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On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy led a surprise military strike against the American naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The following day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war against Japan, which fully plunged the United States into World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of American men enlisted in the various branches of the armed forces to help their country in the fight against the Axis Powers. Some of these men were established Hollywood actors, while others became recognizable movie stars in the post-war period. Here are five (more) male actors who served in World War II before or after they became famous. Walter Matthau (1920-2000) | U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942-1945 Matthau enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942 and was assigned as a radio operator and gunner with the Eighth Air Force. In 1943, he was shipped out to England and was stationed at RAF Old Buckenham in Norfolk, where he served with the 453rd Bombardment G...

Katharine Hepburn  is one of my most acclaimed actresses of the Old Hollywood era, and the only actor in history to have four Academy Awards. She received her fourth Oscar for her performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen consort of King Henry II of England, in Anthony Harvey's The Lion in Winter (1968). But did you know that she was actually a direct descendant of Eleanor and Henry II, who were, in «technical terms,» her 23rd great-grandparents? Here's another interesting fact: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were also direct ancestors of Olivia de Havilland , Joan Fontaine, Humphrey Bogart and Laurence Olivier via their great-grandson, King Edward I of England, whose children originated the blood lines from which all of these actors (including Kate) descended. This means that they are all somehow related.   King Edward I of England was Katharine Hepburn's 20th great-grandfather. Edward I (1239-1307) married Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290) in 1254 and together they ...

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy led a surprise military strike against the American naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The following day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war against Japan, which fully plunged the United States into World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of American men enlisted in the various branches of the armed forces to help their country in the fight against the Axis Powers. Some of these men were established Hollywood actors, while others became recognizable movie stars in the post-war period. Here are five male actors who served in World War II before they were famous.   Paul Newman (1925-2008) | U.S. Navy, 1943-1946 After graduating from high school in June 1943, Newman volunteered for the U.S. Navy and enrolled in the V-12 pilot training programme at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. When his colourblindess was discovered, he was sent to a traditional boot camp in Newport, Rhode Island, a...

Doris Day Loretta Young   Maureen O'Hara   Vera-Ellen   Sandra Dee   Ann Miller   Gloria DeHaven   Mitzi Gaynor     Happy Easter, everyone!