Fred MacMurray (1908-1991) [The Gilded Lily (1935); The Caine Mutiny (1954); My Three Sons (TV 1960–1972); The Swarm (1978)] was born Fredrick Martin MacMurray to Maleta Martin and Frederick MacMurray (concert violinist) in Kankakee, Illinois, and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin from the age of 5, graduating from Beaver Dam HS where he was a 3-sport star in football, baseball, and basketball. He was educated at Carroll College, Wis., singing and playing with orchestras to earn tuition. He played with a Chicago orchestra for more than a year. Then he joined an orchestra in Hollywood where he played, did some recording and played extra roles. He then joined a comedy stage band and went to New York. There he joined Three's A Crowd revue on Broadway and on the road. After this show closed, he returned to California and worked in vaudeville. He played the vaudeville circuits and night clubs until cast for major role in Roberta. He signed with Paramount in 1935. He tried to get into the military service during World War II, but a fluctuated ear prevented him from enlisting, therefore, he stayed in Hollywood, continued making movies and did everything he could to help the war effort.

Patrick Macnee (1922- ) is a British actor. He was born in London, England, into a wealthy and eccentric family. His father, Daniel Macnee, was a race horse trainer, who drank and gambled away the family fortune, leaving young Patrick to be raised by his lesbian mother, Dorothea Mary, and her female lover. Shortly after graduating from Eton (from which he was almost expelled for running a gambling ring), Macnee first appeared on stage and made his film debut as an extra in Pygmalion (1938). His career was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Royal Navy. After military service, Macnee attended the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art in London on scholarship. He also resumed his stage and film career, with bit parts such as Young Jacob Marley in Scrooge (1951). Disappointed with his limited roles, Macnee left England for Canada and the United States but returned to England in 1959. Once back home, he took advantage of his producing experience in Canada to become co-producer of the British television series Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years (1960). Shortly thereafter, Macnee landed the role that brought him worldwide fame and popularity in the part of John Steed, in the classic British television series The Avengers (1961).

Gordon MacRae (1921-1986) [Look for the Silver Lining (1949); Oklahoma! (1955); Carousel (1956)] was born in East Orange, NJ. During his early years he resided in Syracuse, NY, and while in high school spent much of his time singing and acting in the Drama Club. In 1940, while working in New York City as a page, he was "discovered" and hired to sing for the Horace Heidt Band. After a two-year stint he joined the Army Air Corps and worked as a navigator for the next two years. -- [Excerpted from IMDB]

Guy Madison (1922-1996) [Till the End of Time (1946); The Pacific Connection (1974)] was born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, his father a Santa Fe Railroad worker. In high school, he worked summers as a lifeguard and upon graduation attended Bakersfield Junior College studying animal husbandry. After two years, he worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the Coast Guard serving during World War II. He never had any ambitions toward a movie career and lacked training and experience. Stationed in California and during a visit to Hollywood on leave, wearing his sailor suit, he was spotted by a talent scout while attending a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast. David O. Selznick wanted an unknown sailor to play a small but prominent part in Since You Went Away (1944), and promptly signed Moseley to a contract. Selznick and Willson concocted the screen name Guy Madison (the "guy" girls would like to meet, and Madison from a passing Dolly Madison cake wagon). Madison filmed his one scene on a weekend pass and returned to duty. The film's release brought thousands of fan letters for the film's lonely, strikingly handsome young sailor, and at war's end, Madison returned to find himself a star-in-the-making. Guy Madison appeared in 85 films as well as radio and starred as James Butler Hickock in the tv series "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" (1951).

Jock Mahoney (1919-1989) was born in Chicago, Illinois, of French and Irish extraction, with some Cherokee. At the University of Iowa, he was outstanding in swimming, basketball and football. When World War II broke out, he enlisted as a Marine fighter pilot and instructor. In Hollywood, he was a noted stunt man, doubling for Errol Flynn, John Wayne, and Gregory Peck. Gene Autry signed him for the lead in his 78-episode The Range Rider (1951) TV series. He tested to replace Johnny Weissmuller, as Tarzan but lost out to Lex Barker. In 1960, he played the heavy in Gordon Scott's Tarzan the Magnificent (1960), and his part there led Sy Weintraub to hire him as Scott's replacement. In his two Tarzan movies, he did all his own stunts. In Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963), he continued working in spite of dysentery, dengue fever and pneumonia. By this time, Weintraub was looking for a younger Tarzan, envisioning a future TV series. By mutual agreement, his contract with Mahoney was dissolved. After a couple of years regaining his strength and weight, Jock returned to making action films.

