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March 29, 2024, 07:08:22 AM
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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Other Topics  |  Entertainment  |  Before They Were Famous « previous next »
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Author Topic: Before They Were Famous  (Read 8080 times)
BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #15 on: July 24, 2016, 02:06:55 PM »

Continuing . . .

Donald Crisp
actor
Boer War British army

Roald Dahl
writer
WWII RAF
fighter pilot
When his plane landed in the north African desert, the somewhat rough landing put him in the Royal Navy Hospital in Alexandria (Egypt) for 5 months with severe injuries.
He was also an assistant air attaché in Washington, D.C. with the British Embassy. Where he admits one of his duties was to spy on the American isolationist movement of that time.

Len Deighton
writer
WWII RAF
aerial photographer
Flying in Mosquito fighters and Lancaster bombers

Roy O. Disney
producer
WWI U.S. Navy
He had an younger brother who also wanted to do his part for the war effort, but, being too young to join his older brother in the Navy, young Walter lied about his age and joined the ambulance service. With which he was shipped to Europe just as the Armistice was signed. Even then young Walter was showing signs of being a cartooning genius, decorating his ambulance with cartoon characters.

James "Scotty" Doohan
actor
WWII Canadian army
Rising to officer rank
And one of the few men who can say their life was saved by smoking. Accidentally shot by his own side on D-Day, he would have been killed, but one of the bullets struck a silver cigarette case, a gift from his brother. The case being in his left breast pocket.

Kirk Douglas
actor
WWII U.S. Navy

Adam Driver
U.S. Marines
And who, of course, played Kylo Ren in "Star Wars : Episode VIII - the Force Awakens."

To be continued . . .

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alandhopewell
A NorthCoaster In Texas
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Karma: 341
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Hey....white women were in season.


WWW
« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2016, 02:25:50 PM »

     STAN LEE joined the Army in 1942, and served in the Signal Corps until the end of WWII.



     RAY HARRYHAUSEN was in the Army Special Services branch during WWII; he served under another famous name-Col. Frank Capra; couldn't find a picture.

     JIMI HENDRIX was an Airborne Ranger....



     The SF author JOE HALDEMAN was in the Army in Vietnam, a recipient of the Purple Heart.

« Last Edit: July 25, 2016, 02:34:46 PM by alandhopewell » Logged

If it's true what they say, that GOD created us in His image, then why should we not love creating, and why should we not continue to do so, as carefully and ethically as we can, on whatever scale we're capable of?

     The choice is simple; refuse to create, and refuse to grow, or build, with care and love.
BoyScoutKevin
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Karma: 277
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« Reply #17 on: August 08, 2016, 03:13:35 PM »

Continuing . . .

Richard Egan
actor
WWII U.S. Army
instructor
rising to officer rank
taught bayonet fighting, judo, and knife fighting

Cy Endfield
director/writer
WWII U.S. Army

R. Lee Ermey
actor
U.S. Marines Vietnam
rising to the rank of staff sergeant. Later received the honorary rank of gunnery sergeant.

Ian Fleming
writer
WWII British naval intelligence
rising to the rank of Commander
graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy

Glenn Ford
actor
WWII U.S. Marines
small roles in films between 1937 and 1943. Only became famous in 1946 and thereafter, after being discharged from the military.

James Garner
born James Scott Baumgarner
Korean War Merchant Marine
twice wounded. Twice recipient of the Purple Heart.

George "The Littlest Cowboy" Gobel
comedian
WWII U.S. Army Air Corp
flight instructor
served stateside in Oklahoma

To be continued . . .
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Chainsawmidget
Guest
« Reply #18 on: August 08, 2016, 06:43:09 PM »

    STAN LEE joined the Army in 1942, and served in the Signal Corps until the end of WWII.



I'd like to elaborate on Stan Lee. 

“I enlisted because I couldn’t stand the idea of my being home while other guys my age were fighting. ...  I felt I had to join the army, be a hero like Eroll Flynn or John Wayne,” said Lee in his autobiography. 

