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Joe Shuster was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At age 9 he and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he met and befriended his future partner Jerome "Jerry" Siegel. Siegel and Shuster were both avid science fiction fans, publishing a fanzine in the mid-1920s. It was during this period that they read Philip Wylie's book, "Gladiator", about a mysterious character with superpowers and invulnerability. They created a strip for their fanzine (Shuster drawing, Siegel writing) featuring a super-powered villain, but later made him into a hero. In 1936, they tried, unsuccessfully, to turn it into a daily comic strip. About the same time, both young men got a job working for DC-National (now DC Comics), working on such titles as Doctor Occult, Slam Bradley, and Radio Squad.

In 1939, DC editor Sheldon Meyer decided to give the two young men a chance, and published their character Superman a new comic title, "Action Comics". Superman was an almost immediate hit, spawning his own eponymous title within a year, then going on to be featured in virtually every type of media.

Shuster and Siegel continued working on Superman for many years, but became increasingly resentful of the profits that DC-National made off their character (because of the practice at the time, the creators had signed away all rights to the character to the publisher). In 1946, Shuster and Siegel sued DC for a share of the rights to Superman (their lawyer was Albert Zugsmith). The case dragged on until 1948, when the two men settled for royalties only on the Superboy character. They were also required to sign away any future claims to the Superman character.

Shuster was bitter about his treatment, and decided to leave the comics field. In 1975, after the Superman movie raised new interest in the character, the two men once again sued DC for recognition and royalties. DC, with much prodding from publisher/editor Carmine Infantino, re-instated Siegel and Shuster's name on the masthead as creators, and awarded the two men an annual stipend of $35,000. Shuster died in 1992, nearly blind and still bitter about the treatment he'd received.

This alluring hazel-eyed 1940s leading lady was born Ardis Ankerson on the Philippine island of Negros, one of two siblings. Her father was Otto Peter Ankerson who held an important position as overseer of a large sugar plantation. Following the premature death of her mother in 1925, Ardis and her sister were packed off to San Antonio to complete their education. Ardis was voted Freshman Class Beauty of 1934 at Texas State College, acted in amateur dramatics and worked hard on diction and improvisation. By then, she was clearly determined to become a professional actress. Following her graduation, she moved to New York where she studied drama under the tuition of actor Richard Gaines (and eventually married him in 1936). Gaines helped her secure acting work in stock companies under the Federal Theatre Project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration as part of the New Deal. While in New York, Ardis successfully auditioned for Paramount, but studio executives dropped the option to sign her due to what they deemed her excessive salary demands. Warner Brothers viewed the screen test some time later and proved less squeamish about picking her up. With the inevitable name change prompted by the studio, 'Brenda Marshall' went Hollywood. During her tenure in Tinseltown, she made it clear to friends and co-workers alike, that she be addressed not by her studio-fabricated cognomen, but by her given name (with the addition of her married name of Gaines).

Brenda made an almost immediate impact in her fourth outing for Warners as Doña Maria, providing the romantic interest in Errol Flynn's classic swashbuckler The Sea Hawk (1940). This should have established the brunette beauty as a tangible box office attraction. Alas, only routine material followed and Brenda saw out the remainder of her contract as exotic leads in second features like East of the River (1940), South of Suez (1940) and Singapore Woman (1941). There were to be two more A-grade productions, but Brenda ended up playing second fiddle to James Cagney's aviation heroics in Captains of the Clouds (1942) and was overshadowed in the charisma department by Joan Fontaine and Alexis Smith in The Constant Nymph (1943). By 1950, she quit the acting profession and devoted herself to other causes. A year after her divorce from Gaines in 1940, Brenda had wed the actor William Holden in Las Vegas. She was of help to him in setting up the Mt. Kenya Safari Club as a means of protecting African wildlife. The couple seemed content for a while. However, the marriage proved to be increasingly volatile and began to unravel by 1963, ending up in divorce eight years later. Brenda died from throat cancer in Palm Springs in 1992 at the age of 76.

Bert Parnaby was born on 4 March 1924 in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Blackadder (1982), First Among Equals (1986) and My Cousin Rachel (1983). He died on 30 July 1992 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK.

Dick Glass was born on 20 June 1940 in Troy, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Hollywood 90028 (1973). He died on 30 July 1992 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Ettore Arena was born on 10 January 1948. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Sword of the Barbarians (1982), Poliziotti violenti (1976) and Brillantina Rock (1979). He died on 30 July 1992 in Rome, Italy.

Charlotte Leigh was born on 3 November 1907 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Polly (1937), The Brown Wallet (1936) and Second Best Bed (1938). She was married to Richard Seymour. She died on 30 July 1992 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England, UK.

Lois Kent was born on 28 July 1926 in Weed, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Scandal Street (1938), Girl of the Ozarks (1936) and Four Hours to Kill! (1935). She died on 30 July 1992 in Redlands, California, USA.

Weyman Mackay was born on 18 March 1913 in Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Court Martial of Major Keller (1961), Boyd Q.C. (1956) and Top Secret (1961). He died on 30 July 1992 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK.

Gary Hanekamp was born on 2 February 1941 in California, USA. He is known for Cop (1988), Dark Tower (1987) and White Fang (1991). He died on 30 July 1992 in Santa Paula, California, USA.

Börje Norrman was born on 8 December 1921 in Fosie, Skåne, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Ett svårskött pastorat (1958) and Jim & Piraterna Blom (1987). He died on 30 July 1992 in Malmö, Sweden.