Hugo Haas (1901-1968) [Days of Glory (1944); Paradise Alley (1962)] was born in Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now Brno, Czech Republic). A portly, somewhat grubby and bohemian-looking character star, Hugo Haas was one of the most celebrated Czech actors back in the 30s, a comic star who only grew in stature as he delved creatively into writing, directing and producing. The Nazi invasion forced him to leave his beloved country and come to the United States. Like a fish out of water, he had to start small. Beginning as an announcer on US broadcasts to the Eastern Europe underground, he also offered his talents as a narrator of propaganda films.

Buddy Hackett (1924-2003) [The Music Man (1962); It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)] was an American comic born Leonard Hacker in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Public School 103 and New Utrecht High School. While still in high school, he began appearing in nightclubs, beginning with the "Borscht Belt," the Catskills resorts. He served three years with an antiaircraft unit during World War II. His first job after the war was at the Pink Elephant, a Brooklyn club. He made appearances in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and the Catskills. He appeared on Broadway in Lunatics and Lovers, where Max Liebman saw him and put him in two television specials. A television series, Stanley, was developed for him, which helped start Carol Burnett's career.

Albert Hague (1920-2001) [Fame (1980); The Story of Us (1999)] was born into a Jewish family in Berlin but was raised as a Lutheran to protect him from Nazi persecution. He fled Germany to Italy in 1937 as he was about to be inducted into the Hitler youth movement. After attending a music conservatory in Rome, he obtained a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati and immigrated to the United States in 1939 penniless to avoid being conscripted by German military authorities. Arriving at age of 18 and unable to speak a word of English, he took the last name of his adopted father, Elliott B. Hague, an eye surgeon with close ties to the university. He graduated in 1942 and served in the U.S. military for more than two years during World War II before embarking on a career as a composer. He celebrated his first Broadway success with the opening of the hit 1955 musical Plain and Fancy, an Amish-themed show that featured Barbara Cook and the popular song Young and Foolish.

Alan Hale Jr. (1921-1990) [Music Man (1948); The Red Fury (1984)] was an American movie and television actor, famously known for his role as the Skipper on the cult sitcom Gilligan's Island (1964-1972), as well as for his many supporting roles in movies. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr.. After his father's death, he was credited in roles as simply Alan Hale. He was born in Los Angeles, California, after his father had already begun a career in silent movies in Hollywood. He peformed in his first movie as a baby, performing as child actor. In adulthood, he made a smooth transition to a full career and continued to act until his death. In his adult career he was noted for his supporting character roles in such movies Up Periscope (1959), The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958), and The West Point Story (1950). He also appeared in many westerns. He died in Los Angeles from respiratory failure due to cancer. During World War II Served in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Huntz Hall (1919-1999) was a radio, theatrical and motion picture performer perhaps best known for his portrayal of the Dead End Kids in movies such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938). Hall appeared in a total of 81 East Side Kids/Bowery Boys features and serials, more than any other actor. In 1940 he married 18-year-old dancer Elsie May Anderson (they divorced in 1944). During World War II Hall enlisted in the Army, and after his discharge returned to Hollywood, where his first jobs were in war films playing soldiers (for his impressive work in A Walk in the Sun (1945) he received the New York Theatre Critics Circle Blue Ribbon Award).

Murray Hamilton (1923- ) [Anatomy of a Murder (1959); Amity Island's mayor in Jaws (1975)] was born in Washington, Beaufort County, in eastern North Carolina. Hamilton displayed an early interest in performing during his days at Washington High School just before the outbreak of World War II. Bad hearing kept him from enlisting, so he moved to New York City as a 19-year-old to find a career on stage.

Jimmy Hanley (1918-1970) was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teen years and earned stardom as the "boy next door" type in exuberant musicals and likeable comedies. He was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry at the start of World War II. He was wounded on a commando raid on Norway and was invalided out in 1942. He married actress Dinah Sheridan in 1942 and they appeared together in a number of featherweight war-era films, including Salute John Citizen (1942) and For You Alone (1945). He tried everything from The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (1944) with Laurence Olivier to The Huggetts film series. But radio and TV were his forte and it was those two mediums which revived his star in the late 50s, becoming a familiar face on a number of TV series, notably Jim's Inn co-starring second wife Maggie Hanley, which ran from 1957-1963.

