No, not Jay, either.

In my younger days, I also used to volunteer at Seattle's Pacific Science Center on weekends, as a "Science Explainer."

Also in 1986, while working as a writer/actor on a local Seattle sketch comedy TV show, I got my first big break when a scheduled guest canceled, and I filled in with seven minutes of comical demonstrations of scientific phenomena (such as what happens if you eat a marshmallow dipped in liquid nitrogen).

I'm out- I just googled.

Kelsey Grammar?

Negatory to Kelsey.

During my 10-year college reunion at Cornell, I told my former prof Carl Sagan that I was interested in developing a science TV program, featuring an emphasis on "stuff that, as an engineer, I'd been interested in... [but Sagan suggested] 'Focus on pure science. Kids resonate to pure science rather than technology.' And that turned out to be great advice."

I was focusing on comedians who look like they might have had engineering backgrounds (Bob Newhart would have been my next guess), but now with all this science information and a Carl Sagan connection … the astronomy guy Neil deGrasse Tyson?

Close, but no cigar, on Tyson.

However, like both Tyson and Sagan, I went on to become a familiar face on TV as a popularizer of science, promoting science literacy among the general public — but in my case, especially among younger viewers.

Bill Nye?

Bingo! Bill Nye the Science Guy it is!

Alan M, you’re up next!

Here we go...

1) I was born into a relatively affluent family. I inherited part of my father's estate, and lived a life free of financial troubles.
2) I served in the military and distinguished myself in three campaigns during war time.
3) I was notoriously ugly, having a flat turned-up nose, bulging eyes and a large belly. My friends joked about my appearance. It was probably justified as I neglected personal hygiene, bathed rarely and walked barefoot.

Winston Churchill?

Not Churchill.

1) Except for the military campaigns I participated in, and once to attend a festival, I never left the city near the place of my birth.

2) I died in prison around the age of 71.

Napoleon?

Not Napoleon.

Sorry, I number my previous clues incorrectly. We are on clue #6 in total.

6) A polarizing figure in society, I was accused of corrupting the youth.

Mae West

Socrates

Socrates is correct!

Landmark, you're up!

1. I spent some time as a missionary in Belgium, though I failed my entrance exam to the theological program at university.

2. When my first cousin spurned my romantic overtures, I held my hand in a candle flame for as long as I could.

3. After years of depression, rejection, and failure, my last words were "The sadness will last forever."

4. Though I achieved a level of fame in the decade after my death, it was not until a book about my life was published some forty years after my death that I became well known in the US.

Marcel Marceau

Vincent van gogh

Fedora is correct! Mr. Van Gogh it is. Fedora, it's your turn.