Karl Malden (1912-2012) [Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950); Patton (1970)]. Malden had just one screen appearance, They Knew What They Wanted (1940), before his military service in World War II as a noncommissioned officer in the 8th Air Force. He did not establish his film career until after the War. Malden won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor as "Mitch" in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and showed his range as an actor in roles such as that of "Father Corrigan" in On the Waterfront (1954) and the lecherous "Archie Lee" in Baby Doll (1956).

Paul Mantz (1903-1965) [The Dictator (1935); Men with Wings (1938); Seven Wonders of the World (1956)] was an American aviator who became the most renowned stunt flyer in movies of the mid-twentieth century. The son of a school principal, he grew up Redwood City, California and developed a fascination with flying. He joined the Air Corps as a cadet and was a brilliant student pilot, but he was discharged after buzzing a train full of high-level officers. After a brief period of commercial flying, Mantz took up the more lucrative career of stunt flying for the film industry. He quickly proved himself willing and capable of tackling stunts considered by other pilots to be too dangerous. He formed United Air Services, Ltd., providing planes and pilots for aerial stunts and photography for all the studios. He also formed a flying school and racing partnership with Amelia Earhart and was technical adviser on her ill-fated round-the-world flight. During World War II, Mantz served as commanding officer of the Army Air Corps' First Motion Picture Unit, delivering hundreds of training films and documentaries on the air war. He developed a number of camera and aeronautical innovations to improve aerial photography, and continued as a stunt flyer, a director of aerial photography, and a supplier of aircraft and pilots for the movies for two decades after the war. In 1965, he came out of retirement to fly a plane for The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and was killed in a crash.

Barney Martin (1923-2005) was an American actor. After serving as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, he returned to his native New York City and served as a policeman. He got his start as a comedian while still a police officer, writing jokes for his deputy commissioners' speeches. Entering show business in the 1950s as a writer for Steve Allen, he was discovered by Mel Brooks in 1968, who cast him in The Producers (1968). He went on to act in dozens of films, including the role of Liza Minnelli's unemployed father in Arthur (1981). In 1975, Martin originated the role of Amos Hart in Chicago. He appeared in many more musicals during his career, most notably South Pacific, The Fantasticks and How Now Dow Jones. Most of Martin's work has been in television, where he has had a long career as a character actor. He is best-known for playing Morty Seinfeld, father of Jerry, on the popular sitcom Seinfeld. He died of cancer in Studio City, Los Angeles, California at the age of 82.

Strother Martin, (1919-1980) [Storm Over Tibet (1952); The Villain (1979)] was an American character actor in numerous films and television programs. Martin is perhaps best known as the prison captain in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered the classic line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate," which was included by Guns N' Roses in their 1990 song Civil War. He also frequently acted alongside L.Q. Jones, who in real life was one of his closest friends, actors Paul Newman and John Wayne, and director Sam Peckinpah. Born in Kokomo, Indiana, Martin excelled at swimming and diving, and served as a swimming instructor in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Martin moved to Los Angeles and worked as a swimming instructor in films, eventually earning bit roles in a number of films. Martin's distinctive, reedy voice and menacing demeanor made him ideal for villainous roles in many of the best known Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s.

Tony Martin (1913- ) [Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937); Hit the Deck (1955)] was born Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. Very early in his career he was a sax player under his real name of Al Morris in an orchestra headed by Tom Gerun. Among the other orchestra members were unknowns (at the time) Woody Herman and singer Ginny Simms. There was a misunderstanding that led to his discharge from the Navy during WWII. He finished up the war in the Army, winning a Bronze Star as a noncombatant in the Far East.

Lee Marvin (1924-1987) [Donovan's Reef (1963); Cat Ballou (1965); The Dirty Dozen (1967)]. Left school to join the US Marine Corps, serving as a sniper in the 4th Marine Division in WW II. He would be sent in during the night in a small rubber boat, prior to the rest of his platoon. He was wounded during the Battle of Saipan, a battle in which most members of his platoon were killed. He was awarded the Purple Heart and given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class. His wartime experiences deeply affected him for the remainder of his life.
[Contrary to rumor, Marvin did not serve with Bob Keeshan during World War II, on Iwo Jima or anywhere else. In fact, according to Wikipedia: "In 1945, during World War II, he [Keeshan] enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, but was still in the United States when Japan surrendered."]