Jonathan Harris (1914-2002) [Botany Bay (1953); tv, Lost in Space (1965-1968)]. He was born Jonathan Charasuchin in the Bronx, NY. Harris worked as a box boy in a pharmacy at age 12 and later earned his pharmacy degree at Fordham University. The desire to act proved overwhelming, however, and he forsook this promising trade for the theater, shaking off his thick Bronx accent and changing his surname to one easier to pronounce. After performing in over 100 plays in stock companies nationwide, he made his Broadway bow in 1942 with Heart of a City. He entertained World War II troops in the South Pacific.

Jack Hawkins (1910-1973) [Alfred Hitchcock's The Lodger (1932); The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Lawrence of Arabia (1962)]. During the 30s, Hawkins took his roles in plays more seriously than the films he made. In 1940, his wife Jessica Tandy accepted a role in America and Jack volunteered to serve in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He spent most of his military career arranging entertainment for the British forces in India. One of the actresses who came out to India was Doreen Lawrence who became his second wife after the war.

Sterling Hayden (1916-1986) [The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Godfather (1972)] served in the Marines for 5 years. He ran guns and supplies to Yugoslav Partisans through a German blockade of the Adriatic. Also, he parachuted into Croatia for guerilla activities. Won Silver Star and citation from Tito of Yugoslavia.

Bill Hayes (1925- ) [Stop, You're Killing Me (1952); Little Women (1958, TV)]. Throughout the 70s and a good part of the 80s, Bill Hayes and his second wife, Emmy-winning Susan Seaforth Hayes, reigned as the Lunt and Fontanne of daytime soaps. Prior to this he had become a noted singer/ actor on the Broadway stage and in night clubs. Born William Foster Hayes III in Harvey, Illinois and raised in the Midwest, his father was a bookseller (for 41 years). He got his talent from his dad who enjoyed singing and local community theater performing on the sly. Bill entered World War II as a naval airman, then studied at De Pauw University where he met first wife Mary. They went on to have five children. He later received his master's degree at Northwestern. Blessed with a sturdy tenor, his interest in a professional career was piqued after happening upon a tour of Carousel in 1947.

Peter Lind Hayes (1915-1998) [Maid for a Day (1936); Lookin' to Get Out (1982)] was born in San Francisco, California. He became an actor, entertainer, songwriter and author, educated in high school and a vaudeville trouper with his mother, Grace Hayes. During World War II, he served with valor in the United States Air Force. With his wife Mary Healy he appeared in films, night clubs, theatres, and on radio and television. He died of a vascular disorder in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Myron Healey (1923-2005) [Hidden Danger (1948); Ghost Fever (1987)] was an American actor and occasional screenwriter. One of the most frequently seen heavies in films and television programs of the 1950s, his name is nevertheless well known only to buffs. Occasionally he played minor leads and sympathetic characters, but his stern good looks and rich deep voice made him a memorable villain, particularly in Westerns. During World War II Healey joined the US Army Air Corps and was a navigator and bombardier, flying many bombing missions over Germany.

Van Heflin (1910-1971) [Santa Fe Trail (1940), Shane (1953)] was born in Waters, Oklahoma. His favorite past time was sailing. He served as a combat cameraman in the Ninth Air Force in Europe during WWII. The heart attack that killed him happened while he was swimming. He managed to get to the pool's ladder, where he held on until found hours later, unconscious but still alive. He died 17 days later, never having regained consciousness. He once said, "I just didn't have the looks and if I didn't do a good acting job I looked terrible."

Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) [Roman Holiday (1953); My Fair Lady (1964)] was born in Brussels, Belgium. She really was blue-blood from the beginning with her father, a wealthy English banker, and her mother, a Dutch baroness. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While vacationing with her mother in Arnhem, Holland, Hitler's army took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition but found the strength to serve as a child courier for World War II resistance fighters in Holland.

