Hi Fellas,
As a 60's child and living through the era of some of the greatest war movies I was always surprised when I found out later that some of the actors I loved had really experienced combat. The knowledge that actors had faced the real dangers of war was fascinating to me and added to the credibility of some of the characters they played as actors.
Below is a list I have edited to include a couple of actors who did serve and fight in reality but not necessarily made war films during their acting career.
There will be others. Please include them if you know of any.
Thanks, Lew...
Clarke Gable (USA)- Served in the US air-force during WW2. He worked primarily in public relations and morale-boosting but also trained as a gunner and he flew five missions on B-17s over Germany. War movies he appeared in included Command Decision
Jimmy Stewart (USA)- Trained as a bomber pilot for the USAAF in WW2, he served in the 8th Air-Force and flew 25 bombing missions over enemy territory as the pilot of a B-24. When he was interviewed for the 1970s documentary TV series 'The World at War', he recalled as the biggest fear- "the (German) fighter was the boogey-man....the fighter had eyes!" War movies he appeared in- Strategic Air-Command .
Walter Matthau (USA) - During World War II, Matthau served in the U.S. Army Air Forces with the Eighth Air Force in Britain as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator radioman-gunner, in the same 453rd Bombardment Group as James Stewart. He was based at RAF Old Buckenham, Norfolk during this time. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and became interested in acting.
Richard Todd (UK)- Was a Paratrooper in the British 6th Airborne division in WW2 and he saw action on D-Day in Normandy, 1944. He fought at the famous action at Pegasus Bridge and later acted in a scene in a film that re-created this battle. War movies he appeared in included- The Dam Busters, The Longest Day, D-Day: the 6th June, Operation Cross-Bow.
Donald Pleasance (UK) Flew as a Navigator in Lancaster bombers in British RAF Bomber-Command during the night-air offensive against Germany in WW2. His plane was shot down in 1944 and he was captured and placed in a POW camp where he was interrogated & tortured by the Gestapo. After the war, he seldom spoke about his wartime experiences. War movies he appeared in - The Great Escape, The Great Escape II (TV)
Charles Bronson (USA) Joined the United States air-force during WW2 and served in the war in Pacific against the Japanese. He flew 25 combat missions as a tail gunner in a B-29 in 1944/45, flying long-range bombing missions over Japan and received a Purple Heart for being wounded by shrapnel from anti-aircraft fire. War movies he appeared in include:- The Dirty Dozen, The Battle of the Bulge
Lee Marvin (USA) Joined the US Marine Corps at the outbreak of WW2. He fought in the Pacific against the Japanese and was wounded in the buttocks by shrapnel during the battle of Saipan in 1944. War movies he appeared in included:- The Dirty Dozen, The Big Red One, Hell in the Pacific.
Hardy Kruger (Germany). Was a member of the Hitler Youth until he was old enough to join the German army during the last stages of WW2. He fought against the Allies in Europe in 1945 as an infantryman in the Waffen-SS. War movies he appeared in included:- The One that got away, A Bridge Too Far, The Wild Geese and the Battle of the river Neretva.
Kirk Douglas attended the midshipman school at Notre Dame University, and graduated as a naval ensign. He was assigned as a communications officer to Anti-Submarine Unit 1139 in the Pacific, and spent most of 1942 and 43 on small patrol craft. He was injured in an encounter with a Japanese sub when a depth charge went off almost immediately after being discharged. Suffering internal injuries, he later got complications from amoebic dysentery. He spent five months at Balboa Hospital at San Diego Naval Station, and was given a medical discharge in 1944.
Harry Andrews (UK) - Served in the Royal Artillery during WW2. Famous for portraying the stiff-upper lipped British officer in many war films. War movies included:- Battle of Britain, Charge of the Light Brigade, Too late the Hero, A Hill in Korea, The Hill.
Denholm Elliot (UK) - Served in the RAF as a Gunner/Navigator in Bomber Command (I wasn't able to find out what type of aircraft). Shot down over Denmark in 1942, spent the remainder of the war in a POW camp where he helped organise theatricial entertainment for the other prisoners. War movies included:- A Bridge Too Far, Too Late the Hero, The Cruel Sea.
Gert Frobe (Germany)- film actor best-remembered for playing the villian Goldfinger in the James Bond film of the same name. He also played German officers in the war films 'The Longest Day' and 'Is Paris Burning?' and played the pompous Prussian officer in 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines'. In WW2, Frobe was a member of the Nazi Party but he led a double-life by secretly hiding Jewish families from the Gestapo. After the war, he had no proof of his deeds and the movie 'Goldfinger' was banned in Israel until a Jewish family that he had saved publicly thanked him.
