James Franciscus, is best known as the title hero of the late TV series, "Mr. Novak." Although this much-lauded show established his identity, he wishes people would forget it now and accepts him in a variety of characters. "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes" is his second astronaut role in a row; he also played a spaceman in "Marooned." Franciscus is also a producer of entertainment for television, including last season's delightful "Heidi" and the forthcoming "David Copperfield" both specials for NBC. But he currently refuses to act on the tube, even in guest appearances on major programs, because he believes a leading or starring actor cannot function successfully in both medias at the same time in the United States, and he prefers the more leisurely and thorough approach of feature films. He is married to the daughter of film director William Wellman.

Kim Hunter returns to play the role of the chimpanzee scientist, Dr. Zira, a part she created in "Planet of the Apes." Miss Hunter, who lives in New York and functions mainly on the Broadway stage, won an Oscar for "Streetcar Named Desire" and the Tony Award for the same role -- Stella -- in the original stage production. She has appeared in dozens of films and plays and frequently on television, although she is still an attractive young woman -- a fact difficult to detect in "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes," although her chic and charm do manage somehow to shine through the chimpanzee face.

Charlton Heston's 37th motion picture is "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes," and he followed it with two other major projects, "The Hawaiians" and "Julius Caesar." One of Hollywood's younger "elder statesmen," he is president of the Screen Actors Guild and a frequent spokesman for his craft and the film industry at large. While associated generally in the public ken with "epic" films (The Ten Commandments" "Ben Hur" and others), he is equally adept at intimate comedy and light-hearted farce. He came to Hollywood via repertory, then the New York state ("Anthony and Cleopatra" with Katerine Cornell, "The Leaf and the Bough," "Design for a Stained Glass Window"). Meanwhile he had begun work on live TV shows, and Hal Wallis brought him to Hollywood as the lead in "Dark City." Next Cecil B. DeMille put him to work in "The Greatest Show on Earth," and he has not stopped since. He maintains excellent physical condition by running and playing tennis, is an accomplished pen-and-ink sketch artist. Heston hails from Michigan, has been married since 1944 to a Northwestern University classmate, the former Lydia Clarke. They have a son and daughter.

Linda Harrison, former Miss Maryland, repeats the difficult role of Nova, the mute, primitive human girl. The attractive brunette is currently one of the stars of the TV series, "Brackens World." In "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes," for the second time on the screen, she has nary a word of dialogue, although her part runs through the entire film -- and, worse, she wears the same leafy costume she used in the first "Apes" movie. But in the video series she portrays a film starlet and gets to wear plenty of lovely clothes.