# Any actor played roles in all 4 armed services? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873 "2012-04-25T02:08:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/81 "2014-01-21T23:35:15Z")
The man who may define “Macho Character Actor” in my mind is Richard Jackel. I just checked and he was in at least 15 war-related films (modern wars - he was also in numerous westerns where he played old time military and almost uncountable military television shows). Lets run the qualifying movies though: Air Force – Wing and a Prayer Army-- Dirty Dozen Navy-- Sea of Lost Ships Marines-- Sands of Iwo Jima Coast Guard-- Fighting Coast Guard (and just for good measure) National Guard-- Attack He seemed to die in most of his films (even the non-military ones [Do you remember his death scene in Sometimes a Great Notion?] One great irony is he was one of the few who didn’t die in Dirty Dozen). ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/82 "2014-01-21T23:48:31Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > The man who may define “Macho Character Actor” in my mind is Richard Jackel. I just checked and he was in at least 15 war-related films (modern wars - he was also in numerous westerns where he played old time military and almost uncountable military television shows). > > Lets run the qualifying movies though: > > Air Force – Wing and a Prayer > Army-- Dirty Dozen > Navy-- Sea of Lost Ships > Marines-- Sands of Iwo Jima > Coast Guard-- Fighting Coast Guard > (and just for good measure) > National Guard-- Attack > He seemed to die in most of his films (even the non-military ones [Do you remember his death scene in Sometimes a Great Notion?] One great irony is he was one of the few who didn’t die in Dirty Dozen). I, of course, misspelled his name… Richard Jaeckel. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/83 "2014-01-22T00:00:28Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > The man who may define “Macho Character Actor” in my mind is Richard Jackel. Using that logic, I can now note that Robert Conrad of course played a USMC Major in _Black Sheep Squadron_ after playing a USAF Lieutenant in _Thundering Jets_ before playing a USN Commander in _The Fifth Missile_; as for the Army – eh, no point in bothering with the movies where he played a Colonel or a General, since he’d long since qualified by playing a Sergeant in WWII Italy as per _The Gallant Men_. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/84 "2014-01-22T01:11:07Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There are seven uniformed services. Four that fall under the DoD. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security. I know the above response is now fairly old, but what you posted does not invalidate the statement you replied to. There are five branches of armed services, so the title of the thread referencing four as “all” is incorrect. The USCG are considered part of the military, an armed service, except when poking fun at them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/85 "2014-01-22T02:48:14Z")
> [@theR](#): > > I know the above response is now fairly old, but what you posted does not invalidate the statement you replied to. There are five branches of armed services, so the title of the thread referencing four as “all” is incorrect. The USCG are considered part of the military, an armed service, except when poking fun at them. Okay, fine. James Gregory: • Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander, _Onionhead_. • Army General, _The Secret War Of Harry Frigg_. • Air Corps Colonel, _Captain Newman, MD_. • USMC Sergeant, _The Lieutenant_. • Navy Commander, _PT 109_. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/86 "2014-01-22T12:27:18Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Charlie Sheen almost makes it: \*\*Platoon \*\*(Army), \*\*Navy SEALS \*\*(Navy) and **Hot Shots!** (Air Farce). I don’t see much of a chance he’ll ever play a marine, though. Also **Cadence** as an Army Private, but no USMC ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/87 "2014-01-22T13:24:39Z")
Army vet Forrest Tucker played USMC in _Sands Of Iwo Jima_ and _Never Say Goodbye,_ picked up the Air Corps credit with _Wild Blue Yonder_ before going straight USAF in _Flight Nurse_, went USN in _Submarine Raider_ and USCG in _Fighting Coast Guard_, and as for Army – well, do you want the one where he’s a Private, or a Sergeant, or a Lieutenant, or a Lieutenant Colonel? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/88 "2014-01-22T14:29:45Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Army vet Forrest Tucker played USMC in _Sands Of Iwo Jima_ and _Never Say Goodbye,_ picked up the Air Corps credit with _Wild Blue Yonder_ before going straight USAF in _Flight Nurse_, went USN in _Submarine Raider_ and USCG in _Fighting Coast Guard_, and as for Army – well, do you want the one where he’s a Private, or a Sergeant, or a Lieutenant, or a Lieutenant Colonel? Personally, my favorite is _ **F Troop** _. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/89 "2014-01-22T15:12:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Personally, my favorite is _ **F Troop** _. 😃 Heh. And likewise, Rip Torn played Army in _ **Pork Chop Hill,** _ Navy in _ **She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal,** _ Air Force in _ **12 O’Clock High,** _ USMC in _ **Beach Red,** _ USCG in _ **Yours, Mine, And Ours,** _ and everything else from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief – but, c’mon, he’s Agent Zed from _ **Men In Black.** _ ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/90 "2014-01-22T23:03:40Z")
