Don Abney (1923-2000) [Pete Kelly's Blues (1955); Cindy (1978) (TV)] was born in Baltimore, Maryland and became a jazz pianist accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Thelma Carpenter, and the Billy Williams Quartet
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- There was a misunderstanding that led to his discharge from the Navy during WWII. He finished up the war in the Army, winning a Bronze Star as a noncombatant in the Far East.
- Following a couple years in the Army Air Force during World War II
- Walter Matthau
- Winged Victory in 1943
- Bobby, the twin on the right in the photo-image, and his brother served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and, at one point, they were stationed in the Phillippines
- His induction into the Army for World War II put a direct hit on his career momentum, but he managed to recover and pick up where he left off
- McCoy returned to the Army for World War II and served with the Army Air Corps in Europe, winning several decorations
- A Marine fighter pilot during World War II
- McNear - at age 37 - volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1942 and served for the duration of World War II
- Joseph Mell
- During World War II Menjou appeared in only 7 movies as he spent a lot of time entertaining troops overseas and made assorted broadcasts in a host of different languages
- United States Army Air Forces in World War II, reaching the rank of captain
- Dick Merrill
- Too old for a commission, Dick signed on as a civilian MTD pilot and flew the China-Burma "Hump" in DC3s and C-46 Commandos during World War II conducting critical supply lights and survey missions
- United States Army Air Force Special Services in 1941 (WWII)
- World War II, when he served as a captain in the Northwest Indian Frontier
Barney Martin (1923-2005) was an American actor. After serving as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, he returned to his native New York City and served as a policeman. He got his start as a comedian while still a police officer, writing jokes for his deputy commissioners' speeches. Entering show business in the 1950s as a writer for Steve Allen, he was discovered by Mel Brooks in 1968, who cast him in The Producers (1968). He went on to act in dozens of films, including the role of Liza Minnelli's unemployed father in Arthur (1981). In 1975, Martin originated the role of Amos Hart in Chicago. He appeared in many more musicals during his career, most notably South Pacific, The Fantasticks and How Now Dow Jones. Most of Martin's work has been in television, where he has had a long career as a character actor. He is best-known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the popular sitcom Seinfeld. He died of cancer in Studio City, Los Angeles, California at the age of 82. 
Strother Martin, (1919-1980) [Storm Over Tibet (1952); The Villain (1979)] was an American character actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison captain in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the classic line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate," which was included by Guns N' Roses in their 1990 song Civil War. He also frequently acted alongside L.Q. Jones, who in real life was one of his closest friends, actors Paul Newman and John Wayne, and director Sam Peckinpah. Born in Kokomo, Indiana, Martin excelled at swimming and diving, and served as a swimming instructor in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Martin moved to Los Angeles and worked as a swimming instructor in films, eventually earning bit roles in a number of films. Martin's distinctive, reedy voice and menacing demeanor made him ideal for villainous roles in many of the best known Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s. 
Tony Martin (1913- ) [Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937); Hit the Deck (1955)] was born Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. Very early in his career he was a sax player under his real name of Al Morris in an orchestra headed by Tom Gerun. Among the other orchestra members were unknowns (at the time) Woody Herman and singer Ginny Simms. There was a misunderstanding that led to his discharge from the Navy during WWII. He finished up the war in the Army, winning a Bronze Star as a noncombatant in the Far East. 
Lee Marvin (1924-1987) [Donovan's Reef (1963); Cat Ballou (1965); The Dirty Dozen (1967)]. Left school to join the US Marine Corps, serving as a sniper in the 4th Marine Division in WW II. He would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. He was wounded during the Battle of Saipan, a battle in which most members of his platoon were killed. He was awarded the Purple Heart and given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life. [Contrary to rumor, Marvin did not serve with Bob Keeshan during World War II, on Iwo Jima or anywhere else. In fact, according to Wikipedia: "In 1945, during World War II, he [Keeshan] enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered."] 
Kerwin Mathews (1926-2007) [5 Against the House (1955); Nightmare in Blood (1978)] was born an only child in Seattle, Washington. Kerwin's parents split up while he was quite young and he and his mother relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin. He developed an early interest in acting while performing in high school plays. Following a couple years in the Army Air Force during World War II, Kerwin studied at Beloit College in Wisconsin on both dramatic and musical scholarships. He later taught speech and drama at the college and also found acting jobs in regional theater. In the early 1950s, after teaching high school English in Lake Geneva, Wisconin, for a few years, he decided to make the big trek to Hollywood to seek out his fame and fortune. 
