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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- He served in the Royal Artillery in World War II in North Africa and also Italy, where he was hospitalized for shell shock
- Cameron Mitchell
- Mitchell served in World War II and at one point became a prisoner of war. He later served in the Kprean War
- He served briefly in the US Army during World War II, from April 12 to October 11, 1945, after being drafted
- Following World War II service with the Air Force
- Left Hollywood in 1943 to enlist in the US Army Air Corps and served the remainder of World War II
- Robert Montgomery
- He served in World War II
- Moore served in the British military during World War II
- He served throughout the Second World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR)
- World War II, in which he was a highly-decorated hero
- After serving in World War II
- Serving in WWII, he appeared in the Moss Hart play Winged Victory
- During WWII, at age 17 1/2, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner
- Lt. Colonel with British Commandos in Normandy
Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. Two of the most popular musicians of the World War II era -- big band leaders Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw -- both joined the service and led bands, while many other artists recorded V-Discs, recordings made especially for the troops. So in demand were they that Miller's band played 800 performances in a single year. Miller was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big bands". Miller's signature recordings include In the Mood, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Tuxedo Junction, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6-5000. While traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. No trace of the plane or Miller was ever found. 
Spike Milligan (1918-2002) [Penny Points to Paradise (1951; History of the World: Part I (1981)] was born Terence Alan (Spike) Milligan, KBE. He was a comedian, novelist, playwright, poet, jazz musician (trumpet, guitar, piano) and is best remembered as the creator, principal writer and performing member of The Goon Show (1952). He suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life, having at least ten mental breakdowns. He was a strident campaigner on environmental matters, particularly arguing against unnecessary noise. He served in the Royal Artillery in World War II in North Africa and also Italy, where he was hospitalized for shell shock. During most of the 1930s and early 1940s he performed as a jazz trumpeter but even then he did comedy sketches. 
Cameron Mitchell (1918-1994) [The Tall Men (1955), All Mine to Give (1957)] served as a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. His film career began with minor roles dating back to 1945 but he quickly rose to young leading man status opposite such stars as Wallace Beery in The Mighty McGurk, Doris Day and James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me, Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy in Cass Timberlane, Clark Gable and Jane Russell in The Tall Men, and Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons in Desiree. He provided the voice of Jesus in The Robe (1953). However, he turned to TV during the latter part of his career and is remembered for his role of Uncle Buck in the western series, The High Chaparral (1967 to 1971). 
Gordon Mitchell (1923-2003) [The Ten Commandments (1956); Li'l Abner (1959)] was one of those perfectly developed bodybuilders who jumped on the Steve Reeves bandwagon and hightailed it to Italy to seek movie stardom as a Herculean strongman. Born in Denver, Colorado, but raised in Inglewood, California, Mitchell served in World War II and at one point became a prisoner of war. He later served in the Kprean War. After WWII he went to college and became a high school teacher, albeit an imposing one, with his incredible physique. He eventually became part of the "Muscle Beach" crowd and flexed his way into the entertainment field as part of Mae West's musclebound revues, where he toured everywhere from Las Vegas to the Latin Quarter with other abs abnormal actor wannabes such as Mickey Hargitay, Brad Harris and Reg Lewis. 
Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) [Action in the North Atlantic (1943); The Big Sleep (1978); Backfire! (1995)] was born to a railroad worker who died in a train accident when he was two. Robert and his siblings (including brother John Mitchum, later also an actor) were raised by his mother and stepfather (a British army major) in Connecticut, New York, and Delaware. An early contempt for authority led to discipline problems, and Mitchum spent good portions of his teen years adventuring on the open road. On one of those trips, at the age of 14, he was charged with vagrancy and sentenced to a Georgia chain gang, from which he escaped. Working a wide variety of jobs (including ghostwriter for astrologist Carroll Righter), Mitchum discovered acting in a Long Beach, California, amateur theater company. He served briefly in the US Army during World War II, from April 12 to October 11, 1945, after being drafted. According to Lee Server's 2001 biography Mitchum served as a medic at an induction center. Although he did not want to join the military, he served honorably and was discharged as a Private First Class and received the World War II Victory Medal. 
