Interesting Movie / Reality Trivia Question (1 Viewer)

[The Military Workshop]

Hi guys,
Was Googling and Wikipedia looking and came across something of interest.
Which actor served in WWII and then went on to play a role in a movie where he played a person he actually met in the war ?
He is still alive.
Just thought it was interesting and would be interesting to see who gets answer first.
Regards
Brett

 

[Evzone]

Off the top of my head - Richard Todd (is he still alive?)

 

[wayne556517]

Off the top of my head - Richard Todd (is he still alive?)

Sounds good "The dam busters"

 

[Evzone]

He was involved in the D-Day landings; at Pegasus Bridge with the Paras. Good call about the Dambusters he could have met up with some of the people involved in 617 Sqd.

 

[OzDigger]

He was involved in the D-Day landings; at Pegasus Bridge with the Paras. Good call about the Dambusters he could have met up with some of the people involved in 617 Sqd.

What about Richard Todd in 'The Longest Day' Btw, Richard Burton was also in that movie and in the RAF.

 

[Evzone]

What about Richard Todd in 'The Longest Day' Btw, Richard Burton was also in that movie and in the RAF.

Yep if memory serves me rightly he played the C.O. of the Para Brigade that had to ".. hold until relieved..." whence he was there in 1944.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Well done Evzone.
I was Googling and Wikipediaing info about the new Dambusters movie latest news and then saw name of Kiwi Les Munro and clicked on him as he is one of the figures K&C just done. He is consulting on the movie. Mentioned a gathering to commemorate Dambusters and that Richard Todd was there also (he played Gibson in original movie). Then looked up Todd and saw he played Arnhem Para Howard in the Longest Day and also served in WWII and was at Pegasus Bridge. Todd now 90.
Regards
Brett

 

[Evzone]

Thank you Brett.

Stephen E. Ambrose of Band of Brothers fame wrote a book on the assult on Pegasus Bridge and there is a good account of Todd's action that night. Incidentally, I'm led to believe that the first allied soldier killed on D-Day was Lieutenant Danny Brotheridge who was shot in the securing of the bridges, and died of his wounds.

 

[OzDigger]

Yep if memory serves me rightly he played the C.O. of the Para Brigade that had to ".. hold until relieved..." whence he was there in 1944.

Yes, he was a bit fixated on that whole "hold until relieved" thing wasn't he

'The Longest Day' and 'The Dam Busters' are both iconic movies aren't they, and there must be few Treefroggers that haven't seen at least one of them.

But I wonder how many forum members have seen 'Appointment in London', which imo remains the most accurate movie concerning the operations of a British WWII Bomber base: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointment_in_London

 

[Evzone]

Yes, he was a bit fixated on that whole "hold until relieved" thing wasn't he

'The Longest Day' and 'The Dam Busters' are both iconic movies aren't they, and there must be few Treefroggers that haven't seen at least one of them.

But I wonder how many forum members have seen 'Appointment in London', which imo remains the most accurate movie concerning the operations of a British WWII Bomber base: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appointment_in_London

Haven't seen that in donkeys! Must hunt down the dvd. To be honest I had to use the link to reaquaint myself with the plot. Another film of a similar genre is 'The Lion has Wings' and was unashamedly a propaganda weapon starring Ralph Ricardson and Marle Oberon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Has_Wings