Kerwin Mathews (1926-2007) [5 Against the House (1955); Nightmare in Blood (1978)] was born an only child in Seattle, Washington. Kerwin's parents split up while he was quite young and he and his mother relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin. He developed an early interest in acting while performing in high school plays. Following a couple years in the Army Air Force during World War II, Kerwin studied at Beloit College in Wisconsin on both dramatic and musical scholarships. He later taught speech and drama at the college and also found acting jobs in regional theater. In the early 1950s, after teaching high school English in Lake Geneva, Wisconin, for a few years, he decided to make the big trek to Hollywood to seek out his fame and fortune.

Walter Matthau (1920-2000) [The Odd Couple (1968); Charley Varrick (1973)]. Served in WWII as a B-24 Radioman, Gunner, and as a radio cryptographer with the 453rd Bomb Group.

Victor Mature (1913-1999) [One Million B.C. (1940); The Big Circus (1959)] auditioned for Gone with the Wind (1939) for the role ultimately played by his fellow Playhouse student, George Reeves. After achieving some acclaim in his first few films, he served in the Coast Guard in World War II. Mature became one of Hollywood's busiest and most popular actors after the war, though rarely was he given the critical respect he often deserved. His roles in John Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946) and in Henry Hathaway's Kiss of Death (1947) were among his finest work, though he moved more and more frequently into more exotic roles in films like Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Egyptian (1954).

Billy Mauch (1921-2006) [The White Angel (1936); Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)] was born in Peoria, Illinois, ten minutes before his identical twin, Bobby (1921-2007). In the photo (according to film credits), Billy is on the left and Bobby on the right. Billy was left-handed and Bobby was right-handed. Their last name rhymes with "talk" or "walk." The Mauch twins' mother was Dorothy, married to a railroad agent. The boys ambitious stage mother had the twins performing from age 3 at benefits and parties. Billy was cast as young Anthony Adverse (1936) because he resembled the film's star Fredric March. Bobby was his stand-in and supposedly fooled director Mervyn LeRoy at times by switching places. Warner Bros. originally wanted only to sign Billy for The Prince and the Pauper, but Mrs. Mauch insisted both boys be signed or she would pitch Bobby to a rival studio. Both boys were signed at $350 a week. Mrs. Mauch received $150 a week as their guardian. At the time, there was a ruling in the Armed Forces that twins could not be separated unless requested. Both Billy and Bobby served in the Air Force in the Philippines during World War II and appeared together in the Broadway play Winged Victory in 1943. Behind the camera in later years, Billy worked for Warner Bros. as a sound editor. His brother became a film editor.

Robert J. Mauch (1921-2007) [Penrod and His Twin Brother (1938); I'll Tell the World (1939)] -- aka Bobby Mauch -- was born the identical twin of Billy Mauch (see entry above). Bobby, the twin on the right in the photo-image, and his brother served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and, at one point, they were stationed in the Phillippines.

Lon McCallister (1923-2005) [The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938); Combat Squad (1953)] was born Herbert Alonzo McCallister, Jr. in Los Angeles, but was almost immediately called "Buddy" to those closest to him. He attended high school at Marken Profesional School, a training ground for Hollywood hopefuls, and eventually managed to secure unbilled parts starting with Romeo and Juliet (1936) starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard and John Barrymore. Lon became close friends with the film's director George Cukor, and attributed his biggest break to Cukor when he earned a supporting role as a pilot in Winged Victory (1944), after toiling in obscurity for nearly 6 years. Lon also stood out in the films Stage Door Canteen (1943), as the unassuming soldier who falls for canteen hostess Marjorie Riordan, and in the warm and winning horse-racing tale Home in Indiana (1944) opposite rising star Jeanne Crain. His induction into the Army for World War II put a direct hit on his career momentum, but he managed to recover and pick up where he left off. He made 6 movies 1947-1950 and followed with a very busy TV schedule in the 50s and early 60s.

