Alan Alda

Born: January 28, 1936
Where: New York City

The ubiquitous Alan Alda was Oscar nominated for his role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator but he made his most profound cultural impact as Captain Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce on the classic TV comedy-drama series M*A*S*H.

His more recent stint on the hugely successful medical TV drama ER, as Dr. Lawrence, a surgical genius in the early stages of Alzheimer's, has cemented his position as one of America's best loved TV actors.

But Alda has also seen enormous success, mostly as a supporting actor, on the cinema screen.

His career began in 1951 when he performed Abbott-and-Costello-style comic sketches with his father and soon the New York stage beckoned.

Alda's film acting debut came in 1963 in Gone Are the Days; and in 1968 he starred as George Plimpton in the biopic Paper Lion.

Most of the 60s were taken up with MASH for Alda, but in 1978 he worked with Ellen Burstyn on Robert Mulligan's feature adaptation of Same Time, Next Year.

Three years later Alda received critical acclaim for his portrayal of an egotistical director in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors, and again with Allen, his next worked was highly praised - Manhattan Murder Mystery.

In 197 Alda featured in Costa-Gavras' Mad City, starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta, and the following year he filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox over its airings of "M*A*S*H*" on the cable channel FX. The case was settled out of court the following year.

More recently Alda played Mel Gibson's boss in the comedy What Women Want, and he is enjoying his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett.