Famous Guys That Were Secret Bad Butts

[vzerone]

Interesting stories of famous people, some whom we know, and what they done during the war.

http://listverse.com/2016/01/30/10-famous-people-who-were-secretly-******-soldiers/


Okay here's the problem. Copy the link and paste it in your history bar, but change the "bad***" to the real word. The censorship for bad words on the forum is messing it up.

Sorry for the inconvenience

[Greg S]

Link to no-where.

[MrWolf]

Yup, does not work.

[Artful]

Not the same but...
http://www.listzblog.com/top_ten_celebrity_war_heroes_list.html


10 True Celebrity War Heroes & Military Men



I have collected a list of some decorated war
heroes and military men that were also internatinal celebrities. Most of the individuals
on the list gained stardom after their war service, but not all. As you would expect,
many of these people were born in the early 1920’s or late 1890’s. They were the prime
fighting age during World War I and II.



10. James Earl Jones


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James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi in 1931. In the early 1950’s the
conflict was intensifying in Korea and Jones awaited orders to be shipped off to war.
By the end of summer 1953, Jones received his official orders, and was sent to Fort
Benning to attend Basic Infantry Officers School. His first duty station was supposed
to be at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, but his orders changed, and his unit was
instead sent to Colorado where the Army planned to establish a cold weather training
command at the old Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado. His regiment was
established as a training unit, to train in the bitter cold weather and the rugged
terrain of the Rocky Mountains. Jones eventually earned the rank of First Lieutenant.
The U.S. involvement in the Korean War was rather short-lived and James Earl Jones
never saw live action.

His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film version of
the Broadway play The Great White Hope, which was based on the life of boxer Jack
Johnson. Jones received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal. It made him the
second African American actor to receive a nomination, following Sidney Poitier. He
was the first celebrity guest on the series Sesame Street, but is best known for his
voice over work. In 1977, he landed the role as Darth Vader’s voice in the Star Wars
trilogy, which has become his most infamous role. He was also the voice of Mufasa in
the 1994 film Disney animated blockbuster The Lion King. He was great in the 1989
release Field of Dreams and Coming to America (1988).



9. Lee Marvin
World War II


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Lee Marvin was born in New York City. At a young age he left school to join the United
States Marine Corps, serving as a Scout Sniper. The United States Marine Corps Scout
and Sniper companies and the Scouts (Tank) companies of the tank battalions were the
first amongst the division's reconnaissance assets. He joined the 4th Marine Division.
Lee Marvin saw a lot of action during World War II. During the WWII Battle of Saipan
Lee Marvin suffered serious injuries after he was shot multiple times in the buttocks
area. The wounds severed his sciatic nerve. Most of his platoon was killed during the
battle. He was awarded the Purple Heart medal and was given a medical discharge with
the rank of Private First Class.

In 1950, Marvin moved to Hollywood. He found work in supporting roles, and from the beginning was cast in various war films. As a decorated war veteran he frequently assisted the director and other actors in realistically portraying infantry movement, arranging costumes, and even adjusting war surplus military prop firearms.

In the 1960’s Lee Marvin began to land some prominent co-starring roles, including The
Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and Donovan's Reef
(1963). Lee Marvin won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Actor for his comic role in the offbeat western Cat Ballou starring Jane Fonda. After roles in The Professionals (1966) and the hugely successful The Dirty Dozen (1967) Marvin became one of the biggest stars in America.

By the late 1960’s he was getting paid a million dollars per film, $200,000 less than
the biggest star in the world Paul Newman. Marvin's last big role was in Samuel Fuller's The Big Red One (1980).

8. James Doohan
World War II

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James Doohan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Doohan was a successful
character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the
television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish Chief
Engineer of the Starship Enterprise was one of the most recognizable elements in the
Star Trek franchise. At the beginning of the Second World War, Doohan joined the
Royal Canadian Artillery. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 13th Field Artillery
Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Doohan went to the United Kingdom
in 1940 for training. His first combat was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on
D-Day. He is known for shooting two snipers and leading his men to higher ground
through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night.

Crossing between command posts that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a
Bren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry. He was hit four times in his leg, one in the
chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by a
silver cigarette case. His right middle finger had to be amputated. Something he would
conceal during his career as an actor, although it can be seen in various Star Trek
scenes. Doohan trained as a pilot and flew the Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for
666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF, as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer. Doohan was
considered by some to be one of the most giving and affable stars of the Star Trek
franchise and a war hero.


