I was looking around for Davy Jones real name, (David Jones, same as David Bowie0 and I came across the following:
Buck Jones, Actor (Western B Movies); Charles Frederick Gebhart (also known as Gebhardt) (4 December 1889 - 28 November 1942). Died in a fire, after saving others.
Anyone else know of any famous people, who have done heroic, and/or stupid things, after already having been renowned?
Oh, yes, and before I forget, I have to nominate Fatty Arbuckle for contiuing to act on stage, after his infamy for a crime he did not commit.
One that pops to mind immediately is Steve Buscemi. He was a firefighter before he became famous, and after 9/11, he showed up at this old fire station and assisted digging through the rubble looking for survivors and bodies. Maybe not in immediate danger to life and limb, ground zero was considered pretty hazardous in the days following the attacks. Pretty selfless at any rate.
Yikes!
Well, he has the fact that he is still alive, and that he is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, to consule him.
Also, the article says:
"They were attacked by two muggers who stole a handbag. He chased after them and he was shot in the leg.
A handbag? It doesn’t really matter if it was a stranger’s handbag or his girlfriend’s handbag, for it was heroic no the less, but somehow, I want to know.
I meant that last linkt to be to an article on the same page. Whoops. Anyone intrerested in more about the last post can see: http://www.indieking.com/E55.html
It’s not quite the same level of heroics, but Harrison Ford has helped rescue stranded hikers in danger at least twice so far. I’d say it’s at least pretty cool to fly your helicopter and land it in the mountains to rescue some total stranger who’s become ill or lost and unable to get to safety.
Beat me to it! That’s the first one that came to mind to me as well. Much more heroic than John Wayne, who incidently got into a fight with seviceman over not being in the uniformed service during the war.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the fact that Larry David saved an innocent man from the death chair, via his sitting in a ball park, and getting filmed sitting in said ball park. http://courttv.com/news/2004/0604/larrydavid_ctv.html
Dunno if you’re counting professional sports players as celebrities, but i thought of Pat Tillman, who left the NFL to join up and was killed in Afghanistan.
And again, not sure if he qualifies as a celebrity or not, but left-wing historian and political commentator Howard Zinn was a B-17 bombrdier in WWII, flying missions over Europe.
At least a few Hall-of-Fame bound MLB players gave up their careers to head for WWII or Korea. I can’t remember his name, but there’s one guy from the HoF who died within the last couple of years who was remembered for having given up his career at its peak to go to Korea and fight. When the war was over he picked up right where he left off. Damn if can’t remember his name. :smack:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, helped save the lives of a couple of victims of a car crash (well after his election to the Majority Leader post).
Arizona Cardinals player Pat Tillman gave up a lucrative career in the NFL to go fight, and die, in Afghanistan following the September 11th terrorist attacks.
As long as we are counting left wingers, you might as well mention Andy Rooney. He was in the front lines reporting for Stars and Stripes during D-Day, bombing runs and concentration camp liberations.
Most people remember that Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier of WWII. He became a famous actor after his war exploits.
quite a guy.
My personal favorite is the actor Victor McLaughlin, who won an oscar for “The Informer” and starred oppisite John Wayne in “The Quiet Man”.
He lied about his age to join the British Army and fight in the frickin’ Boer War! He fought in World War 1 and was briefly provost marshall of Bagdad! He was mentioned in despatchs by Winston Churchill.
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Baseball player Ted Williams was coming off a remarkable season with the Boston Red Sox when he received his draft notice in 1941. He was called to Naval aviation duty in November 1942. Commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1944, he served until December 1945. After his discharge, he went back to the Red Sox, until he was recalled in 1952. He flew 49 combat missions during the Korean War with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Discharged again in 1953, Williams returned to the Red Sox.
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for having said this.