Hollywood actors and WW2 (2 Viewers)

[TomB]

Donald Pleasence appears to be missing from some of the lists above. A lovely actor who played Blythe, the mild mannered forger in 'The Great Escape' (1963) amongst many other film roles.

As a member of the RAF his Lancaster was shot down on 31 August 1944, during a raid on Agenville. He was taken prisoner and placed in a German prisoner-of-war camp. Apparently he was able to help director John Sturges get things right in our favourite holiday film. According to the IMDB, "Several cast members were actual P.O.W.s during World War II. Donald Pleasence was held in a German camp, Hannes Messemer in a Russian camp and Til Kiwe and Hans Reiser were prisoners of the Americans".

Thanks for that...Donald also played some nasty people during his long career....he was a good actor who seemed to pop up everywhere...Tom

 

[Scott]

Hi Guys,

Very interesting thread, surprised no one mentioned David Niven he was actually a Sandhurst trained and commissioned Lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry before he gave it up to become an actor. Returned to England upon the outbreak of the war and was recommissioned as a Lieutenant. I dont know where he served.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Niven#World_War_II_service

Peter Ustinov was his "batman."

"During his work with the Film Unit, Peter Ustinov, though one of the script-writers, had to pose as Niven's batman. (Ustinov also acted in The Way Ahead.) Niven explained in his autobiography that there was no military way that he, as a lieutenant-colonel, and Ustinov, who was only a private, could associate, except as an officer and his subordinate, hence their strange "act"."

 

[The Military Workshop]

http://www.listal.com/list/war-heroes-big-screen-war


Richard Todd..........could have played himself in 'The Longest Day'

Geoff,
Todd was interesting as he played MAJ Howard who met him in real life on Pegasus Bridge.
From Wiki :
On 6 June 1944, as a captain, he participated in the British Airborne Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings.[4] Todd was among the first British officers to land in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. His battalion were reinforcements that parachuted in after glider forces had landed and completed the main assault against Pegasus Bridge near Caen.[4] He later met up with Major John Howard on Pegasus Bridge and helped repel several German counter attacks.[5]
As an actor, Todd would later play Howard in the 1962 film The Longest Day, while Todd himself was played by another actor.

Regards
Brett

 

[Scott]

"Marlene Dietrich
German born Marlene Dietrich became an American citizen in 1939. She was a volunteer for the OSS and served both by entertaining troops on the front lines and by broadcasting nostalgic songs as propaganda to German troops who were battle weary. She received the Medal of Freedom for her work. "


"Carole Lombard made her final film as a satire about the Nazis, and died in a plane crash after attending a war bond rally. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared her the first woman to die in the line of duty in the war. Her new husband, Clark Gable, enlisted in the Air Force after her death. A ship was named in Lombard's honor"

"Josephine Baker was a famous singer and dancer ( A couple of movies to..Scott) called the Creole Goddess, the Black Pearl and the Black Venus for her beauty, but she was also a spy. She worked for the French Resistance undercover and smuggled military secrets into Portugal from France hidden in invisible ink on her sheet music."

"Hedy Lamarr
Actress Hedy Lamarr made a valuable contribution to the intelligence division by co-producing an anti-jamming device for torpedoes. She also devised a clever way of "frequency hopping" that prevented the interception of American military messages. Famous for the "Road" movies with Bob Hope, everyone knew she was an actress but few were aware she was an inventor of military importance. "

 

[Terp152]

John Wayne (Marion mitchel Morrison ) was exempted from War Service because of his age at Pearl Harbour (34) and his Family Status (classified 3-A - family deferment). He apparently wrote repeatedly to Producer john Ford - asking him to be placed in his Military Unit - but this was consistently postponed until "Just one more film had been completed". The Duke did not officially oppose his reclassification to 1A (Draft eligible), but Republic Pictures, who he was contracted to, repeatedly threatened him with legal action if he walked out on them. They also intervened in the selective service process, requesting his continued deferment.

Wayne toured US bases and hospitals in the South Pacific for three months during 1943-44, and from several accounts regarded it as one of the most painful experiences of his life. His widow suggested that his great patriotism in later life sprang from guilt - and wrote that his superpatriotism was derived from him trying to atone for staying at home during WW2. (Source - Wikipedia). jb

I read that John Ford used to belittle Wayne for lack of service in the war.

James Arness/Matt Dillon, wounded at ANzio and suffered the rest of his life. His horse riding scenes in Gunsmoke had to be filmed in the morning because he would be unable to mount a horse later in the day. Chris

 

[TomB]

I read that John Ford used to belittle Wayne for lack of service in the war.

James Arness/Matt Dillon, wounded at ANzio and suffered the rest of his life. His horse riding scenes in Gunsmoke had to be filmed in the morning because he would be unable to mount a horse later in the day. Chris

Not defending Wayne,but I read on Google....Ford had a Flim Unit in the combat zone...Wayne approached Ford (who was suppose to be a friend of Wayne) to join the unit but Ford refused...right or wrong...I dont know...what I do known is you cannot believe all you read on the nett....cheers TomB

 

[fierytheangelsfell]

http://www.listal.com/list/war-heroes-big-screen-war


Richard Todd..........could have played himself in 'The Longest Day'

Geoff,
Todd was interesting as he played MAJ Howard who met him in real life on Pegasus Bridge.
From Wiki :
On 6 June 1944, as a captain, he participated in the British Airborne Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings.[4] Todd was among the first British officers to land in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. His battalion were reinforcements that parachuted in after glider forces had landed and completed the main assault against Pegasus Bridge near Caen.[4] He later met up with Major John Howard on Pegasus Bridge and helped repel several German counter attacks.[5]
As an actor, Todd would later play Howard in the 1962 film The Longest Day, while Todd himself was played by another actor.

Regards
Brett

Thanks for the details. Lol. Perfect, isn't it?