Charlton Heston (1923-2008) [The Ten Commandments (1956); Ben-Hur (1959)]. Left college in 1944 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He served for two years as a B-25 radio operator / gunner stationed at Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Islands of Alaska with the Eleventh Air Force, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Arthur Hill (1922-2006) [The Ugly American (1963); Death Be Not Proud (1975)] was born and raised in the Saskatchewan town of Melfort. The son of a lawyer, he served with the Royal Candian Air Force during World War II before receiving his college education at the University of British Columbia. Intending on following in his father's footsteps in the field of law, he supported himself in school with a job doing radio theater with the Canadian Breoadcasting Co. Continuing to pursue his interest in acting for a time in Seattle, he married fellow actress Peggy Hassard and subsequently made a major move in 1948, at age 26, to England where he slowly built up a fine, steadfast theatre reputation for himself along with occasional radio, film and TV roles.

George Roy Hill (1922-2002) was an American film director. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hill got his start on television, directing such episodic series as Kraft Television Theatre. He served in the United States Marine Corps as a fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War. His first films were versions of such Broadway plays as Period of Adjustment in 1962 and Toys in the Attic (1963). Hill is most noted for directing such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973). Other films are Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), The World According to Garp (1982), Hawaii (1966), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Slap Shot (1977) and The Little Drummer Girl (1984).

Pat Hingle (1924-2009) [Hang 'Em High (1968); Sudden Impact (1983); appeared in all of the first four Batman movies]. Versatile stage, big screen and tv character actor. He was born in Miami, Florida but attended high school in Texas. In 1941 entered the University of Texas, majoring in advertising. After serving in the Navy during WW II, he went back to the university and got involved with the drama department as a way to meet girls.

John Hodiak (1914-1955) [Stranger in Town (1943); Lifeboat (1944); A Bell for Adano (1945); Somewhere in the Night (1946)] was born the eldest of four (one daughter was adopted). John was eight years old when his middle-class family moved to a thriving Polish community in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Hodiak was one of several up-and-coming male talents who managed to take advantage of the dearth of WWII-era movie stars because most were off serving their country. Hodiak was not able to enlist for World War II because of chronic high blood pressure. John's early death at age 41, however, robbed Hollywood of a strong player and promising character star.

Hal Holbrook (1925- ) [The Group (1966); Midway (1976); That Evening Sun (2009)] is an Emmy- and Tony-Award winning actor who is one of the great craftsman of stage and screen. He is best known for his performance as Mark Twain, for which he won a Tony and the first of his ten Emmy Award nominations. Aside from the stage, Holbrook made his reputation primarily on television, and was memorable as Abraham Lincoln, as Senator Hays Stowe on "The Bold Ones" and as Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo (1973, TV). All of these roles brought him Emmy Awards, with Pueblo bringing him two, as Best Lead Actor in a Drama and Actor of the Year - Special. On January 22, 2008, he became the oldest male performer ever nominated for a an Academy Award, for his supporting turn in Into the Wild (2007). He was born Harold Rowe Holbrook, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother was the former Eileen Davenport, a vaudeville dancer. Raised primarily in South Weymouth, Mass., Holbrook attended the Culver Academies. During World War II, Holbrook served in the Army in Newfoundland. After the war, he attended Denison University, graduating in 1948. While at Denison, Holbrook's senior honors project concerned Mark Twain. He'd later develop "Mark Twain Tonight," the one-man show in which he impersonates the great American writer Mark Twain, a.k.a. Samuel Clemens.

William Holden (1918-1981) [Stalag 17 (1953); The Towering Inferno (1974)] was born William Franklin Beedle Jr. in O'Fallon, Illinois but his well-to-do family moved to Pasadena, California, when he was three. He joined the Army Air Forces and served during World War II. His younger brother, Robert Beedle, was actually a Navy fighter pilot who was killed in action in World War II, and after The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) was released, Robert was remembered by his squadron-mates as having been very much like Holden's character of Lt. Harry Brubaker in that movie. Holden, shown with Grace Kelly, was best man at the wedding of his close friends, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, in 1952.