Lin McCarthy (1918-2002) [Yellowneck (1955); Face of a Fugitive (1959)] was born Linwood Winder McCarthy in Norfolk, Virginia. He used his G.I. bill after serving during World War II to study acting at Geller's Theater Workshop in Los Angeles. He opened "The Chase" by Horton Foote on Broadway in the Playhouse Theatre on April 15, 1952. The play was produced by José Ferrer, and co-starred Murray Hamilton, Kim Hunter and Lin's long-time friend Lonny Chapman. He may be best remembered as Captain Anderson to Jack Webb's gritty sergeant in the now campy classic film, The D.I. (1957), a supposedly realistic account about Marine boot camp. He had two children with his wife Loretta Daye: Erin Christine McCarthy and Brian Linwood McCarthy.

Tim McCoy (1891-1978) [The Thundering Herd (1925); Requiem for a Gunfighter (1965)] was one of the great stars of early American Westerns. He was born the son of an Irish soldier who later became police chief of Saginaw, Michigan, where McCoy was born. He attended St. Ignatius College in Chicago and after seeing a Wild West show there, left school and found work on a Wyoming ranch. He became an expert horseman and roper and developed a keen knowledge of the ways and languages of the Indian tribes in the area. He competed in numerous rodeos, then enlisted in the U.S. Army when America entered the First World War. He was commissioned and rose to the rank of colonel, eventually being posted as Adjutant General of Wyoming, a position he held until 1921. Resigning from the Army, he returned to ranching and concurrently served as territorial Indian agent. In 1922, he was asked by the head of Famous Players-Lasky, Jesse L. Lasky, to provide Indian extras for the Western extravaganza, The Covered Wagon (1923). He brought hundreds of Indians to Hollywood and served as technical advisor on the film. After touring the country and Europe with the Indians as publicity, McCoy returned to Hollywood and used his connections to obtain further work in the movies, both as a technical advisor and as an actor. MGM speedily signed him to a contract to star in a series of Westerns and McCoy rapidly rose to stardom, making scores of Westerns and occasional non-Westerns.... In 1935, he left Hollywood, first to tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus and then with his own Wild West show. He returned to films in 1940, in a series teaming him with Buck Jones and Raymond Hatton but Jones's death in 1942 ended the project. McCoy returned to the Army for World War II and served with the Army Air Corps in Europe, winning several decorations. He retired from the army and from films after the war, but emerged in the late 1940s for a few more films and some television work. He married Danish writer Inga Arvad and spent his later years as a retired gentleman rancher, occasionally touring with his own Wild West show.

Sammy McKim (1924-2004) [Country Gentlemen (1936); Thunderbirds (1952)] was the second of a family of five child actors of the 1930s and 1940s, but the first to get into the movies and pave the way for the rest of the McKim siblings. Sammy and his older brother, David McKim, were born in Vancouver, Canada. The family moved to Seattle, Washington, when they were both still young and settled there for a time. The younger children (Lydia McKim, Harry McKim and Peggy McKim) were born and raised there. The family was forced to find a warmer climate in 1935 when their father's health worsened, so they moved to Los Angeles (where he died in 1938). In 1942 both Sammy and David tried to enlist in the U.S. Army but were turned down for not being American citizens. The two Canadians gained their citizenship the following year and signed up again for duty, letting their acting careers go. Sammy received several medals during the Korean War for his bravery. After becoming a civilian again, he turned away from acting and decided on a career as an artist.

Ed McMahon (1923-2005) was born in Detroit, Michigan to Eleanor (Russell) and Edward Leon McMahon, a fund-raiser and entertainer. His first appearance before a microphone was as a 15-year-old "caller" at a bingo game in Maine. After that, he spent the next three years touring the state fair and carnival circuit. A Marine fighter pilot during World War II, McMahon sold vegetable slicers on Atlantic City's boardwalk to put himself through Catholic University in Washington, DC. In the 1950s, he hosted a late-night interview show in Philadelphia before working as a clown on the show "Big Top" (1950). His next assignment was as a fighter pilot during the Korean War. After that, he resumed his career in television. In 1959, he was hired as Johnny Carson's straight man on the daytime quiz show "Do You Trust Your Wife" (1956). When Carson succeeded Jack Paar on NBC's "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" (1957), which became "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962), he took McMahon with him. This job lasted for 30 years and made McMahon wealthy and famous. On the big screen, he played straight roles in the dramatic The Incident (1967) -- for which he got very good reviews -- and in the comic Fun with Dick and Jane (1977).

