Actors in WWII

Onslow

Onslow

Dedicated Member
Reading another thread I'm fascinated by the stories of actors who served in WWII. I knew Canadian actor James Doohan (Scotty of Star Trek fame) had served but was surprised that he was part of D-Day. A whopper of a story here.

www.junobeach.org

James Doohan

Before he became the most famous Scottish character on television, Lt. James Doohan served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. Born March 3, 1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia to dis…
www.junobeach.org www.junobeach.org

scotty2.jpg

I know there must be many British actor/veterans of WWI. Who else?
 
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Off the top of my head I know a few. I will admit to pasting some entries here from Wiki.... but only because my tping would totally stuff things up. I knew these things beforehand!

Clark Gable.....flew bombing missions over Germany in B17's early in the American entry into the war. He was supposed to be a publicity asset and did in fact make a documentary on the air war. He didn't fly as part of a particular crew and did only a few missions BUT that was at a time where the American Air Force was suffering its highest loss rate and he didn't pick and choose "milk runs". The Germans knew of this and actually placed a bounty on his head!

David Niven....In the Army, a lot of what he did is still secret and classified!

Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe...both in the army.

Michael Caine....OK...not WW2 but served in Korea!

COMPO...served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during World War II, where he was injured in an explosion during a battle training course.

Peter Sallis...joined the RAF. He was unable to serve as aircrew because of a serum albumin disorder and was told he might black out at high altitudes. He became a wireless mechanic instead and went on to teach radio procedures at RAF Cranwell.

Michael Bates...He was commissioned in the Indian Army in March 1942. During World War II he served in the Burma Campaign as a major with the Brigade of Gurkhas and was mentioned in dispatches in 1944. NOTE: You DO NOT mess with Gurkhas!!!

Yogi Berra... was aboard a landing ship utility used to provide rocket support in the bombardment on D-Day

Richard Todd...was part of the D-Day landings.....I think he was part of the parachute brigade that took Pegasus Bridge

Henry Fonda... in the Navy and won a Bronze Star


There are lots more. I know of one who served as a Beach Master on D-Day, but for the life of me, his name is a gaping hole in my aged brain!
 
Not actors per say but without them some of the most entertaining actors we have had over the years would have been unemployed David Croft and Jimmy Perry were both in the services . David Croft was in the Royal Artillery and served in North Africa , India and Singapore. Jimmy Perry saw service in the Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery and then joined ENSA and was a member of various concert parties entertaining the troops in India and Burma. It was if of course their combined service but particularly Jimmy's which inspired Dads Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
 
John Lawrie was the only member of the Dad's Army cast to actually serve in the Home Guard.

Not an actor but author Roald Dahl was in the RAF, & was badly hurt in a crash landing when he tried to land a plane after getting lost due to a navigation error. He recovered & saw combat in Greece & Egypt before being sent home due to having blackouts while flying.
 
captain clutterbuck said:
Not actors per say but without them some of the most entertaining actors we have had over the years would have been unemployed David Croft and Jimmy Perry were both in the services . David Croft was in the Royal Artillery and served in North Africa , India and Singapore. Jimmy Perry saw service in the Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery and then joined ENSA and was a member of various concert parties entertaining the troops in India and Burma. It was if of course their combined service but particularly Jimmy's which inspired Dads Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
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Jimmy Perry was in the Home Guard before he was old enough to serve in the regular forces, with Pike supposedly being loosely based on himself.
 
Onslow said:
Reading another thread I'm fascinated by the stories of actors who served in WWII. I knew Canadian actor James Doohan (Scotty of Star Trek fame) had served but was surprised that he was part of D-Day. A whopper of a story here.

www.junobeach.org

James Doohan

Before he became the most famous Scottish character on television, Lt. James Doohan served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War. Born March 3, 1920 in Vancouver, British Columbia to dis…
www.junobeach.org www.junobeach.org

View attachment 6999

I know there must be many British actor/veterans of WWI. Who else?
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He lost a finger during some WWII action and managed to mostly conceal that loss during the filming of Star Trek. There are only one or two scenes where the affected hand is seen.
 
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