William Talman (1915-1968) [The Hitch-Hiker (1953); Hamilton Burger on Perry Mason tv (1957-1966)]. Talman was appearing in Spring Again at Henry Miller's Theatre in January of 1942 when he received his draft notice for induction into the U.S. army. Prior to leaving for active duty he married actress Lynne Carter. He entered the army as a private and saw 30 months of service in the Pacific during WWII, where he won a commission to the rank of major. His assignments included the managing of a school that trained soldiers to put on shows. At one point he was in charge of training boxing and baseball teams. He was proud that his teams won both the boxing and baseball championships of the Western Pacific.

Don Taylor (1920-1998) [Battleground (1949); Flying Leathernecks (1951); The Bold and the Brave (1956)] was born in Freeport, PA. He studied law, then speech and drama at Penn State University, where as a freshman he began taking part in college stage productions. Hitchhiking to Hollywood in 1942, the youthful Taylor screen-tested at Warner Brothers but was rejected because of his draft status. MGM, not as fussy, signed him to a contract and immediately put him to work, assigning him the minuscule role of a soldier in director Clarence Brown's sentimental slice of Americana, The Human Comedy (1943). More minor roles followed before Taylor enlisted in the Army and served out World War II, but even there he continued to act: playwright/ screenwriter Moss Hart chose him to play one of the leads in the Army-Air Force production of Hart's play, Winged Victory. Returning to civilian life, Taylor resumed his work in pictures with a top role in the trend-setting crime drama The Naked City (1948). In later years Taylor became a film and TV director, being nominated for an Emmy for his direction of an episode of "Night Gallery" (1970).

Robert Taylor (1911-1969) [Magnificent Obsession (1935. Yes, the first version. Rock Hudson played doctor in the 1954 remake.); Quo Vadis (1951); The Law and Jake Wade (1958)]. With the arrival of WWII, Taylor was quick to make his contribution to the effort. As an actor, he made two memorable combat movies: Stand by for Action (1942) and the better known (and for the time, quite graphic) Bataan (1943). From 1943-46 he was in the US Naval Air Corps as a lieutenant, instructing would-be pilots. He also found time to direct two flight instruction training films (1943) and other training films for the Navy. After the war and through the remainder of the decade, Taylor got action roles to match his healthy box office draw.

Don Terry (1902-1988) [The Secret of Treasure Island (1938); Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (1943)] may be fondly remembered by many cliffhanger fans of the 30s and 40s as staunch, gung-ho hero Don Winslow. Athlete-turned-actor, Don Terry identified quite well with his alter-ego. An adventurer at heart, he was born and christened Donald Prescott Loker. He enlisted in the Marines as a teenager but honorably discharged less than a year later due to a disability. He attended Harvard and played freshman football, basketball and baseball, working in coal yards to pay his tuition. Joining the Reading Keys in the International Baseball League, he later played pro football in Boston and Providence as part of the Steamrollers team. Along the way he fought under the name of "Bobbie Dinsmore" in the boxing arena and circled the globe on cargo ships. In 1943 Terry enlisted in the Naval Reserve and was made Lieutenant Commander in the Pacific. He was awarded the Purple Heart in 1944. By the time he left the service in 1946, he left movies as well and turned to business ventures. Married twice, he became a noted philanthropist in later years.

Frankie Thomas (1921-2006) [A Dog of Flanders (1935); The Major and the Minor (1942)] was born Frank M. Thomas, Jr., the only child of acting Manhattanites Frank M. Thomas and Mona Bruns. Well-established on the New York stage, his parents encouraged their young son into the business. The young actor first conquered Broadway in the early 30s appearing with Mildred Natwick and James Stewart in Carry Nation (1932) at age 11. He made a few more Broadway appearances, including Little Ol' Boy (1933) and Thunder on the Left (1933) before tackling films, making his debut creating his stage role in Wednesday's Child (1934) as the teenage son of Karen Morley and Edward Arnold. He served with both the Navy and the Coast Guard during Worled War II. Upon his discharge, he moved to New York and found steady radio work (over 1500 programs) as well as parts on early TV daytime such as the 15-minute serial A Woman to Remember (1949), which was the first five-times-a-week soaper to evolve.