7. Ted Williams
World War II and Korean War

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Ted Williams was born in San Diego California in 1918. He could play the game of
baseball and debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1939. Williams was one of the best
hitters the game has ever seen. He was a two-time American League Most Valuable
Player winner, led the league in batting six times, and won the Triple Crown twice. He
played 21 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, which was twice interrupted by military
service as a Marine Corps pilot. Ted Williams’s career year was 1941, when he hit .406
with 37 HR, and 120 RBI’s. It was the last season that any major league baseball player
has hit over .400. Ted Williams enlisted in the Navy on May 22, 1942. He joined the
V-5 program to become a naval aviator. After numerous training programs and
exercises he received his wings and commission in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 2,
1944. He served as a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Pensacola teaching young
pilots to fly the F4U Corsair and was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders to join the China
fleet when the war ended.

Ted Williams did not play baseball from 1942-1946. On May 1, 1952, at the age of 34,
he was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War. He was assigned to
VMF-311, Marine Aircraft Group 33 based at K-3 airfield in Pohang, Korea. On
February 16, 1953, Williams was part of a 35-plane strike package against a tank and
infantry training program just south of Pyongyang, North Korea. He eventually flew 39
combat missions before being pulled from flight status in June 1953 after a
hospitalization for pneumonia. One of the most decorated athletes in American history
lost out on the prime years of his playing career in order to defend his country.


6. Oliver Stone
Vietnam War

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Oliver Stone was born in New York City. He attended Yale University and also spent
time in Vietnam teaching English at the Free Pacific Institute of South Vietnam in the
middle of the 1960’s. With the civil unrest, Oliver Stone joined the U.S. Army and
fought in the Vietnam War from April 1967 to November 1968. He specifically
requested combat duty as an infantryman and was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division
and the 1st Cavalry Division. Stone was wounded twice in action. His personal awards
include the Bronze Star with "V" device, which he received after conducting
"extraordinary acts of courage under fire." He was also given the Purple Heart with one
Oak Leaf Cluster. Oliver Stone took his experiences and incredible film and directing
sense to become one of the most prominent U.S. directors working today.

He first gained notoriety after he made three films about Vietnam, Platoon (1986), Born
on the Fourth of July (1989), and Heaven & Earth (1993). He has called these films a
trilogy, although they each deal with different aspects of the war. He is known for his
edgy, real life depiction of screen characters. His work frequently focuses on
contemporary political and cultural issues, most notably his 1992 release JFK. A
feature of his directing style is the use of many different cameras and film formats, from
VHS to 8 mm film to 70 mm film. He sometimes uses several formats in a single
scene. Stone has also written numerous screenplays. His first Oscar was for Best
Adapted Screenplay for Midnight Express (1978). He won Academy Awards for
Directing Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.


5. Bud Tingwell
World War II

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Bud Tingwell was born in the Sydney suburb of Coogee. As a teenager he became a
cadet at Sydney radio station 2CH, becoming the youngest radio announcer in
Australia. In 1941, at the age of 18, he volunteered for the Royal Australian Air Force.
He trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942 under the British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan. He qualified as a Pilot Officer in December 1942. He served with
No.74 Operational Conversion Unit in British Palestine and qualified to fly the Hawker
Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire, although he was also type qualified on the Bristol
Blenheim, Martin Baltimore, Bristol Beaufighter, de Havilland Mosquito and Airspeed
Oxford aircrafts. Tingwell was posted to a photo reconnaissance unit, No. 680
Squadron RAF and flew 75 sorties in Hurricanes and Spitfires during the North African
Campaign and Allied invasion of Sicily. Tingwell was promoted to Flying Officer in
June 1943 and Flight Lieutenant in December 1944. Towards the end of the war,
Tingwell was transferred to Australia and served with No. 87 Squadron RAAF, flying
photo reconnaissance Mosquitoes over the Dutch East Indies. He was awarded the
1939-45 Star, Italy Star and Defence Medal.

Upon the end of the war Tingwell began his incredibly successful career as a film,
television, theatre and radio actor. In 1946, he won his first film role, as a control
tower officer in the film Smithy. In 1952, he caught the attention of Hollywood and
landed the role of Lt. Harry Carstairs in The Desert Rats. Tingwell went on to star in the
British show Emergency – Ward 10, playing Australian surgeon Alan Dawson. He also
won the role of Inspector Craddock in all four films of the Miss Marple film series
between 1961 and 1964. Tingwell appeared in over 100 films and numerous television
programs in both the United Kingdom and Australia. Tingwell died this year in
Melbourne from prostate cancer, at the age of 86. Up until his death, Tingwell was still
acting regularly. He has a number of films and television programs that are in
production. Bud Tingwell's status in Australian culture was signified when he was
given a state funeral, held at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne.

