FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Real Hollywood Heroes Part 2 ~ April 21, 2014

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served
in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States
Armed Forces Today!

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~ Hall of Heroes ~
 

Real Hollywood Heroes

Part 2

Info from here.

 

           

"Armies do not fight wars; nations fight wars. War is not a military activity conducted by soldiers, but rather a social activity that involves entire nations. . . ." ~ Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, U.S. Army
 

There were a lot of Hollywood stars of the 1940s that put careers on hold to fight for freedom. Movie stars of World War II earned more than 300 medals and awards that honor their valor. U.S. awards and medals include Silver Stars, Distinguish Service Crosses, Air Medals, Bronze Stars, Presidential Unit Citations, Purple Hearts, and a Congressional Medal of Honor.

Back before Hollywood became Hollyweird....

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Parley Baer (1914-2002) [Comanche Territory (1950); Last of the Dogmen (1995)] was born Parley Edward Baer in Salt Lake City, Utah and became a hefty balding character actor of mostly comedy hijinks who, during his six-decade career, proved a durable, hot-headed foil for TV's top sitcom stars such as Lucille Ball, Ozzie Nelson and on The Andy Griffith Show as Mayor Roy Stoner replacing Dick Elliott (Mayor Pike) who died in December of the second season. Earlier he had played "Chester" on the Gunsmoke radio series which ran from 1952 to 1961 (Dennis Weaver played the Chester role in the Gunsmoke TV series). Baer was the voice of Ernie Keebler on the Keebler cookies commercials. Served in the Army Air Corps in the Pacific theater in World War II, earning seven battle stars and a presidential citation. Attained rank of captain.

Conrad Bain (1923- ) [A Lovely Way to Die (1968); Postcards from the Edge (1990)] was born Conrad Stafford Bain in Lethbridge, Alberta. He is a Canadian-American television actor, best known for his tv roles of Dr. Arthur Harmon in Maude (1972-1978) and Phillip Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986). He enjoyed typically Canadian sports growing up (ice hockey, speed skating), but picked up an interest in acting while in high school, electing to train at Alberta's Banff School of Fine Arts after graduating. He subsequently joined the Canadian Army during World War II, then proceeded to pick up from where he left off following his discharge and study at New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Marrying Monica Marjorie Sloane, an artist, in 1945, the actor became a naturalized U.S. citizen the following year. The couple went on to have three children.

 

Martin Balsam (1914-1996) was an American character actor. He studied dramatics at the New School in New York City and then served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. In 1947 he was selected by Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg to be a player in the Actors' Studio television program and went on to appear in a number of television plays in the 1950s and returned frequently to television as a guest star on numerous dramas. Balsam appeared in such film as On the Waterfront (1954); as Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men (1957); Psycho (1960); as the police chief in Cape Fear (1962); Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961); Seven Days in May (1964); Catch-22 (1970); and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). In 1967 he won a Tony Award for his appearance in the 1967 Broadway production of You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running.

 

Tony Bennett (1926- ) [The Oscar (1966); Christmas Dream (2000, TV)] was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in the Astoria section of Queens in New York City. His father was a grocer and his mother a seamstress. By age 10 the young Benedetto was already singing, performing at the opening of the Triborough Bridge. He attended New York's High School of Industrial Arts where he studied music and painting (an interest he would always return to as an adult), but dropped out at age 16 to help support his family. He then set his sights on a professional singing career. This was interrupted when Benedetto was drafted into the United States Army in 1944 during World War II. He served in a combat position in the 63rd Infantry Division in France and Germany, until some remarks he made against racial segregation led to his being reassigned. Subsequently he sang with the Army military band and studied music at Heidelberg University.

 

John Beradino (1917-1996) [The Kid from Cleveland (1949); Seven Thieves (1960)] was born in Los Angeles. He was a major league baseball player from 1939 to 1953, except for three years of military service in WW II (1942-1945). He played second base and shortstop for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates. His team, the Indians, won the World Series in 1948. After injuring his leg in 1953, he retired from baseball and returned to acting. He had appeared in his first film in 1948, The Winner's Circle. After appearing in more than a dozen B-movies, as well as the espionage series I Led Three Lives (1953-1956), he was offered the role of Dr. Steve Hardy on the soap opera General Hospital. He played the role from the show's inception in 1963 until his death.

