Ellis, a once famous star who prepares for a performance; the play lasted 47 performances. Ruth Gates was Aunt Jenny on the "Mama" series with Wood. She returned to movies in the 1960 CinemaScope production The Story of Ruth in a co-starring role, as what she referred to in her own book as a "blonde, blue-eyed Jewess". Her final screen appearance was as the gentle, wise Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture. She was thrilled to be in the movie although she knew that she could no longer sing "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". She was dubbed (for singing) by Margery McKay. In her autobiography, Marni Nixon, who appeared in the film as Sister Sophia, said Peggy especially liked McKay's singing voice because she sounded as Peggy did in her younger days. In 1969, Wood joined the cast of the ABC-TV soap, One Life to Live as Dr. Kate Nolan and had a recurring role until the end of the year. Her first autobiography, How Young You Look, was published by Farrar and Rinehart in 1941. An update, Arts and Flowers, appeared in 1963. She also wrote a biography of actor John Drew, Jr., as well as a novel called The Star Wagon and was a co-author of a play called Miss Quis. Wood received numerous awards for her theatrical work and for a while was president of the American National Theater and Academy.

Alexandra Bromstad

Alexandra Bromstad is an actress and producer, known for Chuck (2007), Kickboxing Mama, Ep: Newborn Vengeance (2016) and Chase (2010).

Taylor Russell

Cast · Known for Hope

Taylor Russell McKenzie (born July 18, 1994) is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. After playing several minor roles, Russell received recognition for starring in the Netflix science fiction series Lost in Space (2018–2021). She rose to prominence with her roles in the drama film Waves (2019), the horror film Escape Room (2019) and its 2021 sequel. She won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for starring in the road movie Bones and All (2022). She performed onstage in the play The Effect from 2023 to 2024. Russell directed the 2020 short documentary film titled The Heart Still Hums, which she co-directed along with Savanah Leaf, which was the base for a movie adaptation by Leaf titled Earth Mama (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Taylor Russell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Romany Malco

Cast · Known for Weeds

Romany Romanic Malco Jr. (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and music producer. He has been nominated for several awards, including an NAACP Image Award, MTV Movie Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. In film, he is best known for his roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Baby Mama (2008), Think Like a Man (2012) and its sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), and The DUFF (2015). In television, he is best known for portraying Conrad Shepard on the Showtime series Weeds (2005–2012) and Rome Howard on the ABC series A Million Little Things (2018–2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Romany Malco, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Jenifer Lewis

Cast · Known for Strong Medicine, Cars, GOAT

Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American film and television actress and singer. She is one of Hollywood's most familiar faces, with more than 300 appearances in film and television and was dubbed a "national treasure" by TV Guide.com. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in the films Beaches and Sister Act. She delivered legendary performances as Tina Turner's mother in What's Love Got to Do With It and in The Preacher's Wife as the mother of Whitney Houston's character. She starred opposite Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. For director Tyler Perry, she created unforgettable characters in Madea's Family Reunion and Meet the Browns. In the movie Cast Away, she portrayed Tom Hanks' boss. In animated films, Jenifer's uniquely recognizable voice is adored by Disney fans worldwide in roles such as "Flo" in Cars and Cars 2, and as "Mama Odie" in The Princess and the Frog. For six seasons, Jenifer portrayed "Lana Hawkins" on Lifetime's hit series Strong Medicine. She starred on the hit show Black-ish (ABC), where her hilarious portrayal of "Ruby Johnson" earned her a nomination for the 2016 Critics Choice Award. She has also written two books: The Mother of Black Hollywood and Walking in My Joy: In These Streets.

Diego Luna

Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and the Disney+ series Andor (2022–2025), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Drama. Following an early career in Mexican telenovelas, Luna had his breakthrough in the critically acclaimed 2001 film Y tu mamá también. During the 2000s, he appeared in both Mexican and American films, including Frida, Open Range, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, The Terminal, Criminal, Milk, Sólo quiero caminar, and Rudo y Cursi. In the 2010s, his films included the science fiction film Elysium, the comedy Casa de mi Padre, and the animated musical The Book of Life. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as the drug trafficker Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in Narcos: Mexico. Luna has appeared in numerous Mexican theatre productions and has produced both film and television projects, many of which feature Gael García Bernal. Since 2010, he has directed three feature films: Abel, Cesar Chavez, and Mr. Pig. He is the creator and director of the 2013 Fusion TV docu-series Back Home, the Amazon Studios talk show Pan y Circo, which premiered in 2020, and the 2021 Netflix scripted series Everything Will Be Fine. In 2025, Time magazine listed Luna as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

LL Cool J

Cast · Known for NCIS: New York, NCIS: Los Angeles

James Todd Smith (better known as LL Cool J, an acronym for Ladies Love Cool James; born January 14, 1968) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC. Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, his breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, Radio (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums Bigger and Deffer (1987), Walking with a Panther (1989), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Mr. Smith (1995), and Phenomenon (1997). His twelfth album, Exit 13 (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam. A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence. While he first appeared as a rapper in the movie Krush Groove (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called Wildcats. He continued to work in movies from then until 1995 when he landed his own television sitcom, In the House (1995-2000). He has appeared in numerous films, including Last Holiday, Edison, Mindhunters, S.W.A.T., Deliver Us from Eva, Rollerball, Charlie's Angels, In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday, Deep Blue Sea, Halloween H20, B.A.P.S., Toys, and The Hard Way. In 2005, he returned to television in a guest starring role on the FOX medical drama House. He also guest starred on 30 Rock in 2007, and on Sesame Street 's 39th season where he introduced the word of the day, "Unanimous” and performed "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (Sept. 30, 2008). As of 2011, he stars as Special Agent Sam Hanna on CBS's police procedural NCIS: L.A., a spin-off of NCIS. He was also the host of MTV's Lip Sync Battle.