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EXCLUSIVE: He won the world's hearts playing the young Forrest Gump but Michael Humphreys'
dailymail.co.uk ^ | february 18, 2015 | Ryan Parry And James Desborough

Posted on 02/21/2015 6:22:51 PM PST by lowbridge

Michael's life after Forest mirrored the hapless hero's.

Instead of taking Hollywood up on a number of high-profile offers, he decided to sign up for military service.

Michael said: 'Where we were filming was very close to Parris Island, the Marine Training Camp in South Carolina where all the helicopters that were used in the Vietnam scene came from.

'I would often tell the director and producers how cool I thought all the helicopters were and then one weekend they actually arranged for some of the Marine Corps to take me over to Parris Island and show me the fighter jets.

'I remember we weren't allowed to take photos of the F18s and all that stuff.

'It was basically all the stuff that regular kids my age would never have got the opportunity to do, and I can honestly say that experience directly motivated me to join the military later.

'It was definitely one of the little perks of working on the movie. 

'The Marine captain who flew the jet in the movie, had just got back from the Gulf War and I still have the patches from his shoulders, which he kindly gave to me.'

Michael served four years in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier, which included an 18 month tour of duty in Iraq.

He said it wasn't surprising that his nickname in the military was 'Gump'.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans; Miscellaneous; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: forrestgump
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Full title: EXCLUSIVE: He won the world's hearts playing the young Forrest Gump but Michael Humphreys' parents were too poor to buy Oscars tickets - and he chose career in uniform, just like character he played
1 posted on 02/21/2015 6:22:51 PM PST by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge

Went to a Gump restaurant with someone and the waitress asked a trivia question about the movie. The person I was with couldn’t believe I have seen it.


2 posted on 02/21/2015 6:38:20 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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have NEVER seen it.


3 posted on 02/21/2015 6:39:06 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

Its a cool movie. Its where Gary Sinise got the name Lieutenant Dan.


4 posted on 02/21/2015 6:46:30 PM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: BenLurkin

Great movie. Very entertaining.


5 posted on 02/21/2015 6:47:02 PM PST by jsanders2001
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To: jsanders2001

We stopped on the road near Monument Valley where Forrest stopped running. Great place to visit. So many things to do, so off the beaten path.


6 posted on 02/21/2015 6:58:05 PM PST by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Mississippi!)
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To: BenLurkin

Well worth seeing the movie. One of my favorites.


7 posted on 02/21/2015 7:02:08 PM PST by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: lowbridge

I don’t hear any regret in his comments. Might he have become wealthy, if he had pursued acting instead? Maybe, maybe not. He avoided the moral rot and hasn’t had a bad life from the sound of it, though. Good for him.


8 posted on 02/21/2015 7:06:21 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: jsanders2001

Its kind of a hard movie to describe.

Sorry I had a fight in the middle of your black panther party.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMzk89bYjiQ#t=62


9 posted on 02/21/2015 7:21:05 PM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: BenLurkin

The movie’s hero is an everyman who, although born with below average ‘intelligence’, has a wealth of hidden talents and a tremendous sense of kindness, loyalty, and goodness. He serendipitously contributes to iconic moments throughout 30 years of recent American history and lives a wonderful life. The theme of the book and the movie is that America is great because it is good, not necessarily because it is clever. When liberal movie critics like Frank Rich figured this out too late to stop it from being named Best Picture, it made their heads explode.

One of my favorite movies.


10 posted on 02/21/2015 7:28:23 PM PST by CaptainMorgantown
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To: lowbridge

Kind of a neat story. After reading it I came to the conclusion that;
Tom Hanks is a great actor and Michael Conner Humphreys is a great patriot.


11 posted on 02/21/2015 8:00:00 PM PST by Tupelo (I feel more like Philip Nolan by the day)
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To: lowbridge
I apologize for going off subject, but my wife has always looked a lot like Sally Field. She was teased about being the "flying nun" when she was in High School. For whatever reason during the time period when Forrest Gump was popular she was almost a dead ringer. I could probably still convince most people that the picture of Sally Field in the doctor's office with young Forrest was a picture of my wife.

