Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's Sea Services

by James E. Wise Jr., Anne Collier Rehill

Most moviegoers remember the classic Navy roles played by Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Montgomery, and Ernest Borgnine, but not many know that Fonda and Montgomery won Bronze Stars for their real heroic deeds, or that Borgnine hunted U-boats off the East Coast.
This book offers fascinating details about the lives of more than fifty movie stars who served in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard from World War I to Vietnam. Drawn variously from interviews, letters, and archives, this virtual Who's Who of Navy stars brims with interesting anecdotes and some never-before-published photographs from the stars military careers.
Readers learn how Eddie Albert saved more than a dozen wounded Marines on the bloody reefs of Tarawa, and ace pilot Wayne Morris downed seven Japanese planes in his Hellcat. UDT frogman Aldo Ray reconned the Okinawa landing beaches; John Howard was awarded the Navy Cross. Entertaining as well as historically accurate, these revealing profiles provide hours of enjoyment as readers discover some of the patriotic contributions and sacrifices that actors have made.

316 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood often gets a bad rap from conservatives on the supposed lack of patriotism or commitment to their country by actors. As an actor veteran, I'm especially sensitive to such canards. As a film historian, I'm aware of how false such charges are. Captain James E. Wise Jr. has written a handful of books on actors from all periods of Hollywood history who answered the call of their country and did so often at great risk. STARS IN BLUE is his volume devoted to American navy personnel from the ranks of the movie kingdom. White starts his book with the remarkable heroism of Eddie Albert during the invasion of Tarawa. Albert, best known probably for the TV comedy GREEN ACRES, rescued nearly 50 Marines trapped under murderous machine-gun fire by repeatedly bringing his Coast Guard landing craft in close to shore, and was awarded the Bronze Star for doing so. The author (along with co-author Anne Collier Rehill) goes on to describe the exploits that earned John Howard the Navy Cross (in the Navy, second only to the Medal of Honor as an award for bravery) and which gained fighter pilot Wayne Morris four Distinguished Flying Crosses and "ace" status for shooting down 7 Japanese Zeros. Dozens of actors who served with distinction in World Wars I & II, Korea, and Vietnam are included, with remarkable detail as to the records of their service and bravery. White's and Rehill's research is superb, relying not merely on secondary sources but on original government documents. The efforts (and sometimes suffering) of these and others (such as Henry Fonda, Robert Taylor, Gene Kelly, Paul Newman, Humphrey Bogart, and Harry Belafonte) should make anyone think twice before blanket dismissal of the patriotism of the movie colony. It's a fascinating read.

[Patrick Nichol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book for movie fans and Navy buffs alike. It's incredible how many Hollywood stars actually served in "The Senior Service" before finding fame.

It explains why some actors, like Steve McQueen and Henry Fonda, played Naval personnel so convincingly in their films.

[James Wazorick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter was interesting, but this was not a well written book. The author collected a great number of factoids and just threw them into a jumble without a compelling narrative. What was most striking to me is that one of today's 'stars' would be caught dead enlisting in the military.