Ernst Schroder (Germany)- film and stage actor who played a German General (Von Salmuth) in 'The Longest Day'. In WW2, he served in the Whermacht on the Italian Front in 1944 and was wounded and taken prisoner by Allied troops. He took his own life in 1994.
Christopher Lee (UK) - The actor who has achieved recent fame for playing villians in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the two most recent Star Wars films was a member of the Royal air-force Intelligence service in WW2 and saw action with the Special Forces in Finland during the Finnish-Soviet war in 1940.
Toshiro Mifune (Japan). Served in the Imperial Japanese Air-Force during WW2 as a member of an aerial reconnaissance and photography unit. War movies he appeared in included:- Midway, 1941, Hell in the Pacific.
Woody Strode (USA)- film actor who played the reluctant Private Franklin in the 1959 Korean War film 'Pork Chop Hill' but is probably best-remembered for playing the Gladiator Draba who spares Kirk Douglas' life and sacrifices his own after a fight in the arena in the 1960 Ancient-Roman epic 'Spartacus'. He served in the US Army during WW2 as a soldier in a segregated African-American unit.
Kenneth Moore (UK) received a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and saw active service aboard the cruiser HMS Aurora and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious.
Rod Steiger (USA). Served in the United States Navy in the Pacific during WW2 on board a Destroyer. His first introduction to war was when he was ordered to machine-gun and sink an un-armed Japanese civilian fishing boat whilst his ship was escorting the carrier USS Hornet en route to launching the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in 1942. War movies he appeared in included:- Lion of the Desert, Waterloo, The Longest Day.
Henry Fonda (USA). Also served in the United States Navy in WW2 and, like Steiger, also fought in the Pacific on board a Destroyer. However he gained a higher rank (Quarter-Master) and was already an established actor when he enlisted in the Navy in 1943. He earned a Bronze Star for bravery. War movies included:- The Longest Day, Midway, Battle of the Bulge
Ernst Borgnine (USA). Served in the US Navy in WW2, rising to the rank of Gunner's 1st Mate. War movies included:- The Dirty Dozen, From Here to Eternity, All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 remake)
Dirk Bogarde (UK). Served in WW2 as an officer in a British Photo-Intelligence Unit. Took part in the liberation of the Belsen death camp in 1945 and he once had to kill a wounded allied officer to put him out of his misery. War movies included:- Ill-met by moonlight, A Bridge Too Far.
Harold.H.Corbett (UK)- TV and Stage actor, best-known for playing the younger half of the scrap-dealing father and son team of the long-running sitcom 'Steptoe and Son' (1962-1974). In WW2, he served in the British Royal Marines and ended the war as a qualified radiographer.
Eddie Albert (USA). Served in the US Navy in the Pacific in WW2. During the battle of Tarawa in 1943, he drove a Landing Craft and was credited with rescuing 70 wounded soldiers whilst under Japanese fire. War movies included Attack!, The Longest Day
Alec Guiness (UK). Served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and was a crew-member on board a Landing Craft for the allied invasion of Sicily and also participated in ferrying supplies to Yugoslav partisans. War movies included:- Bridge on the River Kwai.
David Niven (UK). Fought in WW2 with the British army in a rifle regiment and later in the Commandoes. He was present at the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940 and later in the war took part in missions behind enemy lines. War movies included:- The Way ahead, Spitfire, The Guns of Navarone
Michael Caine (UK). Fought as a rifle-man in a British Army Regiment during the war in Korea 1950-53. War movies included:- Zulu, A Hill in Korea, The Last Valley, Play Dirty, Battle of Britain, A Bridge Too Far.
James Garner (USA) Fought in Korea for 14 months, as a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War. He was wounded twice, first in the face and hand by shrapnel fire from a mortar round, and the second time in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dove headfirst into a foxhole. Garner received the Purple Heart in Korea for the first wound.
Audie Murphy (USA). Fought with the US Army in Sicily, Italy and France, surviving several wounds to become the highest-decorated US soldier in WW2. Played himself in the movie based on his wartime experiences To Hell and Back. Privately, he said he disliked the film, saying it 'missed by a mile'.
Paul Newman (USA). Joined the US Naval air-force and served in a torpedo Squadron as a gunner/radio-operator on Grumman Avengers. In May 1945, his crew was about to be sent to reinforce the Torpedo Squadron on board the carrier USS Bunker Hill during the battle for Okinawa. At the last moment, his crew was held back as his pilot developed an ear infection. Shortly afterwards, Bunker Hill was hit by a Japanese Kamikaze and hundreds of men were killed, including most of the fliers of the ship's Avenger squadron. Newman's pilot falling ill was a quirk of fate that almost certainly saved his life.