We used to love roller coasters and during the mid 1990s we had season passes to Disney Land, Magic Mountain and Universal Studios. We used to fly our small plane down to California frequently to go to the amusement parks. At Universal Studios... Japanese tourists especially would follow her around and even into the bathrooms to get pictures and ask her for her autograph. They often refused to believe that she wasn't Sally Field.

We were actually taken out of line when waiting to get into restaurants on many occasions and sometimes given a private room to eat our meal. At the Hard Rock Café at the entrance to Universal Studios they gave us a private room and the chef came into to meet Sally and we fessed up. I did take advantage of the situation one time when we were waiting in line at the restaurant at Knots Berry Farm. I called my wife “Sally” a couple of times and whispers went right down the line and a couple minutes later restaurant staff came and got us.

Even actual celebrities mistook her for Sally Field. One time we watched an episode of a TV series being taped and when my wife went into the bathroom Téa Leoni mistook her for Sally Field.

12 posted on 02/21/2015 8:01:17 PM PST by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: lowbridge; windcliff; stylecouncilor

It took me too long to realize what a great film Forrest Gump truly is.


13 posted on 02/21/2015 8:28:44 PM PST by onedoug
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To: lowbridge
Humphreys lived in NE Mississippi for a while. I was at Bayou La Batre Labor Day weekend of 1974 inspecting shrimp for the USAF which was the time depicted in the movie when hurricane Carmen went South of there.
14 posted on 02/21/2015 8:39:38 PM PST by vetvetdoug
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To: fireman15

Great stories :)


15 posted on 02/21/2015 9:00:48 PM PST by pbear8 (the Lord is my light and my salvation)
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To: CaptainMorgantown

Great synopsis. One of my favorite movies too.


16 posted on 02/21/2015 9:22:16 PM PST by Conservative4Ever (This space for rent.)
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To: fireman15

Maybe she really is Sally Field. Have you ever seen them together?


17 posted on 02/21/2015 9:51:25 PM PST by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: fireman15

‘They often refused to believe she wasn’t Sally Field.’

I hope she’s signed dozens of autographs as ‘Sally Field.’
Why not - it would sure make the ‘fans’ happy!
That you’ve called your wife ‘Sally’ at times is great!

Accept ‘getting to the front of the line’ while you can!
It makes those service people happy, too.

Wonder what Sally looks like today - - -


18 posted on 02/21/2015 11:33:03 PM PST by USARightSide (S U P P O R T I N G OUR T R O O P S)
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To: Kirkwood

They are the same size and have similar builds, and their smiles and facial expressions are very similar. Their voices and mannerisms are also very similar and that is probably what creates the illusion more than anything else. Sally Field has a bigger set of teeth than my wife so actually in photos they are not that hard to tell apart.

My wife is ten years younger than Sally Field and at this point is better preserved. Sally Field was born in November of 1946. Her father, Richard Dryden Field, was an Army officer. My wife’s dad was in the army for 28 years and was stationed in California after he returned from WWII. It would be a real long shot, but I always tease my wife about it.


19 posted on 02/21/2015 11:55:30 PM PST by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: USARightSide

She has taken quite a few pictures with people but always refused to sign autographs and let people know that she wasn’t Sally Field.

The first couple of times we were pulled out of line... we didn’t know what was going on because they did it very discretely. After that I didn’t feel too bad about it because the other people in line seemed excited about seeing a celebrity. The staff never seemed to want to destroy the illusion either after we told them. But it was a little surreal.

Sally is actually ten years older than my wife. My wife has taken very good care of herself; at this point I think that in person my wife looks better than Sally Field. Even though Sally has had some roles in the last few years she isn’t someone people pay as much attention to so in the last ten years my wife people just tell her she looks a lot like Sally Field on occasion.


20 posted on 02/22/2015 12:10:57 AM PST by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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