Can you please list for me UK & US actors & entertainers who signed up & actually fought in World War II?

Question

I think there are lots, but I can't find a list - if you know their ranks as well that would be helpful - thanks a million!

Answer 1

Here's a list of US actors

http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/military/actors_in_wwii.html

And, at the bottom of that page is this:
UK actors Richard Attenborough, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Royal Navy gunner Sean Connery, Alex Guinness, Rex Harrison, Anthony Hopkins (who spent a year with the Royal Artillery during the Cold War), Ray Milland, Roger Moore (a first lieutenant with the British Army in occupied West Germany after WWII), David Niven, Michael Rennie, and Peter Ustinov. Those from Canada include Lorne Greene, Raymond Massey, and Walter Pidgeon. The Frenchmen include Maurice Chevalier and Charles Boyer. Also featured are Laurence Harvey of South Africa, Peter Finch of Australia, Oskar Werner of Germany, Toshiro Mifune of Japan, and Audrey Hepburn, who as a child was a courier for World War II resistance fighters in Holland.

Answer 2

Richard Todd (Who played Guy Gibson in the Dambusters) was a British Paratrooper who was in the first wave of allied troops to land on D-Day

Audie Murphy - The most decorated allied soldier of the war who went on the star in a film of his own war life.

David Niven who was a British Commando

James Stewart was a Bomber Pilot

Spike Milligan, Michael Bentine, and Harry Secombe (the Goons) fought in the 8th Army together in North Africa.

Answer 3

Richard Todd. Was in the a Lt in Para Reg supporting the glider assault on Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. A few years later he was in the film the Longest Day where he played Major Howard who was in command of the assault on the bridge that night.

David Niven. Was in the Long Range Desart Group

Answer 4

Bob hope' Al Jolson, Andrew Sisters, Oscar Levant

Answer 5

And don't forget James Dohan (scotty in the first Star Trek series) who was in the British Army and landed at Normandy.

Answer 6

From UK - Winston Churchill sent Lawrence Olivier, then a member of British Intelligence, to Hollywood to drum up American support for UK - seems to have worked. Larry, who was then a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm [Royal Navy] returned to UK and flew over 450 missions against the enemy from the heaving desks of RN carriers. Larry even found time to make at least two movies during the war. Both were done in Ireland [where else?]. The first was Henry V and the second was Richard III. Both good propaganda movies, esp. Henry V "once more into our breaches dear friends etc..."

Possibly the most famous UK movie star of the time and a big star in Hollywood, David Niven, returned immediately to UK to rejoin his regiment in Scotland. He made a couple of movies during the war including training films for the Army. He ended up colonel of his own regiment before the war ended. Saw loads of action - a true gent and a real Scottish soldier.

Meanwhile in Hollywood loads of stars joined up - Jimmy Stewart ended up a General in the Army Air Force.

Just cannot think of the names, but a huge list of Hollywood Stars, both male and female. Try these sites : -


World War II HOLLYWOOD GOES TO WAR A number of Hollywood stars—like Gene Tierney, Ava Gardner, and Veronica Lake—were .... Projections of War: Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II. ...
http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Romantic-Comedy-Yugoslavia/World-War-II-HOLLYWOOD-GOES-TO-WAR.html

Hollywood Heroes of Military Service During World War II some of Hollywood's most successful actors opted to serve in uniform. In a reversal of fortune, following the war, several veterans like ...
http://www.homeofheroes.com/quickquiz/031001_celebrityvets.html

The Stars Go to War - Hollywood stars literally joined up, enlisting in the armed services and touring with ... After World War II, Stewart continued to serve in the reserves, ...
http://www.history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~ksoroka/hollywood7.html

Movie Stars who Served in WWIIWorld War II site targeting the Mighty 8th AAFC, 379th 524th sq. ... The movie won seven Oscars, including two for double amputee Harold Russell, ...
http://www.angelfire.com/my/mighty8th/hwood13.html

Answer 7

I think Clarke Gable was a colonel and Audie Murphy was very decorated

Answer 8

DO A YAHOO SEARCH: ENTERTAINERS IN WWII. LIST IS ALPHABETICAL. I JUST LOOKED IT UP, AND THERE ARE A WHOLE BUNCH, AND SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH, SOME SERVED IN BRANCHES YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE EXPECTED. LIKE JULIA CHILD WORKED FOR THE OSS (OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES - PRE-CIA STUFF).

Answer 9

there is no list only famous ones who like to to say HEY i was there ego trip

Answer 10

I know one who didn't - John Wayne who was too busy showing everyone else how to do it