Gerald Mohr (1914-1968) [Jungle Girl (1941); This Rebel Breed (1960)]. After a number of bit parts, he finally won a noticeable role in Lady of Burlesque (1943) with Barbara Stanwyck, after Orson Welles referred him to the film's director, William A. Wellman. Following World War II service with the Air Force, Mohr returned to acting and found his niche in intrigue, playing the title role in The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) and its two sequels, along with Passkey to Danger (1946), Dangerous Business (1946) and The Truth About Murder (1946). 
Douglass Montgomery (1907-1966) [Paid (1930); Little Women (1933)] was born Robert Douglass Montgomery. On stage in his teens, MGM scouts nabbed him, signed him up, and changed his name to Kent Douglass for films but by World War II, his career had waned. He enlisted with the Canadian infantry, serving for four years. Montgomery returned but was scarcely noticed. He starred in a few routine British films following this period as Douglass Montgomery, then returned to the US for a couple more and some TV work. He died in 1966. 
George Montgomery (1916-2000) [The Cisco Kid and the Lady (1939); The Daredevil (1972)] was born George Montgomery Letz in Brady, Montana, the youngest of 15 children of Ukranian immigrants. He was a heavyweight boxer before becoming an actor. He received many awards during his lifetime, including the Ralph Morgan Award from the Screen Actor's Guild and The Hollywood Westerner's Hall of Fame, Ronald Reagan Award. An excellent craftsman, he ran a cabinet shop for over 40 years while directing and appearing in action movies. He also designed and built 11 houses for friends and family. A self-taught artist, he created bronze busts of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Gene Autry and Randolph Scott. In later years he made sculptures of Charles Farrell and ex-wife Dinah Shore; hers and those of his children and himself sit at the Mission Hills Country Club, home of the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament. Some of his sculptures are in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum and Library in Simi Valley, California. Left Hollywood in 1943 to enlist in the US Army Air Corps and served the remainder of World War II. After his discharge he went back to Hollywood and resumed his career. 
Robert Montgomery (1904–1981) [The Big House (1930); Lady in the Lake (1947)]. During World War II, he joined the Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. He served in both the European and Pacific theaters of war, commanding PT Boats like those in the film classic, They Were Expendable (1945), in which he starred with John Wayne. 
Clayton Moore (1914-1999) [When Were You Born (1938); Wild Wild West (1999)] grew up in Illinois and was a circus acrobat at the age of eight. He would work his way up to aerialist with two circuses and also appear at the 1934 World's Fair. He then went to New York, where he found work as a male model. Hollywood was his next stop and he entered films in 1938 as a bit player and stuntman. He appeared in "B" pictures and serials through 1942, then entered the military and served in World War II. After the war he returned to these supporting roles while concentrating on westerns. By 1949 he was playing the "Masked Man," but that man was Zorro in Ghost of Zorro (1949). In 1949 he was hired to appear in The Lone Ranger (1949), the television version of the long-running radio show. He had to work on his voice so that he sounded like the radio Lone Ranger. When he got that right, he became famous, along with Tonto, on the small screen. 
Dickie Moore (1925- ) [Object: Alimony (1928); Killer Shark (1950)] was born in Los Angeles and made his acting and screen debut at the age of 18 months in the John Barrymore film The Beloved Rogue (1927) as a baby, and by the time he had turned 10 he was a popular child star and had appeared in 52 films. He continued as a child star for many more years, and became the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the first actor to kiss Shirley Temple on screen?" when that honor was bestowed upon him in 1942's Miss Annie Rooney (1942). He served in World War II and attended college majoring in journalism. As with many child actors, once Dickie got older the roles began to dry up. He made his last film in 1950, but was still in the public eye with the 1949 to 1955 TV series Captain Video and His Video Rangers. He retired from acting at the age of 29 for a new career in public relations. 