Sterling Holloway (1905-1992) [Casey at the Bat (1927); Thunder and Lightning (1977)] was a popular American character actor of amusing appearance and voice whose long career led from dozens of highly enjoyable onscreen performances to world-wide familiarity as the voice of numerous Walt Disney animated films including Winnie the Pooh. Born in the American deep South to grocer Sterling P. Holloway Sr. and Rebecca Boothby Holloway, he had a younger brother, Boothby. Holloway spent his early years as an actor playing comic juveniles on the stage. His bushy reddish-blond hair and trademark near-falsetto voice made him a natural for sound pictures, and he acted in scores of talkies, although he had made his picture debut in silents. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 19 July 1942 and served the duration of World War II. His height and weight were given on his army papers as 5' 9" and 124 lb. His physical image and voice relegated him almost exclusively to comic roles, but in 1945, director Lewis Milestone cast him more or less against type in the classic war film A Walk in the Sun (1945), where Holloway's portrayal of a reluctant soldier was quite notable. He played frequently on TV, becoming familiar to baby-boomers in a recurring role as Uncle Oscar on Adventures of Superman (1952), and later in television series of his own.

Phillips Holmes (1907-1942) [Broken Lullaby (1932); Housemaster (1938)] was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the eldest of three children. A future in movies for this fair-haired, fresh-faced young adult of the 1930s was by no means certain at the time of his untimely death in a mid-air plane collision. Hints of the All-American leading man promise Phillips Holmes managed to convey during the early to mid decade, particularly in the film adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy (1931), had faded significantly. In the meantime he was maintaining with stage work and had just graduated from Air Ground School of the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aircraftsman when he suddenly died at age 35 on August 12, 1942.

Jack Holt (1888-1951) [The Master Key (1914); Crash Donovan (1936); They Were Expendable (1945); Cameo: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); ]. Staunch, granite-jawed American leading man of silent and early talkie films, much associated with Westerns. A native of New York City, Holt often claimed to have been born in Winchester, Virginia, where he grew up. While looking for work as a surveyor in San Francisco in 1914, he volunteered to ride a horse over a cliff in a stunt for a film crew shooting in San Rafael. In gratitude, the director gave him a part in the film. Holt followed the movie people to Hollywood and began getting bits and stunt jobs in the many Westerns and serials being made there. He impressed a number of co-workers at Universal Pictures, among them Francis Ford and his brother John Ford, and Grace Cunard. Holt soon became a frequent supporting player in their films, and then a star in serials. A move to Paramount studios in 1917 cemented his leading man status, and he became one of the studio's great stars, particularly in a very successful series of Westerns based on the novels of Zane Grey. Talkies proved no problem for Holt, and his career thrived, although mostly in run-of-the-mill adventure films. At the outbreak of World War II, Holt entered the U.S. Army at the age of 54, serving at the request of General George C. Marshall as a horse buyer for the cavalry.

Tim Holt (1918-1973) [Stagecoach (1939); The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)] was born Charles John Holt Jr. in Beverly Hills on February 5, 1918, to Jack Holt and his wife Margaret Woods, at a time when Jack was just making a dent in silent films. Nicknamed "Tim", he was raised on his father's ranch in Fresno where he performed outside chores and learned to ride a horse. Tim, in fact, made his debut at age 10 in one of his father's westerns The Vanishing Pioneer (1928), based on a Zane Grey story. He played Jack's character as a young boy. World War II interrupted his thriving career. He was a decorated hero (Dintinguished Flying Cross, Victory Medal and Presidential Unit Citation among them) while serving in the Air Corps and discharged with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Wounded in Tokyo on the last day of the war, he was also given the Purple Heart. [His full bio reveals a lot more about his WWII experiences.] He returned to films auspiciously with the role of Virgil Earp in Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946), then continued in a somewhat lesser vein with "B"-level oaters. He came to the forefront one more time co-starring with gold prospecting rivals Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston in John Huston's masterpiece The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), arguably the hallmark of Tim's entire film career and which rightfully earned him the best notices he ever received. After his father died in 1951, Tim became less interested in making films. His contract with RKO had ended and for the first time in his adult life didn't have to answer to anyone (his parents, RKO, the military, then RKO again). He also felt the business was changing and left Hollywood behind and moved to Oklahoma to ranch full time while traveling for rodeos. Like Randolph Scott, Tim was able to walk away from Hollywood, only working on a handful of projects usually being encouraged by a friendship or public service. He was diagnosed with bone cancer in August of 1972, and passed away rather quickly on February 15, 1973, shortly after his 55th birthday. Buried in Oklahoma, he was posthumously inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame in 1991 and was a recipient of the "Golden Boot" award in 1992.

