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Entertainers who have a military background
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Entertainers who have a military background

Lots of actors have played soldiers. However, there are many entertainers who actually had a military background. That was especially true back in the day, when future, and sometimes current, actors and musicians ended up getting drafted. In honor of Memorial Day, here are some entertainers who spent time in the U.S. armed forces.

 
1 of 25

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley
Keystone/Getty Images

Elvis is, perhaps, the most famous draftee in military history. After all, Presley was already a huge star when he was pressed into military service in 1958. During his time in the Army he still had several hit songs, and afterward he would make the film “G.I. Blues” and keep on being a superstar.

 
2 of 25

Adam Driver

Adam Driver
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Driver, on the other hand, is probably the most famous modern actor to have spent time with the military. Since the draft no longer exists, Driver and people of his ilk sign up to join the armed forces of their own volition. The future Kylo Ren didn’t just join the military, though. He became a Marine. Must make pretending to have a laser sword feel like a cakewalk.

 
3 of 25

Don Adams

Don Adams
Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Adams became famous for playing a spy for the U.S. government on “Get Smart.” Or, if you’re younger, you'll remember him as the voice of Inspector Gadget. He almost didn’t get the chance, though. While serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII, he contracted blackwater fever, which had a 90 percent fatality rate at the time. He spent a year recuperating in New Zealand, and when he got healthy he returned to the Marines as a drill instructor.

 
4 of 25

Wilford Brimley

Wilford Brimley
Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

You know Brimley as the actor with the bushy mustache who has seemed old forever. People love to point out when youthful-seeming actors are older than Brimley was when he made “Cocoon” (he had just turned 50). Before acting, and before becoming a bodyguard for Howard Hughes, Brimley served in the Marine Corps for three years.

 
5 of 25

Rob Riggle

Rob Riggle
Shannon Finney/Getty Images

A lot of actors did a short spell with the military, but Riggle was a member of the Marine Corps Reserve for a whopping 23 years. He became a lieutenant colonel and received numerous awards during his military career. So yes, when he was making “Step Brothers,” he was still technically an active military member.

 
6 of 25

Drew Carey

Drew Carey
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Carey’s old hairdo wasn’t just random happenstance. The buzz cut look he used to wear is a throwback to his time in the military. The current host of “The Price is Right” joined the Marine Corps Reserve after getting the boot from college. He stuck around for six years, during which time he began his comedy career.

 
7 of 25

R. Lee Ermey

R. Lee Ermey
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

If Ermey hadn’t been in the military, he never would have become an actor. Ermey, who rose to the level of staff sergeant as a Marine, was hired onto “Full Metal Jacket” as a technical adviser. However, he was so impressive in that role, that Stanley Kubrick just gave him the role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. One Golden Globe nomination later, and Ermey’s acting career took off.

 
8 of 25

Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman
Vera Anderson/WireImage

Unfortunately Hackman basically retired from acting years ago, so we’ve been without the two-time Oscar winner for a while. Prior to his acclaimed career, and prior to being legally able to join the military, Hackman enlisted. As a 16-year-old he lied about his age to join the Marines. He was stationed in China as a radio operator until he had to leave the country after the Communist revolution. Yes, Hackman was in the military a long time ago.

 
9 of 25

Jonathan Winters

Jonathan Winters
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TV Land

Winters was an old-school comedy legend. We’re talking in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” level status. Weirdly, the man who loved to improv and ad lib was a military man early in his life. Winters was a Marine, and he served in the Pacific theater in World War II.

 
10 of 25

Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy Stewart
Gene Lester/Getty Images

Stewart’s acting career saw him playing a lot of kind, seemingly mild-mannered men. He was the proverbial boy scout. And yet he was also a highly decorated soldier. Stewart notably was the first famous actor to volunteer for World War II service. Not only did he serve as a pilot in the Air Force Reserve, but he also rose all the way to the level of brigadier general. That made him the highest-ranking actor in military history.

 
11 of 25

Burgess Meredith

Burgess Meredith
John Barr/Liaison

Whether you know him as Mickey, Rocky Balboa’s trainer, or Batman's nemesis the Penguin, Meredith was a noted curmudgeon on the screen. Before his acting career, he served as a captain in the Air Force, eventually settling into making training and educational films for the armed forces. He was let out of duty to act in a film in 1944, and from there an acting career bloomed.

 
12 of 25

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss
Gene Lester/Getty Images

Yes, the guy who wrote dozens of acclaimed children’s books did time in the military. Long before he was the famed Dr. Seuss, Theodor Geisel was a cartoonist. He started off making political cartoons during World War II, but then he turned to doing more direct work for the U.S. government. Eventually he enlisted with the Army, was named a captain and was put in charge of the animation department of the First Motion Picture Unit.

