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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- Soon afterwards, he was called to Military Service and joined the U.S. Air Corps
- Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his nearsightedness, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas.
- By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF
- (starting at 17) served two tours of duty in the Marine Corps, missing WW II by just weeks
- He was a World War II veteran who served as a coxswain on a destroyer. He won a Purple Heart during his tour of duty
- Rickles served in the US navy aboard the USS Cyrene in World War II
- U.S. Navy in World War II, where he saw combat as a radioman
- Following army service in World War II
- After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, eighteen year-old Cliff -- then serving on a merchant ship in the Pacific -- was erronously reported dead to his family in California
- During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force
- U.S. Army during World War II, 5 months of which was with Pattons 3rd Army. He was awarded a Bronze Star among other decorations, and rose to the rank of Sgt
- He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II
Gene Rayburn (1917-1999) [It Happened to Jane (1959) - TV game show host: Tic Tac Dough (1956); Dough Re Mi (1958); The Match Game (1962)] was born Eugene Rubessa in Christopher, Illinois and died in Gloucester, Massachusetts of congestive heart failure. After Rayburn's father died at a very young age, his mother moved to Chicago and married Milan Rubessa, and Gene adopted his stepfather's name. As Gene Rubessa, he acted in high school plays and hoped to follow an acting career. He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. Before World War II, he went to announcers school and worked with various radio personalities around New York City. He married Helen Tricknor, in 1940, with whom he had one child, Lynn, in 1942. Soon afterwards, he was called to Military Service and joined the U.S. Air Corps. After the war, Gene worked on the Rayburn and Finch Show and, later, the Gene Rayburn Show in the early fifties. 
Martha Raye (1916-1994) [Rhythm on the Range (1936); The Phynx (1970)] was born Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed in Butte, Montana, backstage at a local vaudeville theatre where her song-and-dance Irish immigrant parents Pete Reed and Mabelle Hooper were performing. Two days later her mother was back doing the act. Martha became an overnight star in 1936, after being spotted by producer/ director Norman Taurog performing comedy skits at the Trocadero nightclub, with Jimmy Durante and Joe E. Lewis as straight men. She was in front of the cameras the following day, doing a comic drunk routine in Bing Crosby's Rhythm on the Range. She had so little formal schooling that her scripts had to be read to her. She entertained U.S. troops with the USO service organization during World War II and conflicts in Korea, and Viet Nam. Troops lovingly called her "Colonel Maggie" but the rank of Lt. Colonel and membership of the Green Beret Special Forces unit were both honorary. The entertainer was also an honorary Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 1993 by President Bill Clinton and died of pneumonia a year later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She is buried at Fort Bragg, NC, the only woman buried in the special forces part of the cemetery. 
Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911–2004) [Knute Rockne All American (1940); Hellcats of the Navy (1957)] was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). After completing fourteen home-study Army Extension Courses, Reagan enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on April 29, 1937, as a private assigned to Troop B, 322nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa. He was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on May 25, 1937, and on June 18 was assigned to the 323rd Cavalry. Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his nearsightedness, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office. Upon the approval of the Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on May 15, 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit (officially, the "18th AAF Base Unit") in Culver City, California. On January 14, 1943 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of This Is The Army at Burbank, California. He returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit after completing this duty and was promoted to Captain on July 22, 1943. In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was re-assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit on November 14, 1944, where he remained until the end of World War II. He was recommended for promotion to Major on February 2, 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year. He returned to Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on December 9, 1945. By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF. 