Howard McNear (1905-1969) [Drums Across the River (1954); The Fortune Cookie (1966)] was born Howard Terbell McNear in Los Angeles, California. He had a long career on stage, radio and films but will be most remembered for his scene-stealing portrayal of Floyd (the barber) in the long-running Andy Griffith Show (1960). Actor Don Knotts (Deputy Barney Fife on the show) once said that playing Floyd wasn't much of a stretch for McNear, as his real personality was pretty much like Floyd to begin with. McNear - at age 37 - volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1942 and served for the duration of World War II. He had started his career in radio, where he played Doc Adams in Gunsmoke for many years. In films he often played congressmen, hotel managers or other such figures, although he did on occasion play villains. While working on the Andy Griffith Show he suffered a massive stroke. After he recuperated he had trouble using his arms and legs, and when he returned to work on the show he was always seen either in close-ups or sitting down (often in a chair outside the barber shop while chatting with Barney and Andy). He died in 1969 in Hollywood and was buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery Columbarium Mausoleum.

Joseph Mell (1915-1977) [Kid Monk Baroni (1952); Murph the Surf (1975)], aka Joe Mell. Enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army in Chicago on 7 May 1941. Mell also appeared in these big screen productions: The 49th Man (1953), The Lost Planet (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953), Magnificent Obsession (1954), Naked Alibi (1954), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Murder by Contract (1958), City of Fear (1959), Back Street (1961), 36 Hours (1965), Lord Love a Duck (1966) and The Ski Bum (1971). He played more than two dozen uncredited roles as well as appearing in more than 100 television shows.

Adolphe Menjou (1890-1963) [The Faith Healer (1921); Paths of Glory (1957] was born Adolphe Jean Menjou in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the elder son of a hotel manager. His Irish mother was a distant cousin of novelist and poet James Joyce ("Ulysses"). His French father eventually moved the family to Cleveland, where he operated a chain of restaurants. He disapproved of show business and sent Adolphe to Culver Military Academy in Indiana in the hopes of dissuading him from such a seemingly reckless and disreputable career. From there Adolphe was enrolled at Stiles University prep school and then Cornell University. Instead of an engineering degree he abruptly changed his major to liberal arts and began auditioning for college plays. He left Cornell in his third year in order to help his father manage a restaurant for a time during a family financial crisis. From there he left for New York and a life in the theater. During World War II Menjou appeared in only 7 movies as he spent a lot of time entertaining troops overseas and made assorted broadcasts in a host of different languages.

Burgess Meredith (1907-1997) [The Story of G.I. Joe (1945); John Wayne's roomie in In Harm's Way (1965); The Penguin in Batman (1966)]. Meredith served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, reaching the rank of captain. He was discharged in 1944 to work on the movie The Story of GI Joe, in which he starred as the popular war correspondent Ernie Pyle.

Dick Merrill (1894-1982) [Atlantic Flight (1937)] learned to fly while stationed in France in World War I but returned home to work on the Illinois Central Railroad as a fireman. He began his aviation career in earnest when he bought a 90-horsepower Curtiss JN4 "Jenny" for $600 at a war surplus sale in Columbus, Georgia in 1920. Too old for a commission, Dick signed on as a civilian MTD pilot and flew the China-Burma "Hump" in DC3's and C-46 Commandos during World War II conducting critical supply lights and survey missions. He returned to Eastern Airlines after the war and officially retired from Eastern Airlines on Oct. 3, 1961 after flying a DC8 from New York to Miami, reputedly with the most air miles of any pilot in commercial aviation history, and ranked as the second most senior pilot with the airline.

Gary Merrill (1915-1990) [Twelve O'Clock High (1949); All About Eve (1950); A Girl Named Tamiko (1962)] Joined the United States Army Air Force Special Services in 1941 (WWII). Merrill was born in Hartford, Connecticut, attended private Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and began acting in 1944 in Winged Victory, while still in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

John Le Mesurier (1912-1983) [Escape from Broadmoor (1948) ; Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978)]. The son of a solicitor, British character actor Mesurier attended public school in Dorset, England, before embarking on a career in law. However, acting was his true calling, and at age 20, with his parents' approval, he began his acting career by studying drama at the Fay Compton School of Acting, where one of his classmates was Alec Guinness. After acting school he performed in repertory until World War II, when he served as a captain in the Northwest Indian Frontier. After the war he returned to the stage and made his film debut in Death in the Hand (1948).