4. Max Schmeling
World War II




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Schmeling and Hilter





Max Schmeling was a world class boxer that was born in Klein Luckow in the Province
of Pomerania. He debuted as a professional boxer in 1924 and quickly built a record of
42 wins, 4 losses and 3 draws. In 1930, Schmeling defeated Jack Sharkey and became
the heavyweight champion of the world. He held the title for two years until Sharkey
defeated him in a rematch. In 1936, Schmeling traveled to New York to face up and
coming boxer Joe Louis, who was undefeated and considered unbeatable. He surprised
the boxing world by handing Louis his first defeat, dropping him in round four and
knocking him out in the 12th. Schmeling became a national hero in Germany. When
Joe Louis won the world Heavyweight crown in 1937, he said he would not consider
himself a champion until he beat Schmeling in a rematch. The rematch came at Yankee
Stadium on June 22, 1938, with Louis defending his crown. By then, a second world
war was clearly looming on the horizon, and the fight was viewed worldwide as a
symbolic battle for superiority between two likely adversaries.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Schmeling was drafted into the German Air
Force (Luftwaffe) and served as an elite paratrooper (Fallschirmjäger). He was a
participant in the Battle of Crete against Greek and British Commonwealth forces in
1941. He served in many combat situations. By the end of the war (early 1945) he was
serving at the large German Army military hospital in Ulm. He worked with seriously
wounded soldiers in the rehabilitation unit of the hospital until May 1945. Max
Schmeling sustained numerous wartime injuries during his combat with the German
Army. He has stated that he was never a supporter of the Nazi regime in Germany and
that he cooperated with the government's efforts to play down the increasingly negative
international world view of its domestic policies. It became known long after the
Second World War that Schmeling had risked his own life to save the lives of two
Jewish children in 1938. Max Schmeling died in 2005 at the age of 100.


3. J.R.R. Tolkien
World War I

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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein in the Orange
Free State (now Free State Province, part of South Africa). In 1916, the UK was
engaged in fighting World War I. Tolkien volunteered for military service and was
commissioned in the British Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers.
He trained with the 13th (Reserve) Battalion on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, for
eleven months. He was then transferred to the 11th (Service) Battalion with the British
Expeditionary Force, arriving in France on June 4, 1916. Tolkien served as a signals
officer at the Somme, participating in the Battle of Thiepval Ridge and the subsequent
assault on the Schwaben Redoubt. He would later write that “junior officers were
being killed off, a dozen a minute.” In October of 1916 Tolkien came down with trench
fever, a disease carried by the lice, which was common in the dugouts. J.R.R. Tolkien
was invalided to England on November 8, 1916. Many of his dearest school friends
were killed in the war.

“One has indeed personally to come under the shadow of war to feel fully its oppression;
but as the years go by it seems now often forgotten that to be caught in youth by 1914
was no less hideous an experience than to be involved in 1939 and the following years.
By 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead.”


J.R.R. Tolkien would become a world famous writer, poet, philologist, and university
professor. Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford
from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from
1945 to 1959. He also wrote and published the legendary novels The Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings. His work directly led to the popular resurgence of the fantasy genre.
In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972. He passed away the following year.


2. Russell Johnson
World War II


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Russell Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania in 1924. He attended Girard College,
a private boarding school in Philadelphia, PA. When Russell graduated from high
school in 1942 World War II was in full swing. Johnson joined the United States Army
Air Forces as an aviation cadet. During his time in the Army he flew 44 combat
missions as a bombardier and commanded the B-25 Mitchell bomber. His plane was
shot down over the Philippines in March of 1945. Johnson’s craft was severely
damaged during a bombing run against Japanese targets and made a crash landing at the
port of Zamboanga in the Philippines. Johnson broke both his ankles during the crash,
but was rescued and taken to U.S. territory. He earned the Purple Heart and was also
awarded the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,
the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one service star, and the World War II Victory
Medal.