Roger Moore (1927- ) was born in Stockwell, London, England, and will perhaps be always remembered as the guy who replaced Sean Connery in the James Bond series, arguably something he never lived down. Moore was born in Stockwell, London, the son of a policeman. He first wanted to be an artist, but got into films full time after becoming an extra in the late forties. Moore served in the British military during World War II. He came to America in 1953. Suave, handsome, and an excellent actor, he got a contract with MGM. His initial foray met with mixed success, with movies like Diane (1956) and Interrupted Melody (1955), as well as The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). Moore went into television in the 1950s in shows like "Ivanhoe" (1958) and "The Alaskans" (1959), but probably got the most recognition from "Maverick" (1957), as cousin Beau. In 1962 he got his big breakthrough, at least internationally, as "The Saint." The show made him a superstar and he became very successful thereafter. -- [Text excerpted from IMDB] 
Kenneth More (1914-1982) [Sink the Bismarck! (1960); The Forsyte Saga (1967)]. Affable, bright and breezy Kenneth More epitomised the traditional English virtues of fortitude and fun. At the height of his fame in the 1950s he was Britain's most popular film star and had appeared in a string of box office hits including Genevieve (1953), Doctor in the House (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956) and A Night to Remember (1958). He served throughout the Second World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He was "demobbed" in 1946 as a lieutenant having served on the light-cruiser HMS Aurora as a Watch Keeping Officer, and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious as a Fighter Directions Officer. 
Wayne Morris (1914-1959) [Kid Galahad (1937); Paths of Glory (1957)] had early success as a sunny juvenile, but whose career declined following World War II, in which he was a highly-decorated hero. A native of Los Angeles, Morris played football at Los Angeles Juntior College, then worked as a forest ranger. Returning to school, he studied acting at Los Angeles Junior College and at the acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse. A Warner Bros. talent scout spotted him at the Playhouse and he signed with the studio in 1936. Blond and open-faced, he was a perfect type for boy-next-door parts and within a year had made a success in the title role of Kid Galahad. While filming Flight Angels (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. Assigned to the carrier Essex in the Pacific, Morris shot down seven Japanese planes and contributed to the sinking of five ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. Following the war, Morris returned to films, but his nearly four-year absence had cost him his burgeoning stardom. He continued to topline movies, but the pictures, for the most part, sank in quality. He suffered a massive heart attack while visiting aboard the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard in San Francisco Bay and was pronounced dead after being transported to Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was 45. [Text excerpted from IMDB] 
Ernest Morrison (1912-1989) [The Soul of a Child (1916); Follow the Leader (1944)] aka Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was most famous as one of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids, and he was probably the most experienced actor of that group. Morrison made his film debut while still an infant; his father worked for a wealthy Los Angeles family that had connections in the film industry, and one day a producer who was an acquaintance of his father's needed a baby for a scene and asked him to bring Sammy as a replacement for a child who wasn't working out. Morrison pulled off the job like a trouper, and his career was born. Morrison left the Dead End/East Side Kids when he was drafted into the army during World War II, and after he got out he was offered his old job back, but declined it. After a few more film roles, Morrison left show business entirely, took a job in an aircraft assembly plant and spent the next 30 years in the aircraft industry. 
Audie Murphy (1926-1971) [Destry (1954); To Hell and Back (1955)]. Little 5'5" tall 110 pounder from Texas who played cowboy parts. Murphy was the most Decorated serviceman of World War II and earned: Medal of Honor; Distinguished Service Cross; 2 Silver Star Medals; Legion of Merit; 2 Bronze Star Medals with 'V'; 2 Purple Hearts; U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal; Good Conduct Medal; 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star; Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns); and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France); World War II Victory Medal; Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar; Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar; French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre; French Legion of Honor; Grade of Chevalier; French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star; French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Medal of Liberated France; Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm. 
