Actors

Actress Ruby Dee. Together with her husband Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, has performed on stage, screen and television for 30 years. In the early part of her career, she and her husband lived by staging church readings of black authors like Langston Hughes and Phillis Wheatley. One of their best-known projects was the 13-part PBS series, "With Ossie & Ruby," which showcased black artists like Louis Armstrong, Della Reese and Max Roach.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone shares her thoughts on the sexual politics of the popular new movie "Broadcast News."

Actress Sally Kirkland. She's worked in theater and film for 25 years, playing small character roles. She now has a starring role in the film "Anna." (INTERVIEW BY LIANE HANSEN)

Character actor Ned Beatty. He spent 15 years in theater before making his film debut in "Deliverance." Since then, he's played everything from a sinister executive in "Network" to a clownish sheriff in the Burt Reynolds film "Stroker Ace." In all, Beatty has acted in 37 feature films, and 44 television movies or series.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone looks at the new sexism as typified in the female leads in the films "Fatal Attraction," "The Big Easy" and "Baby Boom," three of the most successful fall films.

The musical theater actress walked away from Broadway, only to return to the stage as a cabaret singer. Cook was recently featured in a concert version of Follies and stars in a new musical revue.

Moms Mabley was a regular performer at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where actress Clarice Taylor saw her perform. Taylor, best known for her role in The Cosby Show, wrote and stars in a new play about the comedian's life.

Bill Raymond has long worked with the collaborative theater troupe Mabou Mines. Their recent production, Cold Harbor, in which Raymond stars, is about Ulysses S. Grant.

Film actor, writer, and director Robert Townsend satirizes his experiences as an African American in Hollywood in the new film, Hollywood Shuffle. He says that television commercials have given him more opportunities than movies to play diverse roles.

Graham Chapman came out while working on the sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus. He discusses his activism to support gay rights, as well as the many times the television program lampooned conventional masculinity.

Feminist writer Gloria Steinem has a new book about actress Marilyn Monroe. Steinem was initially disgusted by Monroe's portrayal of some onscreen. Now she has a more sympathetic view toward the late actress's talent and vulnerability.

Actress Lynn Redgrave, known for numerous stage productions and the film Georgy Girl, comes from a family of actors. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her craft and how both her weight and famous last name shaped her career.

John Houseman has had an illustrious career as an actor and producer of film, television, and radio. He is known for bringing Shakespeare to diverse audiences via Broadway, the Federal Theater Project, and film adaptations of the playwright's work.

Marchand talks about the differences between acting onstage and in television, the challenges of raising children while working, and the intersection of her celebrity and personal life.

Scholar Frank McCourt and his brother, actor Malachi McCourt, grew up poor in Ireland before finding success in the United States. Both brothers were voracious readers and were able to find success without a high school education. They wrote and perform together in a new, autobiographical play.

Esther Rolle played a maid in the television show Maude, a role which she hoped would subvert the racist tradition of mammy characters typically given to African American actresses. Rolle now works mostly in theater, and is featured in a production of Carson McCullers' The Member of the Wedding.

Viveca Lindfors made her mark in Swedish films before becoming a noted Hollywood actress in the post-war era. She talks about fate of and attitudes toward fellow actresses from that period.

Desmond Ryan is the film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ernie Schier is the film critic for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and Bill Van Wert is Fresh Air's film critic. They join the show to discuss their top ten lists for the best and worst films of 1980.

Leslie Uggams is an actress and singer known for her roles in the television miniseries "Roots" and "Backstairs at the White House" and the t.v. show "Sing Along with Mitch." She is also well-known for work in musicals and on Broadway. Uggams discusses her career and life including being a child actor, a member of a youth gang, and singing versus acting. Uggams is currently performing in Philadelphia.

Actor Molly Picon grew up in the Yiddish theater. Her husband Jacob Kalich helped manage her career. She explains how performing for children who survived the Holocaust affected her, and her later experiences in film.