He was honorably discharged with the rank of 1st Lieutenant on November 22, 1945.
Russell Johnson began his acting career in 1952. HIs early roles were primarily in
westerns and science fiction. He starred in It Came from Outer Space (1953), This
Island Earth (1955), and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1956). Johnson appeared in two
famous episodes of the original Twilight Zone. He is best known for playing Roy
Hinkley (The Professor) on the television show Gilligan’s Island. His character could
build all sorts of inventions out of the most unusual materials available on the island.
Gilligan's Island aired from 1964 to 1967, but has been shown in reruns ever since.


1. Jimmy Stewart
World War II

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James Stewart was born on May 20, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. In 1938, Stewart
began a successful partnership with director Frank Capra and began his Hollywood
career. He starred in the successful Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939 and
followed that up with The Philadelphia Story. He won the Best Actor award for his role
in The Philadelphia Story. Jimmy Stewart always had a passion for flying and received
his Commercial Pilot certificate in 1938. In 1940, he entered the U.S. Air Force.
Stewart was concerned that his expertise and celebrity status would relegate him to
instructor duties and early in the war his fears were confirmed. He was stationed in
Kirtland Air Force Base and trained B-17 pilots. The 36-year-old Stewart demanded
active duty and in August 1943 he was finally assigned to the 445th Bombardment
Group at Sioux City AAB, Iowa, first as Operations Officer of the 703rd Bombardment
Squadron and then as its commander.

Stewart flew as command pilot in the lead B-24 on numerous missions deep into
Nazi-occupied Europe. He has been credited with approximately 20 missions over
Germany and took part in hundreds of air strikes. He earned the Air Medal, the
Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre, and 7 Battle Stars during World
War II. James Stewart retired from the Air Force on May 31, 1968. He returned to his
acting career directly following the end of WWII and starred in It’s a Wonderful Life in
1946. He was noted as the first American celebrity to put his massively successful
acting career on hold to serve his country in battle.

[Artful]

More Celebrities That Served Their Country


Alec Guinnes

Guinness served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in World War II, serving first as a
seaman in 1941 and being commissioned the following year. He commanded a landing
craft taking part in the invasion of Sicily and Elba and later ferried supplies to the
Yugoslav partisans.

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Glenn Miller

Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the
swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading
one of the best known Big Bands. While traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France
during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather. His body has never
been found.

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Audie Murphy

In 27 months of combat action, Murphy became one of the most highly decorated United
States soldiers of World War II. He received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's
highest award for valor, along with 32 additional U.S. and foreign medals and citations,
including five from France and one from Belgium. He was more of a war hero then
actor, but he appeared in 44 American films and also found some success as a country
music composer.


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Clark Gable
Major, U.S. Army Air Corps
Enlisted after the tragic death of wife Carole Lombard in 1942. Spent most of the war in the U.K. making recruiting films on "special assignment." He did fly some combat missions, however, and earned a few medals. Adolf Hitler was a fan, sort of: He offered a price on Gable's head if anyone captured him, unharmed.
Military roles: 'Hell Divers' (1931), 'Run Silent Run Deep' (1958)

Chuck Norris
Yes the "Before the President of the United States can declare war, Congress must have permission from Chuck Norris."

The world-champion martial artist is a movie and television star, and has spawned a whole industry around "Chuck Norris facts" (for example: "Chuck Norris doesn't breathe, he holds the air hostage"). Yet it might not have come about had he not decided to join the Air Force after high school. Aiming for a career in law enforcement, he joined the USAF security police, and while stationed in Korea, he realized one night on duty that he couldn't arrest a rowdy drunk without pulling his weapon.

As a result, he started studying some of the local Korean martial arts, including Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwan Do, and became the first Westerner to be awarded an eighth-degree Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do. He held the world middleweight karate champion title for six years, and was named Black Belt magazine's "Fighter of the Year" in 1969.

He founded 32 martial arts schools, and was actor and fellow veteran Steve McQueen's karate teacher.

McQueen encouraged Norris to go into acting, and after gaining attention as Bruce Lee's opponent in "Way of the Dragon," he starred in such films as "Good Guys Wear Black," "Delta Force" and "Missing in Action." He also starred in the long-running TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger."

Norris has used his success to give back to the military community, serving as a spokesman on behalf of the Veterans Administration and hospitalized veterans. On March 28, 2007, Commandant Gen. James T. Conway made Norris an honorary United States Marine.

