Actors, Politicians, and Celebrities

Discussion in 'General' started by morse1001, Mar 24, 2006.

  1. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    A few more of the well knowns (more so in the States)
    Don Adams - USMC
    John Agar - US Army Air Corps
    Gene Autry - Flight Officer, Air Transport Command, 1942-1946
    Eddie Albert - US Navy. Drove Amtracks in several Pacific invasions
    James Arness - US Army Purple Heart, Bronze Star
    Martin Balsam - US Army
    Richard Boone - US Navy
    Ernest Borgnine - U.S. Navy for twelve years, joining before WWII
    Mel Brooks - (Melvin Kaminsky) joined army in WWII and became a combat engineer.
    Charles Bronson - US Army
    Richard Burton - Royal Navy
    Art Carney - US Army
    Jeff Chandller - US Army
    Jackie Coogan - US Army Air Corps
    Tony Curtis - US Navy
     
  2. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Ossie Davis - US Army
    Kirk Douglas - US Navy
    Charles Durning - US Army
    Douglas Fairbanks Jr. - US Navy
    Henry Fonda - US Navy. Bronze Star for Valor
    Glenn Ford - US Navy
    Clark Gable - Army Air Corps
     
  3. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Alan Hale US Coast Guard during WWII
    SterlingHayden USMC
    Jack Hawkins - Volunteered to serve in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
    Audrey Hepburn, as a child she was a courier for World War II resistance fighters in Holland
    Benny Hill - British Army
    William Holden - US Army
    Rick Jason - US Army Air Corps
     
  4. morse1001

    morse1001 Very Senior Member

    not a film star but...

    Richard Nixon, Supply officer US Navy
     
  5. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Brian Keith – USMC
    George Kennedy - US Army

    Werner Klemperer - US Army
    Burt Lancaster - US Army
    Jack Lemmon - US Navy Reserve
    Patrick MacNee British Royal Navy
    Steve McQueen USMC
    Burgess Meredith - Army Air Corps
    Robert Montgomery – US Navy Reserve
    Audie Murphy - US Army, most decorated soldier of WWII
     
  6. morse1001

    morse1001 Very Senior Member

    Micheal bentine - Air Gunner RAF

    He always said that the reason he was taken off Ops was because of his failing eyesight and the fact that they caught him trying to get his guide dog onto the Lanc!
     
  7. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    David Niven Royal Army
    Caroll O’Connor - Merchant Marines 1942
    Jack Palance US Army Air Corps
    Tyrone Power - USMC Pilot in the South Pacific
    Anthony Quayle Royal Artillery
    Jason Robards Jr - US Navy
    Ronald Reagan - Army Air Corps
    Don Rickles - US Navy. Destroyer duty
    Mickey Rooney - US Army
     
  8. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Rod Serling - US Army paratroopers
    Robert Stack - US Navy
    Rod Stieger - US Navy
    Eli Wallach Sergeant US Army Medical Corps as an admin clerk
    Jack Warden Served in the 101st Airborne during WWII
    James Whitmore - USMC
     
  9. Gage

    Gage The Battle of Barking Creek

    Well,:cheers: :sign_wow: Spidge has pretty much wrapped that up then? Well done mate, that's quite a list.
     
  10. Mark Hone

    Mark Hone Senior Member

    'Stars At War' by Michael Munn goes into quite a few of the wartime careers of film actors while 'Showbiz Goes To War' by Eric Taylor takes a rather wider view, including musicians, comedians etc. The excellent quarterly magazine 'After The Battle' has run occasional articles on celebrities at war, including Richard Todd, Lee Marvin etc. There are quite a few myths and legends about the participation of future well-known people , often claiming that mild-mannered people were snipers, commandos etc. Some of these are addressed in the 'Snopes.com' urban legends website.
    Just to clear up a few slight mistakes in earlier postings: Lee Marvin was wounded on Saipan, not Iwo Jima, and narrowly escaped being permanently paralysed. Richard Todd was a lieutenant in 7th Parachute Regiment. On D-Day he helped relieve the coup de main party of Ox and Bucks led by Major John Howard, whom he played in 'Longest Day' ,but Howard was not his commanding officer. Audie Murphy fought in Italy and Northwest Europe, not the Pacific. He played himself in the biopic 'To Hell and Back'.
     
  11. Kitty

    Kitty Very Senior Member

    It amazes me just how much info Spidge can get hold of at short notice.
    So i don't say this anywhere near often enough, but :sign_wow: .
    Somebody buy the boy a drink on me.
    What about female film stars, did any of them serve?
    Kitty.
     
  12. adrian roberts

    adrian roberts Senior Member

    Morse

    He had been in the Army before the war, deserted but was allowed back and ended up in either the Phantom Reccie group or A SLU.

    I have a copy of The Moons a Balloon, but it is up in the loft in a MFO box and I am not going up there in this weather!!

    He was in a Phantom Recce group. Its a while since I read The Moon's a Balloon, but I don't think you'll find much on his active service. Could be two reasons for this: 1]He didn't see much action but didn't want to admit it; or 2] he did see action, but chose to be modest about it, unlike the famous people he name-dropped about, and usually had sex with, where he is the opposite of modest.

    Is it that cold in Scotland at the moment? Positively balmy down here now.

    Adrian
     
  13. adrian roberts

    adrian roberts Senior Member

    Various comments:

    Ronald Reagan I'm sure was never in the USAAC, or if he was it was only to make films - he never saw any action.

    Donald Fairbanks Jr was in the USN, but for some time was attached to the RN, in MTBs on special missions.

    Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in B17s.

    I think we need to make a distinction between those who became famous as film stars after their war service (e.g. Murphy, Bronson), and those who were already famous film stars and risked their careers and their lives to fight (Fairbanks, Stewart, Gable, Niven).
    The latter category contrasts with those who avoided joining the armed forces, e.g. John Wayne who in contrast to his image didn't like horses or outdoor life.

    Adrian
     
  14. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Bugger!

    It has been over 30c for the past week here.

    The Commonwealth Games were great!
     
  15. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

     
  16. morse1001

    morse1001 Very Senior Member

    John Wayne was exempt from service because he had four children at the time
     
  17. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER


    John Wayne did more for the American War effort at home than he could have fighting in a fox hole!
     
  18. morse1001

    morse1001 Very Senior Member

    Morse



    He was in a Phantom Recce group. Its a while since I read The Moon's a Balloon, but I don't think you'll find much on his active service. Could be two reasons for this: 1]He didn't see much action but didn't want to admit it; or 2] he did see action, but chose to be modest about it, unlike the famous people he name-dropped about, and usually had sex with, where he is the opposite of modest.

    it is what we in scotland call deregh! otherwise known as cold, wet and miserable!!

    I was in BandQ the other and i saw a man wearing a kaftan and jesus sandals ask the manager how soon they could deliver 500 cords of gopher wood!!
     
  19. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER


    Thank you Mossy........kind words.



    Audrey Hepburn as a young girl ran messages for the "underground" & Julia Child (US TV cooking personality) was with OSS in China!
     
  20. Kitty

    Kitty Very Senior Member

    Down here, my darling, we just call it manky.
    Thanks for the info Spidge, it's nice to know the girls did their bit other than the Every Night Something Awful routines.
     

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