Matthew Broderick Brings Back Ferris Bueller

Tony-award winning actor Matthew Broderick has starred in a wide range of plays and movies throughout his career. While his list of credits is extensive, the movie that made him a household name was undoubtedly "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," a 1986 John Hughes comedy and one of the top comedies of the '80s. In the movie, Broderick plays Ferris Bueller, a teenager who decides to play hooky from school and gets into one sticky situation after another.

Broderick went on to play a variety of roles, including an Air Force pilot in "Project X" and a Civil War officer in "Glory." He was also the voice behind the adult Simba in Disney's "The Lion King" animated film. In addition, he added dark comedy roles to his repertoire with films like "The Cable Guy" and "Election."

In 2001, Broderick stared as Leo Bloom opposite Nathan Lane in the Mel Brooks' musical, The Producers, on Broadway. He continued to play Leo Bloom on Broadway until 2003. A couple of years later, he reprised the role on the silver screen in the movie adaptation of the musical, which was based on movie by Mel Brooks. In 2011, Broderick starred in "Tower Heist" and several other films. He will be starring in the Broadway musical, Nice Work if You Can Get It, this spring.

The native New Yorker married actress Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997 and the couple has three children, a son and twin girls. Broderick has been making headlines lately due in large part to a Super Bowl commercial set to air this Sunday during the big game. In the commercial, Broderick revives his Bueller persona and calls in sick to work for a day filled with fun and mayhem in his 2012 Honda CR-V. Although Broderick does not go by the name Ferris Bueller in the commercial, the references to the movie are plentiful and fans of the movie will recognize the background music. To see the humorous commercial, tune in on game day or click here.

A Sneak Peek at a Long-Awaited Sequel

Vin Diesel released the first image from his newest movie, the as-yet untitled sequel to "The Chronicles of Riddick," on his Facebook page earlier this week. The movie, due out some time next year, stars Diesel, along with Karl Urban and Kattee Sackhoff. David Twohy, who directed the original Riddick movie as well as its low-budget predecessor "Pitch Black," is directing the third installment.

Born in New York City as Mark Sinclair Vincent, Diesel began going by the name Vin while he was working as a bouncer at a nightclub in New York City. Diesel came from his friends who claimed he ran on diesel fuel because of his high energy. Diesel has dabbled in screenwriting and film making over the years. He received his first big break when he was cast as Richard B. Riddick in "Pitch Black" in 2000. A series of successful action movies have turned Diesel into the star he is today. He has been cast in dramatic roles in such films as "Boiler Room" and "Saving Private Ryan," as well as comedic roles in films like "The Pacifier." A sixth installmant of the popular "The Fast and the Furious" film franchise has also been announced and is expected next year.

Murray Handwerker: A True American Entrepreneur

Nowadays, hot dogs are as American as baseball and apple pie, but that wasn't always the case. Originally from Germany, hot dogs began appearing in the U.S. in the late 1800s. Thanks to the business acumen of men like Charles Feltman, who began selling hot dogs at Coney Island in New York in the 1870s, hot dogs quickly became associated with amusement parks, baseball games and fairs.

Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker, another shrewd businessman of the time and a former employee of Feltman's, began selling hot dogs made from his wife's recipe on Coney Island in 1916. With $300 in financial backing from pals Jimmy Durante and Eddie Cantor, Handwerker opened his hot dog stand at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues and sold his hot dogs for just a nickel, half the price of Feltman's dogs. Food safety laws were just starting to be developed at this time, so Handwerker made sure that men wearing surgeon's smocks were regularly seen eating his hot dogs.

Nathan's wife Ida gave birth to a son, Murray, in 1921. Their son grew up at the Coney Island hot dog stand and learned everything about the business during his childhood. After returning from World War II, Murray earned a Bachelor's degree in French from New York University and eventually took over the business from his father.

While Nathan's sole goal was to provide for his family, Murray's visions were set quite a bit higher. He expanded the restaurant's menu and opened additional locations throughout New York. The company went public in 1968 and Murray had successfully opened up 43 locations and 10 franchises by 1977. Murray also succeeded in getting Nathan's Famous hot dogs on supermarket shelves across the country.

Although Nathan's Famous hit a rough patch in the early 1980s, Murray persevered, closing several restaurants and franchises to stay afloat. He sold the company to Equicor Group, an investment company, in 1987 and retired to Florida. The name Nathan's Famous is still synonymous with hot dogs and their dogs have been the favorite of celebrities and politicians for nearly a century now.