Clint Eastwood
"I was drafted during the Korean War. None of us wanted to go... It was only a couple of years after World War II had ended. We said, 'Wait a second? Didn't we just get through with that?'"
Long before Eastwood dared anyone to make his day as Dirty Harry, he served in the Army as a swimming instructor at Ft. Ord. As fate (and luck) would have it, his swimming skills would come in handy: one time when he was hitching a ride aboard a Navy torpedo bomber, the plane developed engine trouble and was forced to ditch in San Francisco Bay. Eastwood swam over a mile through the tide to shore, foreshadowing his own character's watery trials in "Escape from Alcatraz."

After his discharge in 1953, Eastwood attended L.A. City College and studied drama under the GI Bill. From humble origins in the movie business (he started on a $75-a-week contract with Universal Studios), he eventually found international fame in "spaghetti" westerns, the Dirty Harry series, and as an Oscar-winning director.

Earnest Borgnine

Humphrey Bogart
The man who became a legend playing hard-bitten private eyes and soulful outlaws had a troubled background: born into a successful family, Humphrey Bogart was expected to attend Yale but ended up losing interest in school and dropping out. Instead of attending a different school or looking for a civilian job, Bogart enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1918. It's been recorded that Bogart was a model sailor, and spent most of his career ferrying troops between the U.S. and Europe.

In 1919, Bogart transferred from the Leviathan to the USS Santa Olivia. He missed the ship when it sailed for Europe, and he turned himself in to the Navy port authority. Due to his prompt action, Bogart was not listed as a deserter and was recorded as being AWOL for which he was punished with three days of solitary confinement, and allowed nothing but bread and water to eat.

Despite the infraction, he was honorably discharged on June 18th, 1919 with the rank of seaman second class with a 3.0 performance rating in proficiency and 4.0 in sobriety and obedience.

When Bogart returned home, he found that his values had grown independently of his family. Although he was still articulate, polite, and hard-working, he detested pretension and snobbery. He rebelled and worked as a shipper, then bond salesman, and eventually joined the Naval Reserve. Through a childhood friend, he worked his way into show business, and eventually his roles veered towards tough-guy heroes and gangsters, which became a guidepost for the rest of his career.

He would go on to star in classics such as "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca," and win an Academy Award for Best Actor in “The African Queen.” He was also able to draw upon his naval experience when he played unstable Captain Queeg in one of his final films, “The Caine Mutiny.”

Charles Durning

Jean Gabin



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Jean Gabin




Jamie Farr

Eddie Albert
People generally remember Eddie Albert as the inept farmer and perennial straight man on the goofy hit 1960’s TV show Green Acres, but few know that he also won the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for his actions during the invasion of Tarawa. In November, 1943, Albert (then a young Navy Lieutenant by the name of Eddie Heimberger—his real name), rescued dozens of stranded and wounded Marines from the landing craft he commanded, much of the time while under heavy enemy machine-gun fire.

Bob Ross
Aside from maybe Jesus, famed painter Bob Ross was pretty much the nicest person who ever lived. His Joy of Painting show, featuring Ross and his happy little clouds and trees, was the greatest art tutorial/electronic babysitter/sleep aid one could ask for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9sJ4NAugxg
When we said he was nice, we ****ing meant it. He was always smiling, always full of positive reinforcement for any viewers trying to paint along. His voice never rose above that of a gentle lullaby, everything he did on the show was for free, and he donated his art to various PBS stations that aired his show, in order to help raise funds. Oh, and he bottle-fed orphaned baby animals, on the air. The man was, for all intents and purposes, a saint.

The Sergeant:

As it turns out, there was a very good reason he was so mellow: He spent 20 years screaming his lungs out, as a first sergeant for the United States Air Force ... and hated it. He was said to be "the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work." That's right. The sweetest, kindest, most lovable character on TV this side of Mister Rogers spent half his life cosplaying as Sgt. Slaughter.

PBS
http://www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/3/0/2/182302.jpg?v=1
"And maybe down in these trees, Charlie is hiding out, ready to gut you like a carp."

No photos exist of Sgt. Ross back in those days, and the man 100 percent liked it that way. He had said that the reason he ultimately told the military to go screw off was because he was forced to be "a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it. I promised myself that if I ever got away from it, it wasn't going to be that way anymore."

Fortunately for him, Ross spent much of his non-screaming time speed-painting the Alaskan wilderness around him. Soon, he became really good (and fast) at it and found that he could make more money selling his paintings than yelling at cadets for not having their boots properly spit-shined. He promptly quit the military, vowed to never scream again, and focused solely on breezy paintings and baby animals.