Instead of being a hero, he got transferred to the Signal Corps, and spent his military career making training films, training comics, and posters that warned troops about VD. 

Also ...

“It wasn’t till I was discharged three years later that I learned, when I read my discharge certificate, that the army, in its infinite wisdom, had actually classified me not as a highly trained, combat ready signal corps specialist—but as a playwright! Not quite the macho image I had longed for, but I learned to live with it. I also learned that there were only eight other men in the U.S. Army with that particular military occupational specialty classification besides me.” 

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BoyScoutKevin
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« Reply #19 on: August 18, 2016, 02:39:35 PM »

Continuing . . .

Stewart Granger
actor
born James LeBlanc Stewart
WWII British army
no credited roles before the war except for "So This Is London." Of course, may credited roles after the war and his discharge from the military.

Dashiell Hammett
writer
WWI U.S. Army Ambulance Corp.

Sterling Hayden
actor/writer
WWII OSS
gunrunner
ran guns to Tito's partisans in Yugoslavia.
recipient of the Silver Star
2 film roles before the war in '41, for which he did not receive a credit.

Jack Higgins
writer
born Harry Patterson
Household Cavalry
and a expert marksman


George Kennedy
actor/writer
WWII and thereafter U.S. Army
rising to officer rank in Armed Forces Radio and Television
twice recipient of the Bronze Star
Probably the only actor in Hollywood to play the man who was his commanding officer during the war. Portrayed General George S. Patton in "Brass Target."

Jack Lemmon
Naval ROTC while attending Harvard
thereafter rising to the rank of Ensign in the U.S. Navy

Burt Lancaster
actor
WWII U.S. Army

To be continued . . .




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BoyScoutKevin
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Karma: 277
Posts: 5030


« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2016, 02:57:04 PM »

Continuing . . .

C. S. Lewis
writer
WWI British Army

Alistair Maclean
writer
WWII Royal Navy
saw action in the Med, the North Atlantic, and the Pacific

Norman Mailer
writer/actor
WWII U.S. Army
served in the Philippines

Frederic March
actor
WWI U.S. Army
rising to the rank of Lieutenant in the artillery

Herbert Marshall
actor
WWI British Army
lost a leg during the war, which gave him his distinctive walk

Walter Matthau
actor
WWII U.S. Army Air Corp.
radio cryptographer
served in Europe
rising to the rank of Sergeant
recipient of 6 Battle Stars

Lee Marvin
actor
WWII U.S. Marines
sniper
saw action on Saipan
recipient of the Purple Heart after being shot in the buttocks

To be continued . . .
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Trevor
Uncle Zombie and Eminent Shitologist
B-Movie Kraken
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« Reply #21 on: August 31, 2016, 08:16:46 AM »

then to his posting at Hillside, at Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia.

I was born there.  Thumbup TeddyR
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I know I can make it on my own if I try, but I'm searching for the Great Heart
To stand me by, underneath the African sky
A Great Heart to stand me by.
BoyScoutKevin
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Karma: 277
Posts: 5030


« Reply #22 on: September 06, 2016, 02:45:33 PM »

Continuing . . .

Dennis McKiernan
writer
Korean War U.S. Air Force
served stateside

Victor McLaglen
actor
At 14, lied about his age to join the Life Guards, so he could fight in the Boer War, but . . .?! He got no nearer to South Africa than Windsor Castle in England. When he was soon released from the military into his father's care, because of his age.
Later he served with the Irish Fusiliers in the Middle East during WWI, rising to office rank, and serving as Provost Marshal in Baghdad (Iraq.)
4 of his 7 brothers were also actors, and his son was a film director. That's keeping it in the family.

Patrick McNee
actor
WWII Royal Navy
his 1st credited appearance as an actor was on British TV in 1946,
and another unsung extra in 1948's "Hamlet."