 

Tommy Bond (1926-2005) was born Thomas Ross Bond in Dallas, Texas, and is forever etched in our minds as the bully with the protruding lip who gave beloved Alfalfa plenty of angst in the "Our Gang" serial shorts. He was actually a gentle, benign soul off the set. He was discovered by a Hal Roach talent scout at the age of five simply walking hand-in-hand down a Dallas street with his mother. Asked to interview in Hollywood, Tommy made the exhausting Depression-era trek by car with his grandmother and was not disappointed. Tommy served in the Army during World War II and found "B" feature work with Man from Frisco (1944), which was one of his best roles, The Beautiful Cheat (1945) and Big Town Scandal (1948), among others. Another highlight of his career was playing cub reporter Jimmy Olson in the Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) cliffhangers that starred Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill.

 

Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012) [Marty (1955); Bad Day At Black Rock (1955); The Dirty Dozen (1967)]. Joined the United States Navy in 1935 after high school. He was discharged in 1941, but re-enlisted when the U.S. entered WW II and served until 1945 reaching the rank of Gunner's Mate 1st Class. His military decorations include the American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, and the World War II Victory Medal. In 2004, Borgnine received the honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer from the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Terry D. Scott -- the U.S. Navy's highest ranking enlisted sailor at the time -- for Borgnine's support of the Navy and Navy families worldwide. Borgnine died July 8, 2012, of renal failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

 

Tom Bosley (1927-2010) [The World of Henry Orient (1964); Divorce American Style (1967)] is an American actor. Bosley was born in Chicago, Illinois and during World War II he served in the U.S. Navy. While attending DePaul University in Chicago in 1947, he made his stage debut in Our Town with the Canterbury Players at the Fine Arts Theatre. His breakthrough stage part was as New York's Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in the long-running Broadway musical Fiorello! (1959) for which he won a Tony Award. He is best known as Ritchie Cunningham's father, Howard, in the long running sitcom "Happy Days" (1974-1984) and he also portrayed the titular Father Frank Dowling on the TV mystery series, "Father Dowling Mysteries" (1989-1991).

 

Neville Brand (1920-1992) joined the US Army in 1939, meaning to make a career in the military. According to official military records, Brand was the recipient of the Silver Star for gallantry in combat. His other awards and decorations are the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Ribbon, the European/ African/ Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with three Battle Stars, one Overseas Service Bar, one Service Stripe, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. It was while he was in the Army that he made his acting debut, in Army training films, and this experience apparently changed the direction of his life. Once a civilian again, he used his GI Bill education assistance to study drama with the American Theater Wing and then appeared in several Broadway plays. His first movie was D.O.A. (1950). Among his earliest films was the Oscar-winning Stalag 17 (1953). His heavy features and gravelly voice made Brand a natural tough guy. He played Al Capone in The George Raft Story (1961), The Scarface Mob (1959 TV), and TV's The Untouchables (1959). Among his other memorable roles are the sympathetic guard in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and the representative of rioting convicts in Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954).

 

Walter Brennan (1894-1974) [The Long, Long Trail (1929); Sergeant York (1941); Smoke in the Wind (1975)]. In many ways the most successful and familiar character actor of American sound films and the only actor to date to win three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor, Walter Brennan attended college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying engineering. While in school he became interested in acting and performed in school plays. Brennan enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 22 to serve in World War I. He served in an artillery unit and although he got through the war without being wounded, his exposure to poison gas ruined his vocal chords, leaving him with the high-pitched voice texture that made him a natural for old man roles while still in his thirties. He was too old to serve in World War II.

 

Charles Bronson (1921-2003) [The Great Escape (1963); Death Wish (1974)]. Joined the Army Air Forces in 1943 and served as an aircraft gunner in the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron, and in 1945 as a B-29 Superfortress tail gunner with the 39th Bombardment Group based on Guam. He also served on Tinian and Saipan. He was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received during his service.

