Posted on 01/29/2011 3:43:36 PM PST by Krankor
There was a time, maybe thirty or forty years ago, before cable TV and cell phones, where one man could be so impressive in his accomplishments and force of personality, he would almost universally be recognized as the coolest man in America. His field could range from medicine, science, sports, politics or entertainment. Since the advent of the internet, though, this is no longer possible. Who, in your opinion, was the last "coolest man in America"?
Chuck Norris is also a Mike “Huckster” Huckabee supporter.
BZZZZZT!
Hank
You posted that 3 seconds after the hint in 131. I think your right.
Elvis was never cool. Elvis was red hot!
Joe Namath.
About celebrity’s who have EARNED my respect...
HOLLYWOOD THEN AND NOW
By Jeff Seeber
http://militarysalute.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=stories&action=display&thread=1118610079
This is a partial list of actors who suspended their careers to serve in the United States Armed Forces after America was attacked on December 7, 1941 …
Eddie Albert - U.S. Navy … Saw combat on Saipan and Tarawa. Earned the Bronze Star.
Gene Autry – U.S. Army Air Corps … Flew cargo planes in China, Burma and India
Humphrey Bogart – U.S. Navy … Wounded in World War I, he tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was turned down because of his age.
Neville Brand - U.S. Army … Wounded in action
Jackie Coogan – U.S. Army Air Corps ... Volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group
James Daly – U.S. Army and U.S. Navy
Sammy Davis, Jr. – U.S. Army … Assigned to Special Services Command
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. – U.S. Navy ... Served on a battleship and as a commando raider. Helped to organize the forerunners of today’s Navy SEALs.
Henry Fonda - U.S. Navy ... Served aboard a destroyer in the Pacific. Earned a Bronze Star for Valor.
Glenn Ford – U.S. Marine Corps … Earned a number of citations and awards for combat action. After the war, he transferred his commission to the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Clark Gable – U.S. Army Air Corps … Enlisted in 1942 at age 41. Volunteered for combat duty and flew missions over Germany. Earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.
Charlton Heston – U.S. Army Air Corps … B-25 gunner; saw action in the Pacific.
William Holden – U.S. Army Air Corps … Served 1942-1945. His brother, a U.S. Navy pilot, was killed in the Pacific in 1944.
Brian Keith – U.S. Marine Corps … Saw combat on Rabal
Werner Klemperer – U.S. Army … Stationed in Hawaii as a Military Policeman, he auditioned for and was accepted into Maurice Evans’ Special Services unit.
Nancy Kulp – U.S. Navy … Served as a Navy WAVE
Bert Lancaster – U.S. Army … Served in Tunisia and Italy
Tim McCoy - Served in both World War I and World War II
Ed McMahon – U.S. Marine Corps … Became a fighter pilot in 1944. Recalled to active duty in 1952 for the Korean War and flew 85 combat missions.
Burgess Meredith – U.S. Army Air Corps
Glenn Miller – U.S. Army … Assigned to the Army Specialist Corps. Convinced the Military that he could modernize the Army Band and improve the morale of the troops. Organized the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. His plane disappeared on 15 December 1944 over the English Channel.
Robert Montgomery – U.S. Navy … Enlisted in the British Military before American joined the war and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk invasion. When America entered the war, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a Naval Attaché on British destroyers hunting German U-Boats. He commanded a PT boat and participated in the D-Day invasion aboard a destroyer.
Wayne Morris – U.S. Navy … Flew 57 combat missions in the Pacific. Shot down seven Japanese aircraft, becoming an “Ace”. Credited with assisting the sinking of five Japanese warships.
Lee Powell – U.S. Marine Corps … Saw action at Tarawa and Saipan before being killed in action in the Marianas.
Tyrone Power – U.S. Marine Corps … Enlisted immediately after Pearl Harbor. Flew wounded Marines from Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Gene Raymond - Served in both World War II and Vietnam
Ronald Reagan – U.S. Army Air Corps … Enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1937; commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and was called to active duty in 1942. Because of a hearing loss, he was not allowed to fly, so he was assigned to make training films.
John Russell – U.S. Marine Corps … Wounded at Guadalcanal
Robert Ryan - U.S. Marine Corps … Served with the O.S.S. in Yugoslavia
Is this your opinion?
What is the criteria?
“At one point in his career, he not only did cool things, but was a cool guy, as well. Again, this was at a particular time in his life and at a time in history where he was considered the last universally recognized coolest man in America.”
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My definition of “cool” is clearly at odds with most here, and I can’t remember the last celebrity I admired from afar, so I’ll just punt and go with:
The nameless family man who gets out of a warm bed every morning to work at a job he may not particularly like to support his family.
He does this completely out of the spotlight, sacrifices his own pleasure for the needs of his family and always has God and his wife and children, foremost in his mind.
No steely visage, or squinty scowl, mellifluous voice or faux toughness.
Still, way cool.
The coolest, in fact.
Joe Namath
I don’t think its Selleck. Burt Reynolds heyday was the mid to late 70s even early 80s.
George Clooney????
J.J. Cale
I Second (or third) Tom Selleck - the subject is the LAST CM in America. Certainly none lately so there is a generational thing here - i dont see any nominations from before Magnum PI time - Tom S looks like a winner.
Cool hot! I have this DVD titled “Elvis Live”
John Travolta
William Holden
Robert Wagner
Tied between John Wayne Ronald Reagan and Dean Martin
BINGO!
Actually, and this may give it away, Reynolds was the number two coolest man in America at the time.
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