Phillip "Phil" Vischer (born June 16, 1966) is an American voice actor, puppeteer, writer and animator known for creating the computer-animated video series VeggieTales with partner and friend Mike Nawrocki. He is famous for providing the voice of Bob the Tomato in the series.

Phil Vischer was born June 16, 1966 in Muscatine, Iowa and grew-up in Chicago, Illinois.

He attended St. Paul Bible College and got involved with the puppet ministry where he met Mike Nawrocki. Vischer originally wanted to go to film school after bible college but never made it. He ended up working for Amoco and Montgomery Ward as a truckdriver afterwards.

Vischer founded GRAFx Studios 1989 after buying an animation software, the company that dedicated in animating commercials and logos. That same year he animated and directed Mr. Cuke's Screen Test featuring Larry the Cucumber. In early 1993 he teamed up with Mike Nawrocki and started Big Idea Productions (now Big Idea Entertainment).

From 1993 to 2002, Vischer led the company as lead director and writer. In 2003 (after the release of Jonah) Big Idea went bankrupt and Vischer sold the company to Classic Media and left the company.

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".

In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.

For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate. He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA. He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society. In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.

Robin McLaurin Williams (born July 21, 1951) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.

Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurin (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region. His maternal great-great-grandfather was senator and Mississippi governor Anselm J. McLaurin. Williams is of English, Welsh, Irish, and French ancestry. He was raised in the Episcopal Church (his mother practiced Christian Science). He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School, and later moved to Woodacre, Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years. He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.

Michael Gungor (born September 11, 1980)^{[citation needed]} is a singer/song writer living in Denver, Colorado United States. He leads a musical collective called Gungor that tours around the world performing and leading worship music in both mainstream and religious venues. Aside from his work with the band, he has written and produced music for other artists as well as help start a church in Denver called "Bloom".

Michael Gungor grew up in Wisconsin as the son of Pastor Ed Gungor. He began leading the music in his children’s church. Gungor studied jazz at both Western Michigan University and the University of North Texas, while working as a worship leader in local churches.

In 2002, he recorded an album for his local church, and the project was picked up by Integrity Music. They released the album "Bigger Than My Imagination" in 2003. As he began to travel, the "Michael Gungor Band" began to evolve and he produced "All I Need is Here" with Michael Rossback in 2005. In 2007, he was signed to Brash Music, and the Michael Gungor Band came out with their first album, "Ancient Skies", which was simply "All I Need is Here" with the addition of a few newer songs to the album as well. Michael also contributed in the composition of songs for other artists such as "Friend of God" and the Dove Award-winning "Say So" alongside Israel Houghton.