 

Mel Brooks (1926- ) [Comedian, actor, producer and director, i.e, Blazing Saddles (1974)] served in the U.S. Army in WW II as a combat engineer and took part in the Battle of the Bulge. His main job was to deactivate land mines.

 

Robert Brubaker (1916-2010) [The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955); The Bus Is Coming (1971)] is the son of George Brubaker and descendant of Jonas Sparks, a friend of frontiersman Daniel Boone. Born in Robinson, IL, Brubaker was acting in NYC when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The show quickly closed and he returned to Hollywood in early 1942 where he subsequently volunteered for the US Army Air Force and became a pilot. He was an instructor and then an aircraft commander in B-24's. His group was selected to go overseas twice but never got past San Francisco before orders were canceled. He ended the war at Gowen Field in Boise, ID, and was discharged in Dec., 1945. He returned to Hollywood, but not for long. In 1949 he was recalled to active duty for the Berlin Airlift and flew 130 missions. Back home, he was greeted by Gen. Curtis LeMay, Commanding General of the Strategic Air Command, who promptly drafted him and his bomber experience for SAC. As a B-29 pilot for his second Air Force tour he was assigned to the Korean War for 9 months and flew nearly 100 missions over North Korea. After Korea and his release from SAC, he returned to Hollywood and his movie career.

 

Raymond Burr (1917-1993) [Sleep, My Love (1948); Rear Window (1954)] was born Raymond William Stacy Burr in New Westminster, British Columbia. Burr spent most of his early life travelling. While still young, his father moved his family to China, while the elder Burr worked as a trade agent. When the family returned to Canada, Raymond's parents divorced; his mother then took him to Vallejo, California, where she raised him with the aid of his grandparents. As he got older, Burr began to take jobs to support his mother, younger sister and younger brother. He took jobs as a ranch hand in Roswell, New Mexico; as a deputy sheriff; a photo salesman; and even as a singer in night clubs. In World War II, Burr served in the Navy. When in Okinawa, he was shot in the stomach and sent home. Soon after Burr made his film debut in San Quentin (1946). From there, he went on to act in more than 90 films before landing the role of defense attorney, Perry Mason, in the series of the same name (1957-1966). Then, in 1993, in a battle with cancer dating back to his days on Perry Mason, he died at his ranch home.

 

Richard Burton (1925-1984) [The Longest Day (1962); Where Eagles Dare (1968)] was born Richard Jenkins, the son of a Welsh coal miner. He received a scholarship to Oxford University to study acting and made his first stage appearance in the early 1940s. During World War II, he was admitted to Exeter College, Oxford in 1944 to take the "University Short Course" for six months as a Royal Air Force cadet. He served until 1947.

 

Red Buttons (1919-2006) [Sayonara (1957); The Longest Day (1962) ] went to work in burlesque in 1939 and in 1941 Jose Ferrer asked Buttons to appear in Vicki, Buttons' first Broadway show. In 1942, Buttons appeared in Wine, Women and Song, the last burlesque show in New York City. In 1943, while serving in the Army Air Corp., Buttons was chosen for a role in Moss Hart's Broadway show Winged Victory and then in the motion picture of the same name for Darryl Zanuck with George Cukor directing. During World War II, Buttons joined Mickey Rooney in France and entertained the troops all through the European Theater of Operations.

...more next week...

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!  

[ConorMacNessa]

A good Easter, thanks! We sojourned up to Bergen County, NJ yesterday for the 50th birthday of Mrs. MacNessa's cousin. An arduous trek - the two of us in the van - several stops - unloading two walkers, etc.

The NJ turnpike was difficult northbound - the extra lanes are being extended down from Exit 9 down to the PA turnpike. Very heavy traffic on the way up. We took the wrong exit off the turnpike and spent a solid hour wending our way through little New Jersey townships before finally arriving. A five-hour drive on the way up.

A good party - we abstained from alcohol since we had to drive home. Mrs. Mac Nessa and I had a chance to catch up with cousins we have not seen for many years - and their children.

I took a wrong turn out of the neighborhood and led us on an extended tour through Northern New Jersey. I was reduced to asking for directions to the Garden State Parkway. A compassionate lady directed me in the correct direction and we were off.