Michael Caine



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Michael Caine



Morgan Freeman
"I joined the Air Force. I took to it immediately when I arrived there. I did three years, eight months, and ten days in all, but it took me a year and a half to get disabused of my romantic notions about it."
Sometimes being in the military helps determine what you want to be in life -- even if it means not being in the military. Talented young Morgan Freeman was so in love with the idea of flying that he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1955 instead of accepting a scholarship for drama from Jackson State University.

Eventually, he got the chance to train as a fighter pilot, but as soon as he sat in the cockpit of what he thought would be his dream job, he felt like he was "sitting in the nose of a bomb," as he told AARP magazine. "I had this very clear epiphany... You are not in love with this; you are in love with the idea of this." Freeman didn’t hesitate to act on his gut instinct, and left the Air Force in 1959.

It would be a long, hard road to stardom for Freeman, as he acted for over twenty years on stage before gaining fame on television in the soap opera "Another World" and the long-running children's program "The Electric Company." Freeman went on to act in prominent supporting roles, and later as a star in such movies as "The Shawshank Redemption," "Seven," and "Unforgiven."

Steve Buscemi, Became Part of the 9/11 Rescue Effort
The Celebrity:

Steve Buscemi is the go-to actor for when you need a whiny, loudmouthed schnook who always gets his muscular friends to do his fighting for him. He's usually cast as one of two things: a snaky criminal or snarky comic relief. Neither role requires he be a physically intimidating man, only a slightly unhinged one. In short, not ****** at all, right?

The Hero:

Wrong. As it turns out, Steve Buscemi isn't snarky, unhinged, or whiny. In fact, he's a goshdarned 9/11 hero.

He had the skills for it. Where many actors will wait tables, work as studio go-fers, or perform one of a hundred other degrading jobs while waiting for their big break, Buscemi took the less-traditional route of becoming a New York City firefighter. He did that until 1985, when he started getting gigs that didn't involve running into gigantic open flames on the regular. But he never forgot his roots, and this was never more evident than on September 11, 2001.

Many celebrities "helped" after the terrorist attacks by organizing fundraisers, handing out water and coffee, or recording horrible music that was no less horrible just because it was "for the heroes." Buscemi, again, bucked the trend by going right back into firefighter mode, returning to his old firehouse and volunteering for service. Right alongside the decidedly non-famous crew of FDNY Engine 55, he busted *** for up to 12 hours at a time, shoveling out debris and rubble and pulling survivors out of the wreckage. Countless people who might otherwise have perished can now say, without hyperbole, that Mr. Pink saved their lives.
http://www.cracked.com/phpimages/article/3/1/0/182310.jpg?v=3
They later repaid the favor by being literally the only people to go see Burt Wonderstone.

There's a real good chance you didn't hear about this in the aftermath of the attacks, but it's not because the media ignored it. Rather, Buscemi wanted us to ignore it. He refused to talk about it in interviews, simply saying, "these are my brothers." He showed absolutely zero interest in turning his duty into a publicity stunt. That's why there are only a couple of pictures of Buscemi hard at work; here, he's the dapper chap in the upper-left corner.

After 9/11, Buscemi went back to showing off his crazy eyes on the big screen, but he has never forgotten his firefighting roots, even when it gets him in trouble. In 2003, less than two years after 9/11, Buscemi's old firehouse was deemed useless by the NYC government and was slated to close. Buscemi showed up with a bunch of other firefighters to protest this decision, with the entire group ultimately arrested for their efforts. He continues to support firefighters and their struggles to this day, proving that he only acts because he's too old to work his dream job any longer.

Steve McQueen
It was all very pleasant just lying in the sun and watching the girls go by, but one day I suddenly felt bored with hanging around and went and joined the Marines."
Steve McQueen's legacy as the "King of Cool" began early -- born to a stunt pilot and an alleged alcoholic prostitute, he had a tumultuous childhood which led him to cultivate his rebel image, which would persist throughout his career. After drifting from job to job, he decided to join the Marines in 1947. He was promoted to Private First Class and served with an armored unit, but he was demoted back to private seven times. His rebellious nature came to a head when he let a weekend pass turn into a two week tryst with his girlfriend. Shore patrol apprehended him, but he resisted and spent 41 days in the brig; the first 21 were spent living off of bread and water.
His time in the brig helped reform him. Later his unit was performing a training exercise in the Arctic which turned disastrous. The ship McQueen, his unit, and their tanks had boarded hit a sandbank, which threw several tanks and their crews into the water. Many drowned immediately, unable to get out of their tanks, but McQueen jumped in and saved the lives of five men.
In recognition of his actions, McQueen was chosen to partake in the Honor Guard protecting Harry S. Truman's yacht. McQueen stayed with the Marines until 1950 when he was honorably discharged. "The Marines gave me discipline I could live with. By the time I got out, I could deal with things on a more realistic level. All in all, despite my problems, I liked my time in the Marines," McQueen said.
After leaving the Marines, McQueen used money earned through the GI Bill to study acting at Sanford Meisner's Neighborhood Playhouse. His career was prolific -- he starred in numerous roles and maintained his star status up until his untimely death in 1980.