 
13 of 25

Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks
Danny Martindale/WireImage

Like his buddy Carl Reiner, funnyman Brooks served in World War II. He’s often told stories about his time on the battlefield, including German soldiers cheering him for goofily singing in the middle of a war. Early on in the war, Brooks was responsible for finding landmines, but by the end he was in charge of putting together shows for American soldiers and German citizens.

 
14 of 25

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Eastwood has played a lot of men who carried guns, most of them cowboys or outlaws or rogue cops. Prior to that, though, he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. However, there wasn’t a lot of gun play in his military career. Evidently, he spent his entire time in the Army as a lifeguard at a fort in northern California. Hey, somebody has to guard those lives.

 
15 of 25

Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris
A. Nevader/WireImage

Fake Chuck Norris facts used to be trendy on the internet, but here’s a real fact about the once-and-future "Walker, Texas Ranger": He served as a military police officer in the Air Force in Korea. While he was there he began training in the martial arts, which would become a passion that eventually led to his acting career.

 
16 of 25

Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Carson was the face of late-night television for decades. Back when there were only a few TV channels, “The Tonight Show” was regular viewing for the nation. As a young man, Carson was in the Navy, and he spent most of his time boxing and goofing around. In fact, he said the highlight of his military career was performing a magic trick for James V. Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy.

 
17 of 25

Mr. T

Mr. T
Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

We pity the fool who doesn’t recognize Mr. T’s military background! The man born Laurence Tureaud tried many things before becoming an actor. He attempted to play NFL football, he was a bouncer, and then he finally found some success as a bodyguard. Before all that, though, he enlisted in the Army and then served as a military police officer.

 
18 of 25

Bob Barker

Bob Barker
Mark Davis/Getty Images

Two “The Price is Right” hosts on one list! Years before he beat up Happy Gilmore, Barker was a Naval fighter pilot. However, the military never said “Come on down!” to his squad during World War II, so he didn’t see any action in the theater of war.

 
19 of 25

Shaggy

Shaggy
Gary Miller/Getty Images

In this case, it WAS Shaggy who served in the military. Though he was born in Jamaica, the singer joined the Marine Corps in the late ‘80s. He would serve in the Persian Gulf War and then turn to his career as a musician famous for his distinct voice and affinity for gaslighting.

 
20 of 25

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

McQueen starred in an excellent war film “The Great Escape.” He even did some of his own motorcycle stunts at his request. McQueen was also a Marine, though he was busted down to private a whopping seven times early in his career. However, the king of cool eventually bought into the military ethos, and he would eventually be part of a team that guarded President Harry Truman’s yacht.

 
21 of 25

MC Hammer

MC Hammer
Michael Putland/Getty Images

Early on, Hammer’s dream was to become a pro baseball player. However, though he was an Oakland A’s batboy, he couldn’t hack it on the diamond. Not knowing what else to do, Hammer joined the Navy, where he served for three years. One assumes he never wore parachute pants during that time.

 
22 of 25

Rod Serling

Rod Serling
Archive Photos/Getty Images

Serling was a creator, writer and host for “The Twilight Zone,” making him one of the most important people in the early days of television. The man changed science fiction. He was also overtly political, and his time in the military was a huge reason for that. Not only did Serling serve in World War II, but he also saw a ton of action in the Pacific theater. He was a paratrooper and a member of a battalion called “The Death Squad,” and his experience forever changed him and shaped his writing.

 
23 of 25

Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura
John Lamparski/WireImage

Ventura became famous as a professional wrestler known as “The Body,” before becoming an actor, the governor of Minnesota and a conspiracy theorist. He was also a graduate of the Navy SEAL program and was part of an underwater demolition team. Ventura served during the Vietnam War but didn’t see any action.

 
24 of 25

Sinbad

Sinbad
George Pimentel/WireImage

We aren’t talking about the sailor, who probably had some sort of military action in his background. We’re talking about the stand-up comedian and star of “Jingle All the Way.” Sinbad was a member of the Air Force, though not a particularly great one. He was stationed in Wichita, Kansas, and often went AWOL. It was during this time he started performing stand-up as well. That worked out better than the whole military thing.

 
25 of 25

Bea Arthur

Bea Arthur
Nick Valinote/FilmMagic

This list was mostly men. That’s the nature of the history of the United States military, unfortunately. However, we wanted to include one woman with some military service. So let’s honor a Golden Girl! Arthur was a member of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Sure, they only let her serve as a typist and truck driver, but she did rise to the rank of staff sergeant.

Chris Morgan is a sports and pop culture writer and the author of the books The Comic Galaxy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Ash Heap of History. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisXMorgan.

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