Tom Reese (1928- ) [Marines, Let's Go (1961); North Dallas Forty (1979)] was born "Tom Allen" in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father and uncle were country-western singers, "The Chattanooga Boys," that traveled around performing their bluegrass music with the family, including Tom, in tow. Around 1940 the Allens relocated to New York, where Tom's dad supported the family working as a steelworker in the daytime and a singing waiter at night. Tom later held the expected assortment of odd jobs (Automat busboy, usher, etc.) in New York, and (starting at 17) served two tours of duty in the Marine Corps, missing WW II by just weeks. He later studied dramatics at the American Theater Wing under the G.I. Bill and spent 15 years on the road working nightclubs (emceeing, stand-up, etc.). He studied with Lee Strasberg, did some work off-Broadway and in local TV shows and made his film bow in John Cassavetes' New York-made Shadows (1959). Cassavetes also had Reese fly to Hollywood for a part in an episode of his detective series "Johnny Staccato" (1959), Reese's Hollywood debut. He was ready to return to New York after doing the show but an agent signed him "and I've been here [California] ever since." His first major film was Flaming Star (1960), an Elvis Presley western and the start of Reese's long career in big- and small-screen oaters, including "Gunsmoke" (1955) "Bonanza" (1959), "The Virginian" (1962), "Rawhide" (1959) and "Branded" (1965). In July 2006, Reese was a guest at the Western Film Fair in Charlotte, NC along with Ben Murphy, Roger Davis, Steve Kanaly, Mark Goddard, Marjorie Lord, Coleen Gray, Ronnie Schell, Russ Tamblyn, and Cheryl Rogers. 
George Reeves (1914-1959) [The Monroe Doctrine (1939); Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956); tv, Clark Kent in Adventures of Superman (104 episodes, 1951-1958)] was raised in Pasadena, California, and educated at Pasadena Junior College. He was a skilled amateur boxer and musician. He interned as an actor at the famed Pasadena Playhouse, and was discovered there. He was cast as Stuart Tarleton in Gone with the Wind (1939). Over the next ten years he was contracted to Warners, Fox and Paramount. He achieved near-stardom as the male lead in So Proudly We Hail! (1943), but war service interrupted his career, and after he returned it never regained the same level. While in the Army Air Corps he appeared on Broadway in Winged Victory, then made training films. Career difficulties after the war led him to move to New York for live television. 
Steve Reeves (1926-2000) [Jail Bait (1954); Vivo per la tua morte (1968)] was originally a Montana boy born on a cattle ranch in 1926. His destiny was revealed early in the game when, at the age of six months, he won his first fitness title as "Healthiest Baby of Valley County." His father Lester died in a farming accident when Steve was just a boy, and his family moved to Oakland, California. He first developed an interest in bodybuilding while in high school. He joined the Army in his late teens where his job was loading boxcars and trucks. He also worked out loyally at the gym during his free time and the combination helped develop his body quite rapidly. Following Army service (he served for a time in the Pacific), he decided to pursue bodybuilding professionally. 
Carl Reiner (1922- ) [The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966); Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)] is a true comedy legend. In a career spanning more than 60 years, he has made a lasting impact on the worlds of television, films, comedy albums and books. He first came to fame during the Golden Age of Television as a co-star on Your Show of Shows (1950-1954). He would later change the face of television comedy with the creation of The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966). As a filmmaker, he directed such movies as Oh, God! (1977) and The Jerk (1979). The Directors Guild of America presented him with its Honorary Life Member Award. Born in the Bronx, Reiner enrolled in drama school at age 16, and soon landed a part in an updated version of The Merry Widow. During World War II, he trained as a radio operator in the Air Force and studied French to serve as an interpreter. He continued to entertain as a comedian and actor with Maurice Evans' Special Services Entertainment Unit, touring the Pacific for eighteen months in G.I. revues. 
Bert Remsen (1925-1999) was an American character actor (mostly TV) who became a casting director following an accident, then returned to acting years later. The son of a New York policeman, Remsen lived a colorful life before turning to acting. He was a World War II veteran who served as a coxswain on a destroyer. He won a Purple Heart during his tour of duty. 
