Compare the Entertainers of 1943 with today

[Gyro/T69]

From

V for Victory America's Home Front During World War II. Stan Cohen 1991

ARMY

James Arness
Dezi Arnaz
Neville Brand
Mel Brooks
Art Carney
John Derek
Hugh Downs
Allen Funt
Lorne Greene
Van Heflin
Jose Bishhop
Hal Holbrook
William Holden
John Huston
George Kennedy
Stanley Kramer
Bert Lancaster
Karl Malden
Tim McCoy
Robert Mitchum
George Montgomery
Arthut O,Connell
Bert Parks
Sidney Poitier
Tony Randall
Ronald Reagan
Carl Reiner
Will Rogers Jr.
Mickey Rooney
Telly Savalas
Rod Serling
Red Skelton
Eli Eallach
Jack Warden
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

NAVY, COAST GUARD

Eddie Albert
Richard Boone
Raymond Burr
Sid Caesar
Tony Curtis
Richard Denning
Billy De Wolfe
Buddy Ebsen
Tom Ewell
Heary Fonda
Rock Hudson
Gene Kelly
Jack Lemmon
Victor Mature
Robert Montgomery
Don Rickles
Jason Robards Jr.
Soupy Sales
Robert stack
Rod Steiger
Robert Taylor

MARINES

Sterling Hayden
Bob Keesham
Ed McMahon
Hugh O'Brien
Tyrone Power
George C. Scott
James Whitmore
Jonathan Winters

AIRFORCE

Gene Autry
Charles Bronson
Bruce Cabot
Jackie Coogan
Robert Cummings
Sabu Dastagir
Clark Gable
George Gobel
Charlton Heston
Don Herbert
Alan Ladd
Norman Lear
Walter Matthau
Burgess Meredith
Cameron Mitchell
Tom Poston
Dan Rowan
Mort Sahl
Jimmy Stewart
Dick Van Dyke
Jack Webb

MERCHANT MARINE

Carroll O;Connor
Cliff Robertson

[blue1]

GtoRA2

Try this, it seems to have good info on John Wayne:

http://www.shepherd-express.com/shepherd/19/28/news_and_views/straight_dope.html

I also read that he had an ear infection and the leg problem. Differing stories seem to point to excuses.

My reading of the whole thing is that it wasn't fear so much as 'inconvenient' for him at the time. A fact he regretted later. Military life is not easy no matter who you are.   He was too old for combat really at the time anyway.

Apparently he was attacked several times by servicemen who resented the fact he was out of uniform.

Oh and one other thing. I noted that Audie Murphy was part of the 3rd Infantry Division. Glad to see they kept up his tradition recently.

[midnight Target]

Apples and Oranges here guys. MOST young men in the '40's served in the armed forces. Some of them happened to become actors or already were. Might as well compare all accountants to those brave accountants of 1943, or how about all those brave lawyers? Baseball players.... teachers?

silly stuff, move along.

[Wanker]

Originally posted by midnight Target
Apples and Oranges here guys. MOST young men in the '40's served in the armed forces. Some of them happened to become actors or already were. Might as well compare all accountants to those brave accountants of 1943, or how about all those brave lawyers? Baseball players.... teachers?

silly stuff, move along.

I was thinking the same thing. It's ridiculous to try to compare *anyone* of the WW2 generation with anyone in today's world. The generation of WW2 just happened to be born at a time where the fate of the free world hung in the balance. It's not like they had much of a choice.

If we had another world war now, we'd be seeing just as many young people being fed into the meat grinder as we did back then.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by hawk220
I'm sure if we had a similar world war with the DRAFT that a number of our entertainers would find themselves in uniform and I'm sure a number of them would account nicely in battle as did their 1940s counterparts.

My thinking exactly.  Today's military is voluntary, so there are fewer people impacted by time in the service.  The only military guy I know who had a stay in the entertainment biz was Joshua Gracen of "American Idol", a mediocre country singer who would've been eliminated from the program after a couple of rounds if it weren't for the fact he was a Marine.

I was under the impression that, with John Wayne, he was deemed to be too old for active combat, though that may have changed by '44 or '45 as the draft range was widened.

Clark Gable was transferred from being a waist gunner to working with the US Army film department to do propoganda films for the Home Front.  I'm not sure how much active combat he really saw.

Ernest Borgnine was hard-core Navy!

[gofaster]

Originally posted by mietla
"Out House Mouse" is being restored by Tom Reilly and the crew. I'm a proud graduate of Tom's Warbird Restoration School.

I almost enrolled in that program.  How was it?  Was it worth the cost?  Are you utilizing those skills now?  How's the income?  I might be looking for a career change soon.

[mietla]

Originally posted by gofaster
I almost enrolled in that program.  How was it?  Was it worth the cost?  Are you utilizing those skills now?  How's the income?  I might be looking for a career change soon.

I did it for fun not to aquire any skills and I loved it. It's well worth a grand and a week of your life. As a bonus you get to pilot a Texan and ride in a B-25.

An awesome experience, go for it if you can.