“The Longest Day” trivia:
In the movie, Richard Todd played Major John Howard who led the Pegasus Bridge attack. On 6 June 1944, as a Lieutenant, Richard Todd participated in Operation Tonga during the D-Day landings. Todd’s Battalion were the reinforcements that parachuted in after the gliders landed and captured Pegasus Bridge to prevent German forces from crossing and attacking. Todd was promoted to Captain five days after D-Day. Richard Todd is also in the 1956 movie “D-Day the Sixth of June”.
22 year old Joseph Lowe scaled the cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on D-Day. He scaled the cliffs again 17 years later in the movie.
Lt Col Benjamin Vandevoort was 29 years old on D-Day. He was played by 55 year old John Wayne in the movie. This part was originally offered to 38 year old Charlton Heston and also William Holden.
Gen James M. Gavin was 37 years old on D-Day. He was played by 52 year old Robert Ryan in the movie.
Pvt John Steele (played by Red Buttons) landed on the church steeple to witness the Ste Mere Eglise massacre. He played dead for 2 hours (not 10 as said in the movie) before being taken prisoner. 4 days later he escaped captivity and rejoined his unit. Today a full-size mannequin of Steele hangs from the same church steeple to commemorate him. Red Buttons was cast after he ran into producer Darryl Zanuck in a Paris cafe.
The real Theodore Roosevelt Jr (played by Henry Fonda) died of a heart attack in France just a few weeks after the Normandy invasion.
They made a plot point of it being General Marcks’ birthday — was that deliberate planning on the part of the Allies or was it coincidence?