Fred Gwynne (USA)- actor best-known for his role as Herman Munster in the 1960s TV sitcom 'The Munsters'. In WW2 he served in the US Navy and was able to study art & dramatics with the help of the post-war G.I Bill.
Jack Palance did not get to experience actual combat but he trained as a bomber pilot in WW2. During a training flight over California, his B-24 accidently crashed and Palance received severe facial burns, creating his gaunt, lined features that he was famous for as an actor.
Don Adams (USA) (TV's Get Smart) - Fought in WW2 as a rifleman in the US Marines, taking part in the bloody battles on Guadalcanal in 1942-43. After one action, he was the only survivor of his platoon.
Jack Warden (USA) - Served in the US Navy and then the Merchant Marine 1938-42 but then joined the US Army Airborne, serving in the 501st Regiment of the 101st Division. Holding the rank of Staff Sargeant, Warden broke his leg landing on a fence during a night practice jump in England just prior to D-Day so he was unable to participate in the Normandy campaign. However he recovered in time to rejoin his unit and he saw action in the Ardennes in December 1944. Ironically, in the 1959 movie 'That Kind of Woman', he played a paratrooper from his rival unit, the 82nd Airborne. War movies he appeared in included:- From here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line (original 1964 version) and Run Silent, Run Deep.
Lee Van-Cleef (USA). Van-Cleef, who starred in many famous Westerns and also appeared as a bullying Sargeant who picks on Montgomery Cliff in the 1958 film 'The Young Lions' served in the US Navy during WW2. War movies included:- The Young Lions.
Randolph Scott (USA). The popular chiselled-jawed actor who starred in a great many Westerns from the 1930s through to the 1960s, Scott served in WW1 at the age of 19 in the US Army. He saw action as an Artillery Observer on the Western front in 1918 with the 2nd Trench Mortar Battalion, 19th Field Artillery. In WW2, he attempted to enlist again but was turned down due to a previous injury. He did, however, perform in a touring comedy act to entertain troops. War movies he appeared in included:- To the Shores of Tripoli, Bombardier, China Sky, Corvette K-225.
Glenn Ford (USA). - Served in the US Marine-Corps Reserve during WW2, working in communications and public-relations. He also served in the US Naval Reserve periodically until the 1970s which included a month-long visit to Vietnam in 1967 as a location-scout for military-training films. War movies included:- Torpedo Run, Advance to the Rear, Destroyer, Midway.
Jack Watson (UK). -Served in the British Royal Navy in WW2 as a PT Instructor. War Movies included:- Tobruk, The McKenzie Break, The Devils Brigade, The Wild Geese.
Percy Herbert (UK). -Served in the British Army during WW2, taking part in the defence of Singapore and was captured by the Japanese in February 1942, spending the remainder of the war in a POW camp. A prolific character actor, he appeared in many British war films, including: A Hill in Korea, Tobruk, The Sea of Sand, Bridge on the River Kwai, The Wild Geese, The Guns of Navarone, Tunes of Glory, Too Late the Hero, Cockleshell Heroes and Guns at Batsai.
James Doohan ('Scotty' in Star Trek) - served in the Canadian artillery during WW2 and fought in Normandy in 1944.
At least three cast members of BBC TV's Dads Army all experienced war for real. Clive Dunn (Corporal Jones) was captured in North Africa in WW2 and spent 4 years in a POW camp. John Laurie (Private Frazer) fought in the First World war as did Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey), the latter taking part in the terrible Battle of the Somme in 1916. Ridley was badly wounded in both legs and his left arm and also sustained a severe head injury when a German soldier struck him with a rifle butt. He volunteered again to later fight in WW2 but suffered shell-shock during the retreat through France in 1940 and was discharged. It was therefore very ironic that Ridley played the most gentle and timid member of Captain Mainwaring's Home-Guard platoon!
Jon Pertwee (UK) ( BBC TV's Dr Who in the 1970s)- served in the British Royal Navy in WW2 on board the Battleship HMS Hood. Was lucky enough to be transferred from the ship shortly before it was sunk in 1941.
Charles Durning (USA) had an extraordinary experience in WW2. As a soldier in the famous 1st US army division, he survived the bloody landing on Omaha beach on D-Day. Six months later, he was captured by the Germans during the battle of the Bulge and he was one of only three men to survive the infamous Malmedy massacre where over 100 captured Americans were machine-gunned by Waffen-SS.
Raymond Burr (USA) (TV's Ironside and Perry Mason) fought in WW2 in the Marine Corps and was wounded at the battle of Okinawa in 1945.
All information copied from Pete Hills post on the 'Aerodrome' website.
http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=35649
If you know of any more, please let us know.
...Lew...
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Originally Posted by =FI=Murph
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