Bob Hope (1903-2003) [Road to Morocco (1942), The Paleface (1948)]. No entertainer is more associated with the USO than Bob Hope, who first appeared with the USO in 1942 and spent the following decades entertaining U.S. servicemen and women around the globe. With the fundraising help of Prescott Bush -- father of the 41st president and grandfather of the 43rd president -- Hope was a vital morale booster for servicemen in WW II. An act of Congress in 1997 made Hope an "honorary veteran." Upon receiving the award, he said: "I've been given many awards in my lifetime, but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most is the greatest honor I have ever received."

William Hopper (1915-1970) [Rebel Without a Cause (1955); The Bad Seed (1956); tv: Paul Drake in the Perry Mason series, 1957-66] was born William DeWolf Hopper, Jr. in New York, New York, the only child of actor/ matinee idol DeWolf Hopper and actress/gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Prior to being a Navy frogman doing underwater demolition in the pacific during WWII his hair was dark blonde, the stress of the danger turned it permanently white.
Quote: "I didn't dislike movie people, but they were nothing special to me. I'd been around them all my life. My mother's [Hedda Hopper] the kind who could say "Howdeedo" to the king of England and feel perfectly at home. But I couldn't."

John Howard (1913-1995) [Annapolis Farewell (1935); Love from a Stranger (1947)], born John Cox, was an American actor, usually a leading man in smaller-budgeted films and sometimes second lead in larger pictures. His greatest fame came as the brother of Ronald Colman's character in Frank Capra's Lost Horizon (1937) and as suave detective Bulldog Drummond in a series of films starting that same year. During World War II Howard served as Executive Officer of the USS YMS-24, a minesweeper. During the invasion of southern France the ship was severely damaged by a mine that killed her captain. Howard took command and fought valiantly to save his ship and crew, even jumping into the sea to rescue a wounded sailor. For his gallantry he was awarded the Navy Cross (the second highest military award of the U.S. Navy) and the French Croix de Guerre. His return to Hollywood after the war was welcomed, unfortunately, with diminishing opportunities. The quality of his films fell and he was one of the first screen actors to commit to working in the new field of television. He continued to make occasional film appearances after the '60s, but gradually moved into academia. He became headmaster of the prestigious Highland Hall, a private high school where he taught and administered for nearly 20 years. He also gave private lessons in celestial navigation. He died in 1995, survived by his actress-ballerina wife Eva Ralf and their four children.

Leslie Howard (1893-1943) [The Petrified Forest (1936); "Ashley" in Gone With The Wind (1939)]. Howard and others died June 1, 1943, on a flight from Lisbon to London (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines/BOAC Flight 777) when their aircraft was shot down by a German Junkers Ju 88 over the Bay of Biscay. Howard had been engaged in secret war work and the Germans believed that Winston Churchill, who had been in Algiers, might also be on board. The Allies knew from Ultra that the plane was going to be shot down so Howard's life, as well as the others on board, were sacrificed to preserve the Allies' most important secret.

Frankie Howerd (1917-1992) [That Was the Week That Was (1962); The House in Nightmare Park (1973)] was born Francis Alick Howerd and became a popular British comedian. At 19 he put together revues for music halls that included monologues, impressions, jokes and comic songs. This was not easy since he suffered from major stage fright, a life-long debilitation. Following service in World War II, Frankie refocused on his career with radio and theatre appearances. In the 1950s he finally earned his own TV variety shows, but his burgeoning reputation coupled with a lack of self-confidence led the painfully shy man to suffer severe emotional conflicts with this newlyfound success. Nevertheless, Frankie was awarded the OBE in 1977.