Ray Milland (1905-1986) [The Lady from the Sea (1929); Dial M for Murder (1954); The Sea Serpent (1984)] was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones 3 January 1905, Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, UK and died of lung cancer 10 March 1986, Torrance, California. He became one of Paramount's most bankable and durable stars, under contract from 1934 to 1948, yet little in his early life suggested a career as a motion picture actor. With his family's support he had pursued a career in sports but lost that support when his stepfather discontinued his allowance. Broke, he tried his hand at acting in small parts on the London stage. He had a terrible accident during the filming of Hotel Imperial (1939), when, taking his horse over a jump, the saddle-girth broke and he landed head-first on a pile of bricks. His most serious injuries were a concussion that left him unconscious for 24 hours, a 3-inch gash in his skull that took 9 stitches to close, and numerous fractures and lacerations on his left hand. He had become a licensed pilot and tried to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, but was rejected due to an impaired left hand. Instead he worked as a civilian flight instructor for the Army and also toured with the USO in the South Pacific. He was paired romantically with actress Paulette Goddard in four films, including the blockbusters Reap the Wild Wind (1942) and Kitty (1945). In his autobiography, he wrote that Goddard was "wise, humorous, and with absolutely no illusions." He further claimed that she was the hardest working actress that he had ever worked with. (Source: IMDB)

Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. Two of the most popular musicians of the World War II era -- big band leaders Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw -- both joined the service and led bands, while many other artists recorded V-Discs, recordings made especially for the troops. So in demand were they that Miller's band played 800 performances in a single year. Miller was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big bands". Miller's signature recordings include In the Mood, American Patrol, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Tuxedo Junction, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and Pennsylvania 6-5000. While traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France, Miller's plane disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. No trace of the plane or Miller was ever found.

Spike Milligan (1918-2002) [Penny Points to Paradise (1951; History of the World: Part I (1981)] was born Terence Alan (Spike) Milligan, KBE. He was a comedian, novelist, playwright, poet, jazz musician (trumpet, guitar, piano) and is best remembered as the creator, principal writer and performing member of The Goon Show (1952). He suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life, having at least ten mental breakdowns. He was a strident campaigner on environmental matters, particularly arguing against unnecessary noise. He served in the Royal Artillery in World War II in North Africa and also Italy, where he was hospitalized for shell shock. During most of the 1930s and early 1940s he performed as a jazz trumpeter but even then he did comedy sketches.

Cameron Mitchell (1918-1994) [The Tall Men (1955), All Mine to Give (1957)] served as a bombardier with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. His film career began with minor roles dating back to 1945 but he quickly rose to young leading man status opposite such stars as Wallace Beery in The Mighty McGurk, Doris Day and James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me, Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy in Cass Timberlane, Clark Gable and Jane Russell in The Tall Men, and Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons in Desiree. He provided the voice of Jesus in The Robe (1953). However, he turned to TV during the latter part of his career and is remembered for his role of Uncle Buck in the western series, The High Chaparral (1967 to 1971).

Gordon Mitchell (1923-2003) [The Ten Commandments (1956); Li'l Abner (1959)] was one of those perfectly developed bodybuilders who jumped on the Steve Reeves bandwagon and hightailed it to Italy to seek movie stardom as a Herculean strongman. Born in Denver, Colorado, but raised in Inglewood, California, Mitchell served in World War II and at one point became a prisoner of war. He later served in the Korean War. After WWII he went to college and became a high school teacher, albeit an imposing one, with his incredible physique. He eventually became part of the "Muscle Beach" crowd and flexed his way into the entertainment field as part of Mae West's musclebound revues, where he toured everywhere from Las Vegas to the Latin Quarter with other abs abnormal actor wannabes such as Mickey Hargitay, Brad Harris and Reg Lewis.

Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) [Action in the North Atlantic (1943); The Big Sleep (1978); Backfire! (1995)] was born to a railroad worker who died in a train accident when he was two. Robert and his siblings (including brother John Mitchum, later also an actor) were raised by his mother and stepfather (a British army major) in Connecticut, New York, and Delaware. An early contempt for authority led to discipline problems, and Mitchum spent good portions of his teen years adventuring on the open road. On one of those trips, at the age of 14, he was charged with vagrancy and sentenced to a Georgia chain gang, from which he escaped. Working a wide variety of jobs (including ghostwriter for astrologist Carroll Righter), Mitchum discovered acting in a Long Beach, California, amateur theater company. He served briefly in the US Army during World War II, from April 12 to October 11, 1945, after being drafted. According to Lee Server's 2001 biography Mitchum served as a medic at an induction center. Although he did not want to join the military, he served honorably and was discharged as a Private First Class and received the World War II Victory Medal.

Gerald Mohr (1914-1968) [Jungle Girl (1941); This Rebel Breed (1960)]. After a number of bit parts, he finally won a noticeable role in Lady of Burlesque (1943) with Barbara Stanwyck, after Orson Welles referred him to the film's director, William A. Wellman. Following World War II service with the Air Force, Mohr returned to acting and found his niche in intrigue, playing the title role in The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946) and its two sequels, along with Passkey to Danger (1946), Dangerous Business (1946) and The Truth About Murder (1946).

Douglass Montgomery (1907-1966) [Paid (1930); Little Women (1933)] was born Robert Douglass Montgomery. On stage in his teens, MGM scouts nabbed him, signed him up, and changed his name to Kent Douglass for films but by World War II, his career had waned. He enlisted with the Canadian infantry, serving for four years. Montgomery returned but was scarcely noticed. He starred in a few routine British films following this period as Douglass Montgomery, then returned to the US for a couple more and some TV work. He died in 1966.

George Montgomery (1916-2000) [The Cisco Kid and the Lady (1939); The Daredevil (1972)] was born George Montgomery Letz in Brady, Montana, the youngest of 15 children of Ukranian immigrants. He was a heavyweight boxer before becoming an actor. He received many awards during his lifetime, including the Ralph Morgan Award from the Screen Actor's Guild and The Hollywood Westerner's Hall of Fame, Ronald Reagan Award. An excellent craftsman, he ran a cabinet shop for over 40 years while directing and appearing in action movies. He also designed and built 11 houses for friends and family. A self-taught artist, he created bronze busts of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Gene Autry and Randolph Scott. In later years he made sculptures of Charles Farrell and ex-wife Dinah Shore; hers and those of his children and himself sit at the Mission Hills Country Club, home of the Dinah Shore Golf Tournament. Some of his sculptures are in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum and Library in Simi Valley, California. Left Hollywood in 1943 to enlist in the US Army Air Corps and served the remainder of World War II. After his discharge he went back to Hollywood and resumed his career.

Robert Montgomery (1904–1981) [The Big House (1930); Lady in the Lake (1947)]. During World War II, he joined the Navy, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. He served in both the European and Pacific theaters of war, commanding PT Boats like those in the film classic, They Were Expendable (1945), in which he starred with John Wayne.

Clayton Moore (1914-1999) [When Were You Born (1938); Wild Wild West (1999)] grew up in Illinois and was a circus acrobat at the age of eight. He would work his way up to aerialist with two circuses and also appear at the 1934 World's Fair. He then went to New York, where he found work as a male model. Hollywood was his next stop and he entered films in 1938 as a bit player and stuntman. He appeared in "B" pictures and serials through 1942, then entered the military and served in World War II. After the war he returned to these supporting roles while concentrating on westerns. By 1949 he was playing the "Masked Man," but that man was Zorro in Ghost of Zorro (1949). In 1949 he was hired to appear in The Lone Ranger (1949), the television version of the long-running radio show. He had to work on his voice so that he sounded like the radio Lone Ranger. When he got that right, he became famous, along with Tonto, on the small screen.

Dickie Moore (1925- ) [Object: Alimony (1928); Killer Shark (1950)] was born in Los Angeles and made his acting and screen debut at the age of 18 months in the John Barrymore film The Beloved Rogue (1927) as a baby, and by the time he had turned 10 he was a popular child star and had appeared in 52 films. He continued as a child star for many more years, and became the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the first actor to kiss Shirley Temple on screen?" when that honor was bestowed upon him in 1942's Miss Annie Rooney (1942). He served in World War II and attended college majoring in journalism. As with many child actors, once Dickie got older the roles began to dry up. He made his last film in 1950, but was still in the public eye with the 1949 to 1955 TV series Captain Video and His Video Rangers. He retired from acting at the age of 29 for a new career in public relations.

