John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE ( /ˈtɒlkiːn/, US /ˈtoʊlkiːn/; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature there from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C. S. Lewis—they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.

After his death, Tolkien's son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda, and Middle-earth within it. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings.

Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 16 million in certified sales. He has seven top-20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in the US jazz chart history.

Connick's best selling album in the United States is his 1993 Christmas album When My Heart Finds Christmas, which also is one of the best selling Christmas albums in the United States. His highest charting album, is his 2004 release Only You which reached #5 in the U.S. and #6 in Britain. He has won three Grammy awards and two Emmy Awards. He played Grace's husband, Dr. Leo Markus, on the TV sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006.

Connick began his acting career as a tail gunner in the World War II film, Memphis Belle, in 1990. He played a serial killer in Copycat in 1995, before being cast as jet fighter pilot in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. Connick's first role as a leading man was in 1998's Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock. His first thriller film since Copycat came in 2007, when he played the violent ex-husband in Bug, before two romantic comedies, 2007's P.S. I Love You, and the leading man in New in Town with Renée Zellweger in 2009.

Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor who made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five, appearing in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s, he had roles in series such as coming of age films associated with the Brat Pack. His role in Less Than Zero (1987) was the first time Downey's acting would be commended by critics. After Zero, Downey was cast in starring roles in bigger films, such as Air America (1990), Soapdish (1991), and Natural Born Killers (1994). He played Charlie Chaplin in the 1992 film Chaplin, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Between 1996 and 2001, Downey was frequently arrested on drug-related charges. After being released from the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in 2000, Downey joined the cast of the hit television series Ally McBeal playing the new love interest of Calista Flockhart's title character. His performance was praised and received accolades, but his character was written out when Downey was fired after two drug arrests in late 2000 and early 2001. After one last stay in a court-ordered drug treatment program, Downey finally achieved lasting sobriety and his career began to take off again. He appeared in semi-independent films such as The Singing Detective (2003), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and A Scanner Darkly (2006). He also had supporting roles in the mainstream films Gothika (2003) and Zodiac (2007). In 2004, Downey released his debut studio album The Futurist.

Roy Jones, Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American professional boxer. As a professional, he has captured numerous world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He is the only boxer in history to start his career as a light middleweight (154 lbs) and go on to win a heavyweight title.

Jones left his mark in boxing history when he won the WBA Heavyweight title, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. Jones was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Jones won the 1984 United States National Junior Olympics in the 119 lb (54 kg) weight division, the 1986 United States National Golden Gloves in the 139 lb (63 kg) division and the 1987 United States National Golden Gloves in the 156 lb (71 kg) division. As an amateur, he ended his career with a 121–13 record.

Akkineni Nageswara Rao (Telugu: అక్కినేని నాగేశ్వర రావు) (born 20 September 1922 at Ramapuram, Gudivada Taluk, Krishna District), popularly known by his initials ANR, is a Telugu cinema actor from Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh. Nageswara Rao has worked in several genres of films in his 78-year acting career, including mythological, social, and drama films. Nageswara Rao has been active in the Telugu film industry since 1941 and is the recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest award for films in India. He is also a recipient of Padmashri, Padmabhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards.

Akkineni Nageswara Rao was born into a poor farmer's family on 20 September 1922 at Ramapuram, Krishna District. He has stated on record in several interviews that his education was limited to primary schooling due to his parents' poor economic conditions. Nageswara Rao took to acting at a very early age. He started acting in street plays at the age of nine.

Indian plays in those days used to have an all male cast and male leads often played female roles (as evidenced in the first Indian feature film, Raja Harishchandra). In his early days as an actor, Nageswara Rao used to enact such female roles on stage.