Walter Matthau (1920-2000) [The Odd Couple (1968); Charley Varrick (1973)]. Served in WWII as a B-24 Radioman, Gunner, and as a radio cryptographer with the 453rd Bomb Group. 
Victor Mature (1913-1999) [One Million B.C. (1940); The Big Circus (1959)] auditioned for Gone with the Wind (1939) for the role ultimately played by his fellow Playhouse student, George Reeves. After achieving some acclaim in his first few films, he served in the Coast Guard in World War II. Mature became one of Hollywood's busiest and most popular actors after the war, though rarely was he given the critical respect he often deserved. His roles in John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946) and in Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947) were among his finest work, though he moved more and more frequently into more exotic roles in films like Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Egyptian (1954). 
Billy Mauch (1921-2006) [The White Angel (1936); Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)] was born in Peoria, Illinois, ten minutes before his identical twin, Bobby (1921-2007). In the photo (according to film credits), Billy is on the left and Bobby on the right. Billy was left-handed and Bobby was right-handed. Their last name rhymes with "talk" or "walk." The Mauch twins' mother was Dorothy, married to a railroad agent. The boys ambitious stage mother had the twins performing from age 3 at benefits and parties. Billy was cast as young Anthony Adverse (1936) because he resembled the film's star Fredric March. Bobby was his stand-in and supposedly fooled director Mervyn LeRoy at times by switching places. Warner Bros. originally wanted only to sign Billy for The Prince and the Pauper, but Mrs. Mauch insisted both boys be signed or she would pitch Bobby to a rival studio. Both boys were signed at $350 a week. Mrs. Mauch received $150 a week as their guardian. At the time, there was a ruling in the Armed Forces that twins could not be separated unless requested. Both Billy and Bobby served in the Air Force in the Philippines during World War II and appeared together in the Broadway play Winged Victory in 1943. Behind the camera in later years, Billy worked for Warner Bros. as a sound editor. His brother became a film editor.
Robert J. Mauch (1921-2007) [Penrod and His Twin Brother (1938); I'll Tell the World (1939)] -- aka Bobby Mauch -- was born the identical twin of Billy Mauch (see entry above). Bobby, the twin on the right in the photo-image, and his brother served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and, at one point, they were stationed in the Phillippines. 
Lon McCallister (1923-2005) [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938); Combat Squad (1953)] was born Herbert Alonzo McCallister, Jr. in Los Angeles, but was almost immediately called "Buddy" to those closest to him. He attended high school at Marken Profesional School, a training ground for Hollywood hopefuls, and eventually managed to secure unbilled parts starting with Romeo and Juliet (1936) starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard and John Barrymore. Lon became close friends with the film's director George Cukor, and attributed his biggest break to Cukor when he earned a supporting role as a pilot in Winged Victory (1944), after toiling in obscurity for nearly 6 years. Lon also stood out in the films Stage Door Canteen (1943), as the unassuming soldier who falls for canteen hostess Marjorie Riordan, and in the warm and winning horse-racing tale Home in Indiana (1944) opposite rising star Jeanne Crain. His induction into the Army for World War II put a direct hit on his career momentum, but he managed to recover and pick up where he left off. He made 6 movies 1947-1950 and followed with a very busy TV schedule in the 50s and early 60s. 
Lin McCarthy (1918-2002) [Yellowneck (1955); Face of a Fugitive (1959)] was born Linwood Winder McCarthy in Norfolk, Virginia. He used his G.I. bill after serving during World War II to study acting at Geller's Theater Workshop in Los Angeles. He opened "The Chase" by Horton Foote on Broadway in the Playhouse Theatre on April 15, 1952. The play was produced by José Ferrer, and co-starred Murray Hamilton, Kim Hunter and Lin's long-time friend Lonny Chapman. He may be best remembered as Captain Anderson to Jack Webb's gritty sergeant in the now campy classic film, The D.I. (1957), a supposedly realistic account about Marine boot camp. He had two children with his wife Loretta Daye: Erin Christine McCarthy and Brian Linwood McCarthy. 
