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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS? (Read 108 times)
Reply #15 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 10:49am

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I believe that David Niven left a safe haven in Hollywood & risked his future career (& obviously his life) to travel back home at his own expense & volunteer to serve his country.

Quite correct Doug, he was with Phantom the SAS signals squadron and often in the line of fire. It is worth reading his book "The Moon Is A Balloon" which covers that period of his life Wink
 
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Reply #16 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 12:13pm

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ok, as i said, i didn't compile the list, but even if some of those ain't american, the principle still stands, they rushed to fight for their country in war, rather than letting others do the fighting and insulting them from a save place.


another thought:
statistically speaking there should be some actors who fought in vietnam, but you'll have a hard time finding details about that. now, why is that so?
 
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Reply #17 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 1:20pm

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I always find Richard Todd of Dambusters fame to be one of the most remarkable. Little could Todd  have known on the morning of June 6th 1944 when he met Maj John Howard at Pegasus Bridge, that 20ish years later he would be playing Maj Howard in the film "The Longest Day"...

 
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Reply #18 - Oct 28th, 2005 at 2:25pm

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statistically speaking there should be some actors who fought in vietnam

Jane Fonda? Grin Grin Grin Grin Grin
Sorry I just couldn't resist that one. I think Robert Duvall was in the US Army in Vietnam...
Jesse Ventura was a SEAL in 'Nam I believe.
Richard Kline (Army?)
Ken Kercheval (Army?)
 
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Reply #19 - Oct 29th, 2005 at 2:35am

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As others have pointed out I find this somewhat contradictory.
If those you mention had been American and steadfast non-compliant, then it would be contradictory. Rather, they make the list: errant, inaccurate, incorrect, amiss, defective, erroneous, flawed, imperfect or wrong (choose as you will). 8)
 
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Reply #20 - Oct 29th, 2005 at 7:16am

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If those you mention had been American and steadfast non-compliant, then it would be contradictory. Rather, they make the list: errant, inaccurate, incorrect, amiss, defective, erroneous, flawed, imperfect or wrong (choose as you will). 8)

Whatever. Roll Eyes Wink My point was that the list is flawed in that it contains misleading information, like so many of these things circulating on the Net. I don't have time to check my facts as I usually would but it's quite possible that some of the Americans on that list were drafted rather than volunteer for active service. Most of them weren't film stars or even well known actors at the time. It's also quite possible that there's an equally long (or longer) list of male Hollywood stars that did not serve in WWII or volunteer to do so. I can only speak for the UK but people tended to be far more patriotic in those days & things are completely different now, mainly thanks to those who fought & died for our freedom. With the benefit of hindsight I wonder if the veterans who survived would volunteer so willingly now. The young always think of war as being glamourous when any veteran will tell you that it's anything but that.
 
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Reply #21 - Oct 29th, 2005 at 11:41am

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Whatever. Roll Eyes Wink My point was that the list is flawed in that it contains misleading information, like so many of these things circulating on the Net. I don't have time to check my facts as I usually would but it's quite possible that some of the Americans on that list were drafted rather than volunteer for active service. Most of them weren't film stars or even well known actors at the time. It's also quite possible that there's an equally long (or longer) list of male Hollywood stars that did not serve in WWII or volunteer to do so. I can only speak for the UK but people tended to be far more patriotic in those days & things are completely different now, mainly thanks to those who fought & died for our freedom. With the benefit of hindsight I wonder if the veterans who survived would volunteer so willingly now. The young always think of war as being glamourous when any veteran will tell you that it's anything but that.



well, drafted or not is beside the point, them people served.
and yes, you might find a few actors who didn't (and some who volunteered only to be sent back to hollywood because films to boost public morale were considered essential to the war effort) can you get any examples that those people insulted the fighting men?
 
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Reply #22 - Oct 30th, 2005 at 1:17am

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another thought:
statistically speaking there should be some actors who fought in vietnam, but you'll have a hard time finding details about that. now, why is that so?



  If I'm not mistaken, James Stewart flew atlease on mission over Vietnam in a B-52.
 
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Reply #23 - Oct 30th, 2005 at 9:11pm

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Whose name is conspicuously missing?  John Wayne, who never served in the armed forces at all.
 