Rock Hudson (1925-1985) [Winchester '73 (1950); A Gathering of Eagles (1963); Ice Station Zebra (1968)] was the son of an auto mechanic and a telephone operator who divorced when he was eight years old. He failed to obtain parts in school plays because he couldn't remember lines. After high school he was a postal employee and during WW II served as a Navy airplane mechanic. After the war he was a truck driver. His size and good looks got him into movies. His name was changed to Rock Hudson, his teeth were capped, he took lessons in acting, singing, fencing and riding. One line in his first picture, Fighter Squadron (1948), needed 38 takes. In 1956 he received an Oscar nomination for Giant (1956) and two years later Look magazine named him Star of the Year. He starred in a number of bedroom comedies, many with Doris Day, and had his own popular TV series "McMillan & Wife" (1971-1977). He had a recurring role in TV's "Dynasty" (1984-1985). He was the first major public figure to announce he had AIDS, and his worldwide search for a cure drew international attention. After his death his long-time lover Marc Christian successfully sued his estate, again calling attention to the homosexuality Rock had hidden from most throughout his career.

Barnard Hughes (1915- ) [The Young Doctors (1961); The Fantasticks (1995)]. Born in Bedford Hills, N.Y., Hughes held jobs as a dock checker in New York harbor, a Macy's salesman and a Wall Street copyreader before auditioning for the stage on a dare from a friend. His career, which began in 1934 with one line in a repertory production of The Taming of the Shrew, has since spanned broadway, television and films. Hughes made his Broadway debut in 1935 in Herself Mrs. Patrick Crowley. Until 1942 he toured the eastern United States performing in stock theatrical shows until World War II side-tracked him. In 1945 he resumed the stage career which had been interrupted by the war. While on tour, he met actress Helen Stenborg, whom he married in 1950. In the 1950s, Barnard branched into television work with roles in Playhouse 90, Kraft Theater and Armstrong Circle Theater. His first feature film role was in the 1969 hit Midnight Cowboy. Subsequent screen credits include The Hospital, Oh, God! and First Monday in October.

Jeffrey Hunter (1926-1969) [The Searchers (1956) scene above with Vera Miles; King of Kings (1961); The Longest Day (1962); Super Colt 38 (1969)] was born an only child in Louisiana as Henry Herman McKinnies Jr. His parents met at the University of Arkansas, and when he was almost four his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In his teens he acted in productions of the North Shore Children's Theater, and from 1942 to 1944 performed in summer stock with the local Port Players, along with Eileen Heckart, Charlotte Rae and Morton DaCosta, and was a radio actor at WTMJ, getting his first professional paycheck in 1945 for the wartime series "Those Who Serve." While in Spain to film the Chicago Mafia story Viva America (1969), Hunter was injured in an on-set explosion, suffering facial lacerations from broken glass and powder burns. Later an old friend, a former British commando, accidentally hit him on the chin with a karate chop when Hunter, who knew judo, failed to defend himself in time, banging the back of his head against a door. Then, while on the plane with his wife returning to the United States, Hunter's right arm suddenly became semi-paralyzed and he lost the power of speech, two signs of a stroke. In 1969 he suffered another stroke, took a bad fall and underwent emergency surgery, but died from complications of both the fall and the surgery. He served in the U.S. Navy, under the service number 960 39 80, from May 28, 1945 to May 25, 1946; Received a Medical Discharge as a Seaman First Class and was awarded the World War II Victory Medal.

Tab Hunter (1931- ) enlisted in the Coast Guard at age 15 (he lied about his age) and so served just after World War II. At 18 made his film debut in The Lawless (1950). He had no previous acting experience. Though his acting was stiff and unimaginative, 1950s teenagers adored his blond, boy-next-door appearance and physique. His best-known early film was Battle Cry (1955). The role most remembered today is the part of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees! (1958). In 1960-1 he had his own TV series The Tab Hunter Show (1960), and he appeared regularly as George Shumway in TV's Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976). He co-starred three times with female impersonator Divine: Polyester (1981), Out of the Dark (1989), and Lust in the Dust (1985). He wrote the story for his most recent (his 32nd) movie Dark Horse (1992), directed by David Hemmings.

John Huston (1906-1987) [Wrote screenplay and directed The Maltese Falcon (1941); Wrote screenplay, directed and had cameo role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)] was born in Neveda, Missouri. His father was Walter Houston. John was a man of many interests - painting, boxing, sculpture, gambling, fox-hunting, a licenced pilot and more. During World War II he served as a Signal Corps lieutenant and went on to helm a number of film documentaries for the U.S. government including the controversial Let There Be Light (1946), which was narrated by his father, Walter. A short excerpt like this can't do justice to his remarkable career. IMDB has more.