I expected to take the Garden State down to where it links with the NJ turnpike at exit 11. I was directed, however, to exit the GS at I-280 which led me into Newark. There I was confounded by inaccurate road signs and dithered through the bowels of Newark for a while. We finally made our way to the turnpike - two hours after we departed the party. We arrived home at 0100.

We finally made it to Mass today at 12:30 - a bilingual Mass with music that was not to my taste. I offered it up. Later in the afternoon, I ventured out and found a nice quartet of Rib-Eyes, which John-Man grilled to perfection.

Despite many distractions, we remain focused on this day and all that it means.

He is Risen, and His Rising is our Salvation!

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[SandRat]

Hi. Jathy...((HUGD))

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave
Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

You are right, greene66! It seems there are at least 3 Robert Brubakers. I finally found the right one.

From Perry Mason, and...

from Gunsmoke. He was Floyd AND Jim Buck, stagecoach driver!I HAVE to find an old Gunsmoke to watch for him!

"Bob's hair is curly and that's all there is to it; they were never able to straighten it."....."Bob eventually returned to Hollywood in the early part of 1942, and subsequently volunteered for the US Army Air Force, was selected, went into the cadet program and became a pilot. He was an instructor and then became an aircraft commander in B-24's. His group was selected to go overseas two different times - They got as far as San Francisco and, both times, they canceled their orders and they ended the war at Gowen Field up in Boise, Idaho.

Bob was discharged from the service on December 15, 1945, and returned to Hollywood, and had to start all over again. When you're gone for any period of time, memory is very short in this town or in New York. He did some more radio work and performed on some of the major radio shows of that period. Then, Bob decided to return to New York, where he was a Hollywood actor in New York, and, at that time, they didn't have much use for Hollywood actors in New York, so he went to work in the men's section for Lord and Taylor Department Store to survive.

Then, Bob was recalled into the service. Anybody who was a pilot at the end of World War II and in physically good health was not discharged, just given separation papers from active duty but kept on active reserve. Bob was recalled to fly the Berlin Airlift in 1949 on what they called a contract and was supposed to be in the service for eighteen months. He was to serve six months on the airlift, and then spend a year in the training command as an instructor. Bob did his six months on the airlift, flying one hundred and thirty missions into Berlin.

When he returned home at the end of his six months, he was greeted by General Curtis LeMay, who was the Commanding General of the Strategic Air Command. General LeMay put out an emergency requisition letter saying that all four-engine pilots returning from the Berlin Airlift with bombardment experience would be assigned to the Strategic Air Command. So, instead of going into the training command for a year, Bob went into the Strategic Air Command and, instead of getting out in a year, he finally got out in February of 1954.

During his second tour in the Air Force, Bob flew B-29's and was involved in the Korean War. He flew almost one hundred missions over Korea during the nine months he was over there. When he got out of the service, he came back to Hollywood and started his career all over again."

[Kathy in Alaska]

Boy! That is an adventure you won’t soon forget...but all’s well that ends well.
And you had a lovely traveling companion.

[greene66]

Yep, that’s the dude! Seen him hundreds of times in those old tv-shows, it seems. Never really had very big parts, but he was all over the place on tv, back then.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...how did your Easter Service go? Did you have a tent?

[luvie]

Thanks, Galz, for another part to the Hollywood Heroes! It’s
fun to see which of our favorite stars were also American heroes! :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, yarddog...watching the work.

[left that other site]

Not only a tent, but a new guitar player! hallelujah!

[yarddog]

Yes, I guess he is probably put there as a single sentry. I guess there could be others but he is looking over everything with a rifle in his hand.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Ready for Monday?

[The Mayor]

Thank you for the thread Kathy!
As ready for Monday as is possible. :)

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Another LONG bridge.

[Kathy in Alaska]

I’m thinking I need one more day....guess it won’t happen. LOL!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, jonascord...we seem to lose track of the older “stars”.

[The Mayor]

Same here!

[ConorMacNessa]

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Sand...((HUGS))...ready for Maddi Monday?

Will she be looking for more eggs? LOL!!