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Reply #24 - Oct 31st, 2005 at 12:11am

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Whose name is conspicuously missing?  John Wayne, who never served in the armed forces at all.



from Wikipedia
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Although appearing in many war films and frequently being eulogized as an "American hero," Wayne never served in the Armed Forces. However, his friend Bob Hope speculated that Wayne did more for the WWII war effort as an actor, than he ever could on the battlefield. Between 1940, when the military draft was reinstated and the end of World War II in 1945, he remained in Hollywood and made 21 movies. (Among them was Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he portrayed one of the few less-than-honorable characters in his career.) He was of draft age (34) at the time of Pearl Harbor in 1941, but asked for and received a deferral for family dependency, a classification of 3-A. This was later changed to a deferment in the national interest, 2-A..
 
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Reply #25 - Oct 31st, 2005 at 4:57am

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well, drafted or not is beside the point, them people served.
and yes, you might find a few actors who didn't (and some who volunteered only to be sent back to hollywood because films to boost public morale were considered essential to the war effort) can you get any examples that those people insulted the fighting men?

I really don't see the relevance of the argument & my original point still stands. Many of the 18 men on that list weren't film stars at the time they served in the military. Including 3 British subjects on the list is misleading as their loyalty to the USA does not come into the equation. A couple of real Hollywood stars (Clark Gable & James Stewart) served with distinction in WWII. I don't know the feelings of the others but I would expect the American citizens among them to do their bit when the time came. I don't know why the opinions of overpaid actors or celebrities should be taken seriously anyway. As I said before, this seems to be just another piece of misleading propaganda.

PS. Quote:
James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.

James Doohan was Canadian & landed on Juno Beach ("the Canadian Beach") with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.
« Last Edit: Oct 31st, 2005 at 7:56am by Hagar »  
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Reply #26 - Oct 31st, 2005 at 6:58pm

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I really don't see the relevance of the argument & my original point still stands. Many of the 18 men on that list weren't film stars at the time they served in the military. Including 3 British subjects on the list is misleading as their loyalty to the USA does not come into the equation. A couple of real Hollywood stars (Clark Gable & James Stewart) served with distinction in WWII. I don't know the feelings of the others but I would expect the American citizens among them to do their bit when the time came. I don't know why the opinions of overpaid actors or celebrities should be taken seriously anyway. As I said before, this seems to be just another piece of misleading propaganda.

PS.
James Doohan was Canadian & landed on Juno Beach ("the Canadian Beach") with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.



is there a monopoly for patriotism held by americans?
 
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Reply #27 - Nov 1st, 2005 at 2:34am

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS?
Here's where they were during the war.
Hope you find this as informative as I did, be sure to scroll to the bottom.
In contrast to the ideals, opinions and feelings of today's "Hollywonk" the real actors of yester-year loved the United States.
Quote:
Is there a monopoly for patriotism held by americans?
Certainly no monopoly. If you had not specified the U.S. or provided reference to the admiration of the U.S. by those mentioned, there would be less for controversy. Your title simply asked What Happened to WWII Movie Stars; if it were more aptly named WWII Era Movie Stars, there would even be less controversy. 8)
 
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Reply #28 - Nov 1st, 2005 at 4:44am

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is there a monopoly for patriotism held by americans?

Not at all. As H points out, your original topic specifies WWII movie stars & their love of the United States. Quote:
..... the real actors of yester-year loved the United States.  

They had both class and integrity. With the advent of World War II many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and rant against this country we all love.  

They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men & women, many as simple "enlisted men".
This implies that they were established movie stars before they (voluntarily) served in the forces during WWII & that they had a strong allegiance to the USA. I'm merely pointing out that this is not accurate for the majority of "stars" on the list, therefore the whole argument is flawed. The inclusion of non-American actors indicates 'fleshing out' the list due a shortage of American examples. I don't know who is responsible for it so can't say whether this was deliberate but this type of 'misinformation' is not based on historical fact which is all too common where this sort of thing is concerned. It only takes a quick search to confirm the truth but most people can't be bothered to do that so will believe what they're told.

I neither agree nor disagree with the points of view expressed. This is the History forum & I'm only interested in the facts.
« Last Edit: Nov 1st, 2005 at 10:40am by Hagar »  
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Reply #29 - Nov 18th, 2005 at 9:55pm

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The professor in the television show “Gilligan’s island” was actor Russell Johnson. Russell was a crew member on a b-25 bomber serving in the pacific during World War 2. He earned the Purple Heart when his bomber was shot down and the crew of the aircraft was actually stranded on an desert island in the Philippines for over a week.



The bad part about the whole mission is it was only supposed to be a 3 hour flight.

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