Don Rickles (1926- ) is one of the most respected talents in entertainment. He got his start in night clubs, toiling for over 20 years before his film debut in Run Silent Run Deep (1958). The movie was a big hit and Rickles continued acting, starring in films like X (1963), Bikini Beach (1964), Enter Laughing (1967), and Kelly's Heroes (1970). In 1973 Don became a regular on Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts. From 1973 until 1984 Don appeared frequently on Dean's show, paying tribute to some of his friends, like Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball. He was even the roast master on the roast for Dean Martin himself. In 1976 Don got his own TV series, "C.P.O. Sharkey," which enjoyed a two year run. After 1984, Don began taking it easy, appearing in a few minor film roles. But, in 1995 he made a big comeback, appearing as the grouchy Mr. Potato Head with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in Toy Story. In 1999 he returned as Mr. Potato Head in Toy Story 2. Rickles served in the US navy aboard the USS Cyrene in World War II. -- [Text excerpted from IMDB] 
Jason Robards, Jr. (1922-2000) [A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966); All the President's Men (1976)]. Son of stage and film star Jason Robards Sr., he was born in Chicago, but raised mostly in Los Angeles. A star athlete at Hollywood HS, he served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, where he saw combat as a radioman. Contrary to popular rumors, he is not listed in official rolls of Navy Cross winners, despite claims some -- not he -- have made. Neither was he at Pearl Harbor during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. His ship was at sea at the time. 
Chuck Roberson (1919-1988) [Outcasts of Black Mesa (1950); Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)] was born near Shannon, Clay County, Texas, the son of Allie W. and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, Texas, and Roswell, New Mexico, he left school at 13 to become a cowhand and oilfield roughneck. He married and took his wife and daughter to California, where he joined the Culver City Police Department and guarded the gate at MGM studios. Following army service in World War II, he returned to the police force. During duty at Warner Bros. studios during a labor strike he met stuntman Fred Kennedy who alerted him to a stunt job at Republic Pictures. Roberson got the job, due both to his expert horsemanship and his resemblance to John Carroll, whom Roberson doubled in his first picture, Wyoming (1947). His close physical resemblance to John Wayne led to nearly 30 years as Wayne's stunt double. He often played small roles and stunted in other roles in the same film, which frequently resulted in his "shooting" himself once the picture was cut together. He graduated to larger supporting roles in westerns for Wayne and John Ford, and to a parallel career as a second-unit director. At the time of his death, he was one of the most respected stunt men in Hollywood. 
Pernell Roberts (1928-2010) [Desire Under the Elms (1958); Checkered Flag (1990)] was born Pernell Elvin Roberts, Jr. in Waycross, Georgia, he was singing in local USO shows while still in high school, where he appeared in plays and played the horn. Although he appeared in more than two hundred movies and TV shows, he may be best remembered as Adam Cartwright, the eldest son of the Carwright clan, on the long running TV series, Bonanza. He attended both Georgia Tech and the University of Maryland but flunked out of both colleges, with a two-year stint in the Marine Corps stuck somewhere in between. He eventually decided to give acting a chance and supported himself as a butcher, forest ranger, and railroad riveter during the lean years while pursuing his craft. 
Cliff Robertson (1923-2011). [Picnic (1955); PT 109 (1963); Riding the Bullet (2004)] A serious and talented actor, at his best playing somewhat troubled characters, Cliff Robertson was a fairly successful leading man through most of his career without ever becoming a major star. Following strong stage and television experience, he made an interesting film debut in a supporting role in Picnic (1955). He then played Joan Crawford's deranged young husband in Autumn Leaves (1956) and was given leads in films of fair quality such as The Naked and the Dead (1958), Gidget (1959) and The Big Show (1961). After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, eighteen year-old Cliff -- then serving on a merchant ship in the Pacific -- was erronously reported dead to his family in California. Robertson died of natural causes on Sept. 10, 2011, in Stony Brook, New York, a day after his 88th birthday. 
Dale Robertson (1923- ) [Two Flags West (1950); Sitting Bull (1954) :: TV, numerous, including Dynasty (1981); Dallas (1982)] was born in Harrah, Oklahoma. He entered World War II service as a private in the Horse Cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas in September, 1942. He was then stationed at Fort Knox and finally at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After stateside training he served as a tank commander in the 777th Tank Battalion in the North African campaign. He rose to 1st Lieutenant with the 332nd Combat Engineers, attached to Patton's Third Army. The twice-wounded Robertson started his acting career while still on active duty. While stationed at San Luis Obispo, California he had a photograph taken for his mother. A copy of the photo displayed in the photo shop window attracted movie scouts, and the six foot tall, 180-lb. Roberson soon was on his way to Hollywood. Will Rogers Jr., whose father is the most famous son of Oklahoma, told him to avoid formal training and keep his own persona. 