Tim McCoy (1891-1978) [The Thundering Herd (1925); Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965)] was one of the great stars of early American Westerns. He was born the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of colonel, eventually being posted as Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. Resigning from the Army, he returned to ranching and concurrently served as territorial Indian agent. In 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He brought hundreds of Indians to Hollywood and served as technical advisor on the film. After touring the country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns.... In 1935, he left Hollywood, first to tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and then with his own Wild West show. He returned to films in 1940, in a series teaming him with Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton but Jones's death in 1942 ended the project. McCoy returned to the Army for World War II and served with the Army Air Corps in Europe, winning several decorations. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. He married Danish writer Inga Arvad and spent his later years as a retired gentleman rancher, occasionally touring with his own Wild West show. 
Sammy McKim (1924-2004) [Country Gentlemen (1936); Thunderbirds (1952)] was the second of a family of five child actors of the 1930s and 1940s, but the first to get into the movies and pave the way for the rest of the McKim siblings. Sammy and his older brother, David McKim, were born in Vancouver, Canada. The family moved to Seattle, Washington, when they were both still young and settled there for a time. The younger children (Lydia McKim, Harry McKim and Peggy McKim) were born and raised there. The family was forced to find a warmer climate in 1935 when their father's health worsened, so they moved to Los Angeles (where he died in 1938). In 1942 both Sammy and David tried to enlist in the U.S. Army but were turned down for not being American citizens. The two Canadians gained their citizenship the following year and signed up again for duty, letting their acting careers go. Sammy received several medals during the Korean War for his bravery. After becoming a civilian again, he turned away from acting and decided on a career as an artist. 
Ed McMahon (1923-2005) was born in Detroit, Michigan to Eleanor (Russell) and Edward Leon McMahon, a fund-raiser and entertainer. His first appearance before a microphone was as a 15-year-old "caller" at a bingo game in Maine. After that, he spent the next three years touring the state fair and carnival circuit. A Marine fighter pilot during World War II, McMahon sold vegetable slicers on Atlantic City's boardwalk to put himself through Catholic University in Washington, DC. In the 1950s, he hosted a late-night interview show in Philadelphia before working as a clown on the show "Big Top" (1950). His next assignment was as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. After that, he resumed his career in television. In 1959, he was hired as Johnny Carson's straight man on the daytime quiz show "Do You Trust Your Wife" (1956). When Carson succeeded Jack Paar on NBC's "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" (1957), which became "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962), he took McMahon with him. This job lasted for 30 years and made McMahon wealthy and famous. On the big screen, he played straight roles in the dramatic The Incident (1967) -- for which he got very good reviews -- and in the comic Fun with Dick and Jane (1977). 
Howard McNear (1905-1969) [Drums Across the River (1954); The Fortune Cookie (1966)] was born Howard Terbell McNear in Los Angeles, California. He had a long career on stage, radio and films but will be most remembered for his scene-stealing portrayal of Floyd (the barber) in the long-running Andy Griffith Show (1960). Actor Don Knotts (Deputy Barney Fife on the show) once said that playing Floyd wasn't much of a stretch for McNear, as his real personality was pretty much like Floyd to begin with. McNear - at age 37 - volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1942 and served for the duration of World War II. He had started his career in radio, where he played Doc Adams in Gunsmoke for many years. In films he often played congressmen, hotel managers or other such figures, although he did on occasion play villains. While working on the Andy Griffith Show he suffered a massive stroke. After he recuperated he had trouble using his arms and legs, and when he returned to work on the show he was always seen either in close-ups or sitting down (often in a chair outside the barber shop while chatting with Barney and Andy). He died in 1969 in Hollywood and was buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery Columbarium Mausoleum. 
Joseph Mell (1915-1977) [Kid Monk Baroni (1952); Murph the Surf (1975)], aka Joe Mell. Enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army in Chicago on 7 May 1941. Mell also appeared in these big screen productions: The 49th Man (1953), The Lost Planet (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953), Magnificent Obsession (1954), Naked Alibi (1954), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Murder by Contract (1958), City of Fear (1959), Back Street (1961), 36 Hours (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966) and The Ski Bum (1971). He played more than two dozen uncredited roles as well as appearing in more than 100 television shows. 