Richard Todd (1919-2009) [The Hasty Heart (1949); House of the Long Shadows (1983)] is a British actor. Born Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland, Todd was the son of a British officer who played international rugby for Ireland. He moved to Devon, England when very young and attended Shrewsbury School. During his early career he acted in regional theatres, before co-founding the Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1939. When World War II began, he served as an officer and paratrooper. During the war he met Major John Howard on Pegasus Bridge in Normandy. He would later appear in two films in which this scene was recreated: in D-Day the Sixth of June (1956) he played the commanding officer of the unit in which both of them served, and in The Longest Day (1962) he played Major Howard himself.

Harry Townes (1914-2001) [Operation Manhunt (1954); The Mountain (1956); Sanctuary (1961)] was born and died in Huntsville, Alabama. He served in the Air Corps for four years during World War II. In his old age, he quit his Beverly Hills home and lifestyle, entered the priesthood, and settled back into his hometown of Huntsville in the 1970s. Aside from Huntsville and the priesthood, he had a distinguished, prolific, and quite long career as a character actor in movies and on television. Townes found his greatest presence on television, amassing a very large portfolio of roles for his handbag of characters. "Studio One" (1948), "Playhouse 90" (1956) and "Kraft Television Theatre" (1953) all enjoyed his contributions. The more popular "Gunsmoke" (1955), "Perry Mason" (1957), "Star Trek" (1966), "Rawhide" (1959) and "Bonanza" (1959) also benefited from Townes' acting skills.

David Tree (1915-2009) [Knight Without Armour (1937); French Without Tears (1940)] was born in London, England, to drama critic Alan Leonard Romaine Parsons and stage actress Viola Tree. Following his work in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Major Barbara (1941), he left to serve his country in World War II with the Royal Artillery. Tragedy occurred when he lost his arm during duty. Following his discharge, Tree abandoned acting and retired to become a farmer.

Les Tremayne (1913-2003) [The War of the Worlds (1953); A Man Called Peter (1955); North by Northwest (1959)] was born in Balham, England but moved to Chicago with his family at the age of 4 (his mother was actress Dolly Tremayne). Disguising his British accent while growing up he began his career with community theater, dancing in vaudeville shows and even served as a barker in amusement parks. He was best known early in his career for his abundant work on radio, landing his first radio job in 1930. He went on to appear in scores of serials and shows using a variety of voices and accents. In 1936, he earned fame after replacing actor Don Ameche as the leading man on "The First Nighter," a weekly program of radio dramas. In 1943, he finally left the Chicago area and moved to Los Angeles and later to New York. There he starred with Bob Crosby on the "Old Gold Show" before serving in the military service during World War II.

Patrick Troughton (1920-1987) [Chance of a Lifetime (1950); Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)] was born in Mill Hill, London and was educated at Mill Hill School. He trained as an actor at the Embassy School of Acting in the UK and at Leighton Rollin's Studio for for Actors at Long Island, New York in the USA. During World War II he served in the Royal Navy and after the war ended he joined the Old Vic and became a Shakespearean actor. He won his most famous role as the second Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), in 1966 and played the role for three years. His hobbies included golf, sailing and fishing. He was a father of six (David, Jane, Joanna, Mark, Michael and Peter), a stepfather to Gill and Graham and a grandfather to Harry Melling, Jamie and Sam Troughton.

Tom Tryon (1926-1991) [The Longest Day (1962); In Harm's Way (1965)] was born in Hartford, Connecticut, Tom Tryon - son of clothier Arthur Lane Tryon and not the actor Glenn Tryon as is usually stated - grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut. In 1943 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in World War II in the South Pacific until 1946. After his discharge he joined the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts, and did everything from designing sets to acting. He made his Broadway debut in 1952 in the musical Wish You Were Here. He also worked in television as a production assistant. In 1955 he moved to California to try his hand at the movies, and the next year made his film debut in The Scarlet Hour (1956). He made a few more films, but in 1958 he appeared in the part that made him most famous: the title role in the Disney TV series "Texas John Slaughter" (1958), which made him a household name. He appeared with Marilyn Monroe in her final (and unfinished) film, Something's Got to Give (1962).

Forrest Tucker (1919-1986) [Sands Of Iwo Jima w/ John Wayne; F Troop (tv 1965-1967)] graduated from high school in Arlington, VA in 1938. At 6' 5", 200 lb., he played semi-pro football in the Washington, D.C. area after graduation. He also enlisted with the National Guard and was assigned to a cavalry unit in Ft. Myers, Virginia. He entered active duty as an enlisted man in the Army during World War II but moved up in rank to 2nd lieutenant. He was discharged in 1945.