Gilbert Roland (1905-1994) [The Lady Who Lied (1925); Barbarosa (1982)] was born Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Following his parents to the USA, he did not become the bullfighter he had dreamed of being but became an actor instead. He chose his screen name in homage to his two favorite movie stars, John Gilbert and Ruth Roland. His Mexican roots, his half macho half romantic ways, his handsome virile figure helped him land roles in movies from the early twenties to 1982. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army Air Force then resumed a long and varied career which included roles as an extra, a matinée idol (Armand Duval in Camille (1926/I)), a Latin Lover, a star of English-speaking films made in Hollywood in the early 1930s, a Mexican bandit in B-Movies, The Cisco Kid in a series of six popular Westerns, a brilliant character in major A movies (John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949), Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952); Anthony Mann's Thunder Bay (1953), John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (1964)), a sinister character in Spaghetti Westerns... He retired in 1982, twelve years before he died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California. -- Exerpted from IMDb Mini Biography By: Guy Bellinger 
Andy Rooney (1919–2011) was born Andrew Rooney in Albany, New York where he grew up. He attended Albany University and Colgate Academy. In 1941, at the age of 22 he was drafted into the Army and was posted to London. There he began writing for Stars and Stripes, the US armed forces newspaper and later in the war he became one of the first US journalists to report on the Nazi concentration camps. He began working as a broadcast journalist in 1949 for CBS and established a name for himself over many years as a correspondent and commentator. He is probably best remembered by TV audiences for his regular closing segment on the TV show 60 Minutes (1968), A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney. He died in November 2011 at the age of 92 but had continued working until just a few weeks earlier. 
Mickey Rooney (1920- ) [Andy Hardy series (1937 to 1958); The Black Stallion (1979)] served for 22 months in the U.S. Army during World War II, 5 months of which was with Patton's 3rd Army. He was awarded a Bronze Star among other decorations, and rose to the rank of Sgt. 
Luis Van Rooten (1906-1973) [Two Years Before the Mast (1946); Detective Story (1951)] was born in Mexico City but raised in the United States and would become known in post-war Hollywood as a specialist in multiple dialects. Studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he received his B.A. and set up a sturdy practice as an architect before making a dramatic transition into acting during WWII. His facility with languages made van Rooten an in-demand military radio announcer during the war, and he conducted a variety of broadcasts in Italian, Spanish and French. This led to film work, often in roles requiring an accent or skill with dialects. After the war he settled into post-war films, playing outright villains or slick, shady suspects. Interestingly, he bookended his film career impersonating the nefarious Nazi ringleader Heinrich Himmeler. 
Joe E. Ross (1914-1982) [Teaserama (1955); The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977)], a bravel-voiced comedian ("Oooh! Oooh!") was born in Manhattan and began his career, ironically enough, as a singing waiter in speak-easy clubs. Comedy came into the forefront and he steadily built up his image as a stand-up and impressionist, announcing and emceeing at burlesque clubs and various niteries around and about the Schuster circuit out of Chicago in the late 1930s. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. 
Harold Russell (1914-2002) [The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)]. From Wikipedia: "While an Army instructor, and training with the U.S. 13th Airborne Division stateside in 1944, a defective fuse detonated an explosive he was handling while making a training film. As a result, he lost both hands and was given two hooks to serve as hands. After his recovery, and while attending Boston University as a full-time student, an Army film called Diary of a Sergeant about rehabilitating war veterans was made featuring Russell. When film director William Wyler saw the film on Russell, he cast him in the film The Best Years of Our Lives with Fredric March and Dana Andrews. Russell played the role of Homer Parrish, a sailor who lost both hands during the War." -- One of the most moving films to come out of World War II wasn't even about the struggles of the battlefield. The film follows three returning veterans and their attempts to readjust to civilian life. The movie won seven Oscars, including two for Harold Russell, the only actor in Oscar history to win two awards for the same film. (One was the Best Supporting Actor statuette and the other a special Oscar for bringing hope and courage to disabled veterans.) The story wasn't all upbeat, though. When his wife was dying in 1992 Russell decided to put his Supporting Actor statuette on the block. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tried to keep Russell from selling the award but he ultimately auctioned it for $60,000. 
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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