Adolphe Menjou (1890-1963) [The Faith Healer (1921); Paths of Glory (1957] was born Adolphe Jean Menjou in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the elder son of a hotel manager. His Irish mother was a distant cousin of novelist and poet James Joyce ("Ulysses"). His French father eventually moved the family to Cleveland, where he operated a chain of restaurants. He disapproved of show business and sent Adolphe to Culver Military Academy in Indiana in the hopes of dissuading him from such a seemingly reckless and disreputable career. From there Adolphe was enrolled at Stiles University prep school and then Cornell University. Instead of an engineering degree he abruptly changed his major to liberal arts and began auditioning for college plays. He left Cornell in his third year in order to help his father manage a restaurant for a time during a family financial crisis. From there he left for New York and a life in the theater. During World War II Menjou appeared in only 7 movies as he spent a lot of time entertaining troops overseas and made assorted broadcasts in a host of different languages. 
Burgess Meredith (1907-1997) [The Story of G.I. Joe (1945); John Wayne's roomie in In Harm's Way (1965); The Penguin in Batman (1966)]. Meredith served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, reaching the rank of captain. He was discharged in 1944 to work on the movie The Story of GI Joe, in which he starred as the popular war correspondent Ernie Pyle. 
Dick Merrill (1894-1982) [Atlantic Flight (1937)] learned to fly while stationed in France in World War I but returned home to work on the Illinois Central Railroad as a fireman. He began his aviation career in earnest when he bought a 90-horsepower Curtiss JN4 "Jenny" for $600 at a war surplus sale in Columbus, Georgia in 1920. Too old for a commission, Dick signed on as a civilian MTD pilot and flew the China-Burma "Hump" in DC3's and C-46 Commandos during World War II conducting critical supply lights and survey missions. He returned to Eastern Airlines after the war and officially retired from Eastern Airlines on Oct. 3, 1961 after flying a DC8 from New York to Miami, reputedly with the most air miles of any pilot in commercial aviation history, and ranked as the second most senior pilot with the airline. 
Gary Merrill (1915-1990) [Twelve O'Clock High (1949); All About Eve (1950); A Girl Named Tamiko (1962)] Joined the United States Army Air Force Special Services in 1941 (WWII). Merrill was born in Hartford, Connecticut, attended private Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and began acting in 1944 in Winged Victory, while still in the U.S. Army Air Forces. 
John Le Mesurier (1912-1983) [Escape from Broadmoor (1948) ; Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978)]. The son of a solicitor, British character actor Mesurier attended public school in Dorset, England, before embarking on a career in law. However, acting was his true calling, and at age 20, with his parents' approval, he began his acting career by studying drama at the Fay Compton School of Acting, where one of his classmates was Alec Guinness. After acting school he performed in repertory until World War II, when he served as a captain in the Northwest Indian Frontier. After the war he returned to the stage and made his film debut in Death in the Hand (1948). 
Ray Milland (1905-1986) [The Lady from the Sea (1929); Dial M for Murder (1954); The Sea Serpent (1984)] was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones 3 January 1905, Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK and died of lung cancer 10 March 1986, Torrance, California. He became one of Paramount's most bankable and durable stars, under contract from 1934 to 1948, yet little in his early life suggested a career as a motion picture actor. With his family's support he had pursued a career in sports but lost that support when his stepfather discontinued his allowance. Broke, he tried his hand at acting in small parts on the London stage. He had a terrible accident during the filming of Hotel Imperial (1939), when, taking his horse over a jump, the saddle-girth broke and he landed head-first on a pile of bricks. His most serious injuries were a concussion that left him unconscious for 24 hours, a 3-inch gash in his skull that took 9 stitches to close, and numerous fractures and lacerations on his left hand. He had become a licensed pilot and tried to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, but was rejected due to an impaired left hand. Instead he worked as a civilian flight instructor for the Army and also toured with the USO in the South Pacific. He was paired romantically with actress Paulette Goddard in four films, including the blockbusters Reap the Wild Wind (1942) and Kitty (1945). In his autobiography, he wrote that Goddard was "wise, humorous, and with absolutely no illusions." He further claimed that she was the hardest working actress that he had ever worked with. (Source: IMDB) 
Directory: cms -> lib -> PA09000087 -> Centricity -> Domain Domain -> The ap history Timeline 8000bce-the Present Domain -> Objectives: Identify economic and social problems Americans faced after World War II Domain -> Chapter 6, Problem Set #5 – More Work with Comparative Advantage and Trade Domain -> Image: Die cut of the Knight Helmet Domain -> Active voice example Domain -> Weak Syllable Deletion Domain -> American Civil War and Reconstruction Timeline Download 0.78 Mb. Share with your friends:
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