birthdays: december 15

Tim Conway, 77, comedian who was a regular on the TV circuit in 1960s, with parts on The Steve Allen Show and a regular role on McHale's Navy, before he headlined his own, self-titled, short-lived sitcom in the early '70s; his most famous stint, though, was as part of the crew on The Carol Burnett Show for 11 seasons.  Since Carol Burnett he's gotten mostly guest spots on TV shows and put out a series of faux instructional videos as "Dorf"
Julie Taymor, 58, prominent female film director known for his exorbitant spending on big-budget projects, her biggest successes include the awards-bait flicks Titus and Frida, as well as the smash Tony-winning stage musical The Lion King; her biggest question marks were the critically maligned Across the Universe, her recent adaptation of The Tempest, and the impending Spider-Man musical (the most expensive stage production in history) - though the jury's still out on that one
Don Johnson, 61, best known for that signature '80s look he crafted on six seasons of Miami Vice, he's had limited to no success in the film business, but has managed to land a second successful show, CBS's late-1990s drama Nash Bridges; oh, and he used to married to Melanie Griffith before Antonio Banderas came along
Adam Brody, 31, though he played the role of Barry Williams in a Brady Bunch expose TV movie and had a recurring role as geeky band frontman Dave on Gilmore Girls, his big break came with the launch of FOX's temporarily successful series The OC, as nerd posterboy Seth Cohen; he's since had small roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Thank You For Smoking, and Jennifer's Body, though nothing has matched the magnitude of The OC
Stuart Townsend, 38, now former flame of actress Charlize Theron, this Irish-born thespian famously took over Tom Cruise's role in the Interview with the Vampire sequel Queen of the Damned; since then he portrayed Dorian Gray in the flop film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, starred in the short-lived crime drama Night Stalker, and starred alongside Theron and Penelope Cruz in the semi-critical-dud Head in the Clouds
Maxwell Anderson, (1888-1959), author and playwright whose work inspired the screenplays for such films as Death Takes a Holiday, Saturday's Children, Key Largo, and The Bad Seed, his last work before his death in 1959 was as a contributing writer on Alfred Hitchcock's legendary film Vertigo
Melanie Chartoff, 60, known primarily for her voice work, she's probably most recognizable as worry-wart matriarch Didi Pickles in all the Rugrats TV series and films; she also had recurring live action roles on Wiseguy, Newhart, and Seinfeld, as well as a regular role on the sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Walon Green, 74, Oscar-winning screenwriter responsible for the scripts for The Wild Bunch (for which he won), Eraser, and Dinosaur; he also has written countless teleplays for various entries in the Law & Order franchise, ER, and Hill Street Blues
Garrett Wang, 42, Chinese-American actor best known for his role as Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager, he had a role in TNT's recent miniseries Into the West, though he's gone on to pursue other occupations outside of acting since Voyager wrapped