Actors who fought during wartime

[Fallschirmjäger]

So he changed is name right for some reason,wonder why,and that new name too looks strange,not german?.

[Peter H]

No idea.But most actors adopt a different name.

[Fallschirmjäger]

Yea must be,and i should have serached him up first under this name as see a bit now like in movies like Decision Before Dawn, The Bridge(which i have not seen still),The Great Escape,and longest day.Also he died in 1995 which you must have mentioned i think on the other thread,also other alternate name of Til Kive.Some of the other movies,tv sound intersting too,wonder what they where like,vehicles,uniforms etc...wise?.

http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... soft:en-US

[Moltke d. J.]

French screen legend JEAN GABIN left Hollywood in 1943 and volunteered for the Free French at age 39. He saw action in North Africa and Europe as commander of a M10 tank destroyer (rank:'second maître' = sargent, Régiment blindé des fusilers marins, 2nd Armoured Division) and was awarded the Médaille Militaire and a Croix de Guerre.
From wikipedia:

Following D-Day, Gabin was part of the military contingent that entered a liberated Paris. Captured on film by the media is a scene where an anxious Marlene Dietrich is waiting in the crowd when she spots Gabin onboard a battle tank and rushes to him.

[Potsdamerplatz]

The German actor Til Kiwe served as Eduard-Heinrich Kiefer in the HG Division during the war.Awarded the Knight's Cross.Captured in North Africa 1943.

Kiefer



In The Longest Day as Til Kiwe.Played Rommel's aide Helmuth Lang.

Who did he play in "The Great Escape" - Commandant von Luger's adjutant is the only character I can think who fits.....

Can anyone confirm?

[Peter H]

Frick.

I have a Great Escape movie program from 1963(remember when theatres sold glossy programs to accompany your trip to the cinema) that says that Kiwe's own experience as a POW in WW2 gave the actor a better dimension in playing his character in the movie.

[Grünherz]

John Wayne was too old, had physical impairment (IIRC "flat feet") and was the father of too many children (four, IIRC).

An interesting thread. I don't have in front of me, but once read an article about "celebrities" who served in the wars and it was quite long and informative. (yes, Kim Sung, it DOES just seem to involve only english-speaking actors/etc.! Please continue to list others--German, Japanese, Filipino, etc.).
I seem to remember a quote from William Manchester regarding John Wayne appearing at an R&R base in the Pacific...
He showed up in his cowboy outfit and was booed off the stage.
I may well stand to be corrected.

[sylvieK4]

Writer, producer, television personality, and sometimes-actor, Dominick Dunne served in the U.S Army during WWII. He reportedly earned a Bronze Star for "saving another soldier" during the Battle of the Bulge.
See: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242839/

[pavel michalek]

HANS CHRISTIAN BLECH
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0088083/

Obtained the famous scars on his face from wounds received while serving as a German Soldier on the Russian Front during WW2.

[Peter H]

Bud Tingwell RIP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 571273.htm

Tingwell became a radio actor while still in school but joined the RAAF in 1941, flying 75 combat missions as a photographic reconnaissance pilot.

"My most dangerous mission was a reconnaissance mission flying very low over Salonica which was occupied by the Nazis. We came in there, very low, perfect weather. It was great for the gunners but not so good for us and we came in over the hills expecting all hell to break loose, but nothing," he wrote on his website.

"So we took our first run at the cameras, turned around, did the second run with full coverage and nothing was fired at... that we could tell, anyway. All that and we were about 200-300 feet. Flew all the way back, exhilarated, such an amazing experience.

"We then found out that the German army had pulled out of that whole area one hour before we got there.

"Now, I reckon they must have seen us because they'd only be an hour down the road with slow-moving vehicles. Besides all that, they still didn't shoot at us. I then found out that Kurt Waldheim had been the Commander in that area. So when there was any controversy about Kurt Waldheim, I said, 'Oh no, he's a good bloke' He didn't shoot at us in 1944."...

In 1952, he was invited to Hollywood to work alongside Richard Burton on The Desert Rats.

[sylvieK4]

James Arness--US 3rd Infantry Division, wounded at Anzio 1944.

Arness was also awarded the Bronze Star. Here he is in uniform:


(Source: http://www.scvhistory.com/ )

[ttboy]

Charles Durning who fought in Normandy wounded by a German S mine recovered in England participated in the Battle of the Bulge was wounded. Received three purple hearts.

[Fallschirmjäger]

Still working too in acting jobs at 86,but lately like on that show rescue me,that saw him most recently,he looked i think slimmer than some older things saw him in?.

[Kim Sung]

Some Directors who fought at war

Richard Attenborough (noted for directing 'A Bridge Too Far' and 'Gandhi') served in the Royal Air Force for three years during WWII.

George Roy Hill (noted for directing 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and 'The Sting') served in the United States Marine Corps as a cargo pilot in the South Pacific during the Pacific War. Later, in the Korean War, he served for 18 months as night fighter pilot with the rank of major.

[Kim Sung]

Ronald Lee Ermey who appeared as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in 'Full Metal Jacket' fought in the Vietnam War. He served as a drill instructor at San Diego in 1965~67.

Ronald Lee Ermey in 'Full Metal Jacket'



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