French Stewart (born February 20, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.
French Stewart was born Milton French Stewart in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attended Del Norte High School. His mother was a homemaker, and his stepfather was a microfilm technician.
Stewart studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and toured in regional theatre for seven years before breaking into television with the role of Razor Dee, a spaced-out DJ on the final season of The New WKRP in Cincinnati in 1992. Stewart earned his Screen Actors Guild card while working for Hanna-Barbera's Shakey Quakey tour, but was later terminated for removing the head of his costume in front of children. In 1996, he was cast on 3rd Rock from the Sun, which lasted for six seasons. On the show, Stewart was noted for his talents at physical comedy and his characteristic "squinting" facial expression. During the height and popularity of 3rd Rock from the Sun, Stewart appeared in numerous commercials and as a spokesperson for the beverage Clamato.
Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the oversexed Sullivan Groff in Weeds.
Modine, the youngest of seven children, was born in Loma Linda, California, the son of Dolores (née Warner), a bookkeeper, and Mark Alexander Modine, who managed drive-in theaters.
His first film role was in John Sayles' Baby It's You. His performance caught the eye of director Harold Becker, who cast him in Vision Quest (Crazy for You) based on the novel by Terry Davis. He appeared in the sex comedy Private School, co-starring Phoebe Cates and Betsy Russell. The director Robert Altman propelled Modine to international stardom with his film adaptation of David Rabe's play Streamers. Modine and his fellow castmates won an unprecedented Best Actor prize from the Venice Film Festival for the tragic story of young American soldiers about to be shipped to Vietnam. Modine played Mel Gibson's brother in Mrs. Soffel and starred with Nicolas Cage in Alan Parker's Birdy. The film was awarded a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Penn & Teller (Penn Jillette and Teller) are American illusionists and entertainers who have performed together since the late 1970s, and are known for their numerous stage and television shows. Their current Las Vegas show is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. Penn Jillette is a raconteur; Teller generally does not speak while performing, although his voice can occasionally be heard during their performance. They specialize in gory tricks, exposing frauds, and performing clever pranks. More recently they have become associated with atheism, scientific skepticism, and libertarianism, particularly through their television show Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.
Penn Jillette and Teller were introduced to one another by Weir Chrisimer, and they performed their first show together at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on 19 August 1975. From the late 1970s through 1981, Penn, Teller, and Chrisimer performed as a trio called "The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society" which played in San Francisco at the Phoenix Theater. This act was sillier and less "edgy" than today's Penn & Teller act.[citation needed] Chrisimer helped to develop some bits that continued, most notably Teller's "Shadows" trick, which involves a single red rose.