George Neise (1917–1996) [They Raid by Night (1942); On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)], aka George N. Neise, was an American character actor. He made over 120 film and television appearances between 1942 and 1978. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Neise began his career playing soldiers in war-themed films. After serving in World War II, Niese became an in-demand character actor, playing eveything from Greek kings to angry bosses to airline pilots. Modern audiences will remember Niese in the dual role as the patronizing pharmacist Ralph Dimsal and powerful King Odius in the Three Stooges feature The Three Stooges Meet Hercules. He also appeared as Martian Ogg and an unnamed airline pilot in the trio's next feature The Three Stooges in Orbit. In addition to his film work, Niese appeared on sitcoms like Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, The Addams Family, Hogan's Heroes and Get Smart to name a few. 
Barry Nelson (1917-2007) [Shadow of the Thin Man (1941); My Favorite Husband (1953)] was born Robert Haakon Nielson in San Francisco, California, of Scandinavian heritage. He was an American film, stage and television actor. Serving in WWII, he appeared in the Moss Hart play Winged Victory, in what would become his Broadway debut, in 1943 and a year later he appeared as "Corporal Barry Nelson" in the 1944 film version of the play. One of his biggest claims to fame is that of having been the first person to play James Bond, on the television show Climax! in 1954, based on the novel Casino Royale. 
Paul Newman (1925-2008) [Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956); Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)]. By 1950, the 25 year old Newman had graduated high school, been kicked out of Ohio University for unruly behavior, served three years in the Navy during World War II as a radio operator, graduated from Ohio's Kenyon College, married his first wife, Jackie, and had his first child, Scott. 1950 was also the year that Paul's father died. When he became successful in later years, Newman said if he had any regrets it would be that his father wasn't around to see it. He brought Jackie back to Shaker Heights (Cleveland, Ohio) and he ran his father's sporting goods store for a short period. Then, knowing that wasn't the career path he wanted to take, he moved Jackie and Scott to New Haven, Connecticut where he would attend Yale University's School of Drama. While doing a play there, Paul was spotted by two agents who invited him to come to New York City to pursue a career as a professional actor. 
Alex Nicol (1916-2001) [The Sleeping City (1950); The Man from Laramie (1955)] was born Alexander Livingston Nicol Jr. in Ossining, New York, the son of a prison warden there at Sing Sing, and his wife, the matron of a detention center. Alex developed an early interest in acting and originally trained at the Fagin School of Dramatic Art. On the stage from 1938, he soon found work as an apprentice to Maurice Evans. Following a stage role in Return Engagement, his newly-found career was interrupted by World War II. Follwing his five-year stretch as a Tech Sergeant with the National Guard and Cavalry Unit, he became a student and eventual charter member of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. He also returned to Broadway in such shows as Sundown Beach and South Pacific (in the ensemble as a Marine). Other post-war stage plays included Waiting for Lefty, Forward the Heart and Mister Roberts, in which he took over Ralph Meeker's role (as the sailor Minnion) and served as understudy to Henry Fonda. The pinnacle of his Broadway career occurred when he replaced Ben Gazzara and received excellent reviews as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1956. 
Leslie Nielsen (1926-) [City on Fire (1979); Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)] was raised in Tulita (formerly Fort Norman), Northwest Territories, Canada. His father was a mountie and a strict disciplinarian. His mother was Welsh. Leslie studied at the Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto before moving on to New York's Neighborhood Playhouse. He is a natuaralized U.S. citizen and an avid motorcylist living in Paradise Valley, AZ in June 2007. During WWII, at age 17 1/2, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and trained as an aerial gunner. 
David Niven (1910-1983) [Around the World in Eighty Days (1956); The Guns of Navarone (1961)]. Suave, debonnaire, graduate of Sandhurst, was a Lt. Colonel with British Commandos in Normandy. David Niven was named after the Saint's Day on which he was born, St. David, patron Saint of Wales. He attended Stowe School and Sandhurst Military Academy and served for two years in Malta with the Highland Light Infantry. At the outbreak of World War II, although a top-line star, he re-joined the army (Rifle Brigade). He did, however, consent to play in two films during the war, both of strong propaganda value--The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1944). In spite of six years' virtual absence from the screen, he came in second in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars. On his return to Hollywood after the war he was made a Legionnaire of the Order of Merit (the highest American order that can be earned by an alien). This was presented to Lt. Col. David Niven by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 
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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