Gene Hackman
Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Military roles: 'Behind Enemy Lines' (2001), 'Crimson Tide' (1995), 'The Package' (1989), 'Bat 21' (1988)
In 1946 at 16 (he lied about his age), the future 'Unforgiven' star left home to join the Marines, where he reportedly served four-and-a-half years as a field radio operator. According to eDrive, Hackman's stint included assignments in China, Japan and Hawaii. His first showbiz gig was as a DJ on the Armed Forces Network.

George Carlin
"So I do have this ambivalence. Obviously I'm against militaries, because of what militaries do. In many ways though, the Air Force was unmilitary-like. They dropped bombs on people, but...they had a golf course."
Controversial, outspoken and above all funny, George Carlin stands as one of the comedy greats, but given his well-known anti-establishment perspective, it might come as a surprise that he is a also a veteran. After dropping out of high school in 1954, Carlin joined the Air Force to use the GI Bill to cover the costs of broadcasting school. He was trained as a radar technician, and was stationed in Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Looking back on his service, Carlin was proud to have been generally discharged instead of dishonorably discharged. He was deemed an unproductive Airman and court martialed three times. As a more constructive outlet for his biting comedy, he worked as a disc jockey for the KJOE radio station while on active duty. Despite his troubles in the service, his work at KJOE helped him jump to other opportunities in the entertainment industry. After working in broadcast for a short while, he moved to California where he found success in television on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" and later, enduring fame as a cutting-edge comedian. One of the more memorable bits from his later career concerned PTSD, as he decried how the military had taken a simple, succinct term (shell shock) and over time had sanitized it into its current form (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Drew Carey

Shaggy




http://www.listzblog.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/shaggy_l.jpg



Shaggy



Mr. T
"When you find a really tough guy, he's not a predator. He doesn't have to prove himself. Guys who have to pretend to be tough, they ain't. I'm tough."

Before he nearly pounded Rocky Balboa into submission in Rocky III, and went on to fame as B.A. Baracus on the hit TV show A-Team, Mr. T was a member of the biggest team of them all -- the U.S. Army. Originally known as Laurence Tureaud, Mr. T served in the Army's Military Police Corps in the mid-70s.

In November 1975 he was awarded a letter of recommendation by his drill sergeant, and in a cycle of six thousand troops he was elected "Top Trainee of the Cycle" and promoted to Squad Leader.

In July 1976 his platoon sergeant punished him by giving him the detail of chopping down trees during training camp at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, but the sergeant did not specify how many trees that were to be cut down -- so Tureaud single-handedly chopped down over 70 trees in the span of three and a half hours before being relieved of the detail.

After his discharge from the Army, Tureaud tried out for the NFL's Green Bay Packers but failed to make the team because of a knee injury.

However, his Army police training served him well in his next job, as a bouncer at Chicago nightclubs, where he began cultivating his ultra-tough "Mr. T" persona (the famous gold chains he wears were a result of picking up discarded jewelry from the nightclub every night).

Perhaps the first "celebrity bodyguard," and certainly one of the most famous, Mr. T eventually found fame in the movies and TV, and currently lives in L.A.

and more
http://www.heroeswest.com/page6.htm

[Kent Fowler]

The above list left out Walter Brennan. He was in a field artillery unit in WW1 and got hit with phosgene gas from the Germans. It affected his vocal cords and was the reason his voice was unique.

[MrWolf]

Thanks. Enjoyed reading about some of these folk.

[Clay M]

Charles Bronson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bronson#Early_life_and_World_War_II_servic e

[condorjohn]

Hey neighbor, what about "Mr. Rogers"?

[Ickisrulz]

Hey neighbor, what about "Mr. Rogers"?

He was never in the military.

[M-Tecs]

Not very many of the younger guys on the list.

[Ickisrulz]

Not very many of the younger guys on the list.