Steve McQueen
actor
U.S. Marines

Toshiro Mifune
WWII Japanese Air Force
aerial photographer

Ray Milland
actor
born Reginald Alfred John Truscott Jones
Household Cavalry
At a time when one had to prove that one had to have an independent source of income to join.

Joe Moore
TV newscaster
Vietnam U.S. Army
journalist
Probably one of the most recognized TV personalities in Hawaii
Served 2 tours of duty with the 25th Infantry
His roommate while in Vietnam was Pat Sajak

Kenneth More
actor
WWII Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve
Rising to the rank of Lieutenant
Served on the light cruiser HMS Aurora and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious
While he had bit parts in films, before the war, he did not become famous as an actor to after the war

To be continued . . .







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BoyScoutKevin
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Karma: 277
Posts: 5030


« Reply #23 on: September 12, 2016, 04:48:59 PM »

Continuing . . .

Audie Murphy
actor
WWII U.S. Army
most decorated American combat soldier in WWII Europe

Bob Newhart
comedian
Korean War U.S. Army
served stateside

Patrick O'Neal
actor
WWII U.S. Army Corp
later directed training films for the Signal Corps

Erich Maria Remarque
writer
WWI German Army
For 22 years, till his death, he was married to Hollywood legend Paulette Goddard

Don Rickles
comedian
WWII U.S. Navy
rising to the rank of seaman
served on the USS Cyrene motorboat tender (AGP-13)
the only ship in the history of the US Navy with that name

Dale Roberts
actor
WWII U.S. Army
saw action in North Africa and Europe
served in the tank corps and combat engineers
twice wounded

Cliff Robertson
WWII U.S. Merchant Marine
as a teenager, reported missing and presumed dead. Only to turn up alive some time later

To be continued . . .

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BoyScoutKevin
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Karma: 277
Posts: 5030


« Reply #24 on: October 03, 2016, 04:37:15 PM »

Continuing . . .

Gene Roddenberry
writer/producer
WWII U.S. Army Air Corps
Europe
bomber pilot
a man of many crashes.
1943 his bomber crashed on take-off. 2 dead
1947 while on board a civilian airliner it crashed in the Syrian desert. 14 dead
wrote the song "I Wanna Go Home."
twice appeared in uncredited roles on "Star Trek : the Original Series."

Ken Russell
director/actor
as a teen served as a cadet in the British Merchant Navy at the end of WWII.
later served in the RAF.
which is why Hugh Grant is seen wearing a RAF uniform in the director's "Lair of the White Worm."

Barry Sadler
writer/actor
Vietnam Green Berets

Antoine de Saint-Exupery
writer
French cavalry after WWI
later transferred to the French air force
lost when his plane was shot down over the Med during WWII.
ironically, the German pilot who shot him down was a big fan of the writer, having read everything the writer had written. And the German pilot said, if he had known who was flying the plane he shot down, he'd never have fired on the plane.

Pat Sajak
TV game show host
Vietnam Armed Forces Radio DJ
And whose roommate at the time was Joe Moore, who later became a noted TV newscaster in Hawaii.

George C. Scott
actor
WWII U.S. Marines
joined toward the end of the war and served 4 years.

Rod Serling
writer/TV show host
WWII U.S. Army
paratrooper
Philippines
rising to the rank of corporal.
recipient of a Purple Heart.
retroactively received the Bronze Star.

To be continued . . .
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BoyScoutKevin
Frightening Fanatic of Horrible Cinema
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Karma: 277
Posts: 5030


« Reply #25 on: October 13, 2016, 05:18:39 PM »

Continuing . . .

Oliver Stone
director/writer
Vietnam 1st Cavalry
recipient of the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart

J. R. R. Tolkien
writer
WWI British army
saw action at Somme
once met screen star Ava Gardner. And neither knew who the other one was.

Tom Tryon
actor/writer
WWII U.S. Navy

Clint "Cheyenne" Walker
actor
WWII Merchant Marine

Herman Wouk
writer
WWII U.S. Navy
XO on the destroyer-minesweepers U.S.S. Zane and U.S.S Southard.

 Concluded
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