Roger Moore (1927- ) was born in Stockwell, London, England, and will perhaps be always remembered as the guy who replaced Sean Connery in the James Bond series, arguably something he never lived down. Moore was born in Stockwell, London, the son of a policeman. He first wanted to be an artist, but got into films full time after becoming an extra in the late forties. Moore served in the British military during World War II. He came to America in 1953. Suave, handsome, and an excellent actor, he got a contract with MGM. His initial foray met with mixed success, with movies like Diane (1956) and Interrupted Melody (1955), as well as The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). Moore went into television in the 1950s in shows like "Ivanhoe" (1958) and "The Alaskans" (1959), but probably got the most recognition from "Maverick" (1957), as cousin Beau. In 1962 he got his big breakthrough, at least internationally, as "The Saint." The show made him a superstar and he became very successful thereafter. -- [Text excerpted from IMDB]

Kenneth More (1914-1982) [Sink the Bismarck! (1960); The Forsyte Saga (1967)]. Affable, bright and breezy Kenneth More epitomised the traditional English virtues of fortitude and fun. At the height of his fame in the 1950s he was Britain's most popular film star and had appeared in a string of box office hits including Genevieve (1953), Doctor in the House (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956) and A Night to Remember (1958). He served throughout the Second World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He was "demobbed" in 1946 as a lieutenant having served on the light-cruiser HMS Aurora as a Watch Keeping Officer, and the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious as a Fighter Directions Officer.

Wayne Morris (1914-1959) [Kid Galahad (1937); Paths of Glory (1957)] had early success as a sunny juvenile, but whose career declined following World War II, in which he was a highly-decorated hero. A native of Los Angeles, Morris played football at Los Angeles Juntior College, then worked as a forest ranger. Returning to school, he studied acting at Los Angeles Junior College and at the acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse. A Warner Bros. talent scout spotted him at the Playhouse and he signed with the studio in 1936. Blond and open-faced, he was a perfect type for boy-next-door parts and within a year had made a success in the title role of Kid Galahad. While filming Flight Angels (1940), Morris became interested in flying and became a pilot. With war in the wind, he joined the Naval Reserve and became a Navy flier in 1942, leaving his film career behind for the duration of the war. Assigned to the carrier Essex in the Pacific, Morris shot down seven Japanese planes and contributed to the sinking of five ships. He was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals. Following the war, Morris returned to films, but his nearly four-year absence had cost him his burgeoning stardom. He continued to topline movies, but the pictures, for the most part, sank in quality. He suffered a massive heart attack while visiting aboard the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard in San Francisco Bay and was pronounced dead after being transported to Oakland Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was 45. [Text excerpted from IMDB]

Ernest Morrison (1912-1989) [The Soul of a Child (1916); Follow the Leader (1944)] aka Ernest "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was most famous as one of the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids, and he was probably the most experienced actor of that group. Morrison made his film debut while still an infant; his father worked for a wealthy Los Angeles family that had connections in the film industry, and one day a producer who was an acquaintance of his father's needed a baby for a scene and asked him to bring Sammy as a replacement for a child who wasn't working out. Morrison pulled off the job like a trouper, and his career was born. Morrison left the Dead End/East Side Kids when he was drafted into the army during World War II, and after he got out he was offered his old job back, but declined it. After a few more film roles, Morrison left show business entirely, took a job in an aircraft assembly plant and spent the next 30 years in the aircraft industry.

Audie Murphy (1926-1971) [Destry (1954); To Hell and Back (1955)]. Little 5'5" tall 110 pounder from Texas who played cowboy parts. Murphy was the most Decorated serviceman of World War II and earned: Medal of Honor; Distinguished Service Cross; 2 Silver Star Medals; Legion of Merit; 2 Bronze Star Medals with 'V'; 2 Purple Hearts; U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal; Good Conduct Medal; 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star; Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns); and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France); World War II Victory Medal; Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar; Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar; French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre; French Legion of Honor; Grade of Chevalier; French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star; French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Medal of Liberated France; Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.