The military was something like 10x larger than it is now during WW2 and there was a draft from 1940-1973. So it would stand to reason the older generations are more heavily represented than the younger ones.

[Kent Fowler]

The above list left out Walter Brennan. He was in a field artillery unit in WW1 and got hit with phosgene gas from the Germans. It affected his vocal cords and was the reason his voice was unique.

Another interesting one: Julia Child served with the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in Ceylon and China during WWII

[w5pv]

Goes to prove that all actors are not pu$$ies

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The trouble with the link in the opening post is that the website condenses it for display. Copy it and type in "bad***" (my asterisks, honest!), and you still have an invalid URL with a string of three dots in it. It is a curious thing, but we seem to want public figures to be idols, and also want them to have feet of clay. A lot of people can't bear for them to be just ordinary.

It is little known that Carol Lombard's death may have come between Gable and perhaps the most interesting and challenging of all his roles. Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn wanted him for the story of Captain von Rintelen, who impeded the arms trade to the Allies in the First World War by such techniques as sabotage, financing a permanently striking trade union and founding a munitions company which operated by buying up and never exporting munitions from the others. They corresponded with the British Admiral Hall, who had lured Rintelen back to Germany on a neutral vessel by a fake message in a broken code, and became a personal friend of von Rintelen, as were their daughters after the war. They were guest and bridesmaid at the wedding of Faith Hall, with eleven British admirals, and there is a wall wouldn't have minded being a fly on.

On the subject of *******, my attitude was formed while my age was in single figures, by knowing an old man who got into the army with the "Daily Mail" for the 4th August 1914 wadded up in his boots to make the height. and served for four years as a sniper on the Western Front. He was smaller, weaker and infinitely less aggressive than the female soldiers of today, and still agonized in case he had killed anyone he should have sent home to collect his disability pension, which he would have considered unchristian.

A nation forced into war must seek ability and commitment wherever it can be found. British communists, fascists and the Oxford students who voted "This house will under no circumstances fight for King and country" all melted away into the services, and served King and country extremely well. Saki the satirical writer and also an effeminate and feline homosexual, became a highly valued sergeant on the Western Front, and his last words before being killed by a sniper were "Put that bloody light out."

Hardy Amies the fashion designer was head of the Belgian section of SOE, which was a stay at home job. But Tommy Yeo-Thomas of the Molyneux fashon house almost uniquely bridged the gap between field agent and policy-maker in the Gaullist French section. He was captured on his third mission to France three times, and although many agents weren't tortured (which destroys the chance to "turn" them, as both British and Germans did by very similar methods), Yeo-Thomas was tortured at great length. He performed the rare feat of also spying for the Luftwaffe. Hermann Goering counted among his few virtues a great belief that pilots deserved civilized treatment, and Yeo-Thomas was one of a group of officers who smuggled out the word that 168 pilots were being illegally held in an SS concentration camp, and got them removed to a Luftwaffe camp. He stayed in, but his fourth escape attempt, from Buchenwald, was successful, and at Nuremberg he probably saved the life of Otto Skorzeny by testifying for him that he had done nothing British SOE agents didn't. Most people think his nickname, "The White Rabbit", from "Alice in Wonderland", was his operational code-name, but in fact it was given to him by the Gestapo, because he kept turning up. He was a close friend of Leo Marks, the 22-year-old and profoundly unmartial cryptographer who was so good that career soldiers shuddered and realized they needed him. They had better mathematicians at Bletchley Park, but Marks, son of the bookselling firm in "84 Charing Cross Road", was the one who combined mathematics with agent and interrogator psychology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._F._E._Yeo-Thomas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Marks

Another leader in his field and unlikely soldier was Johnny Ramensky, a safebreaking specialist and expert criminal in all respects except not getting caught. In wartime he volunteered and became the Commandos' safebreaking expert. He took part in raids on Rommel's headquarters and Goering's Carin, as well as opening fourteen safes the day Rome was liberated.

He was renowned for never offering violence when caught, despite exceptional physique and training in unarmed combat which far exceeded any policeman's. In one of his last exploits a young police officer claimed Johnny had struck him, but that charge was bargained away for a guilty plea to the robbery. As the windows had been blown out by the blast, and Johnny prided himself on leaning against a safe to deaden the sound, I think he confessed to someone else's work to bargain away a degrading charge which he thought would harm his reputation. I suspect that the young policeman had stern words spoken to him in private.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ramensky