One that surprised me…Marlon Brando Army (couple of them but I choose German) – Young Lions Navy (Let’s go British) – Mutiny on the Bounty Air Force (American) – Sayonaro Marines (Brando’s first film, I think) – The Men ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/91 "2014-01-23T01:21:55Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > One that surprised me…Marlon Brando By contrast, is anyone surprised that Michael Ironside has all four? Like, _anyone?_ (He was playing Army General Sam Lane on SMALLVILLE within months of playing a Navy Captain in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, but never mind that now; he was an Army Major in EXTREME PREJUDICE – and _Jester_ in TOP GUN – long before he was an Air Force General in MAXIMUM VELOCITY or a Marine Lieutenant Colonel in MAJOR PAYNE.) (Dude was even the voice of Sam Fisher, because of course he was.) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/92 "2014-01-23T19:05:41Z")
Route 66’s own Martin Milner…If I used his television credits this guy would have been easy. But with the movies, it was a bit more of a challenge. Army – Screaming Eagles, Battle Zone Navy – Navy Wife, Operation Pacific Marines – the always dependable Sands of Iwo Jima, but also Halls of Montezuma Air Force – On the Threshold of Space Coast Guard – of course, Fighting Coast Guard Merchant Marine – based on the poem by Longfellow, Wreck of the Hesperas ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/93 "2014-01-23T20:33:38Z")
Glenn Ford played Admiral Raymond Spruance in **Midway** and General Omar Bradley in **Is Paris Burning?** for the Navy and Army credits after playing an Air Force Sergeant in **It Started With A Kiss** and appearing as a Marine in **Guadalcanal Diary**. (I say _“appearing as a Marine”_ because he was in fact serving in the Marines at the time – you know, in between serving in the Coast Guard and serving in the Navy.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/94 "2014-01-27T13:48:56Z")
WWII veteran Tige Andrews – best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Captain Greer on _The Mod Squad_ – had a recurring Army role as Private Gander on _The Phil Silvers Show_ before he got a recurring Navy role as Chief Petty Officer Simpson on _Gomer Pyle USMC_, but I think that’s irrelevant; he got big-screen roles in everything from _Mister Roberts_ to _A Private’s Affair_ to _Imitation General_, played a Marine in _Until They Sail_, would’ve picked up the Air Force credit as a Master Sergeant in _12 O’Clock High_ if he didn’t already have it from playing Corporal Menotti in the _China Doll_ movie, and even went Coast Guard with _Onionhead_. Oh, and since this is the SDMB, I’ll add that he was also that Klingon in the episode where Doctor McCoy punched Julie Newmar. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/95 "2014-01-30T13:13:01Z")
Before he was Oscar Goldman on _The Six Million Dollar Man_, Richard Anderson played a naval officer in movies like _Hit The Deck_ and _Three Brave Men_ and _Tora! Tora! Tora!_ – and a USAF Colonel alongside Rock Hudson in _A Gathering Of Eagles_, and a USMC Lieutenant Colonel in _The Lieutenant_ – and as for Army, he’s played every General from Douglas MacArthur to George Meade after playing a Green Beret in _Never Give Up_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/96 "2014-01-31T13:05:04Z")
Since ENLISTED is now on the air, I’m reminded that Keith David has been playing Army roles since PLATOON – and Navy in the BEHIND ENEMY LINES movies, and a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in SEMPER FI, and of course he was the Air Force General in ARMAGEDDON who asks _Hey, why the heck are we training blue-collar oil-rig workers up to plant an atomic bomb on this asteroid? We’re the damned United States Air Force! How’s about we just launch dozens and dozens of nuclear missiles at it? Maybe fifty? I mean, fifty’s a nice round number…_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/97 "2015-03-02T01:16:45Z")
Bumping because (a) before he was landing roles as everything from a USN Commander in _Assault on the Wayne_ to a USAF General in _Invasion America_, and (b) in between landing big-screen roles as a West Point cadet and an Army sergeant, young Leonard Nimoy became an enlisted man in real life, which is when he got tapped to play a Marine in a training film for the quadfecta. (Hey, remember that _Twilight Zone_ episode where he plays a laconic infantryman who ain’t loving the attitude of newly-minted officer Dean Stockwell? That was awesome.) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/98 "2015-03-02T02:01:46Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Tom Cruise comes close. Air Force in **Top Gun** , Army in **Born on the Fourth of July** , Navy in **A Few Good Men**. He plays soldiers and airmen in a bunch of in-production films, and played a German soldier in **Valkyrie**. No marine roles as yet. Top Gun - Naval Aviator Bot4 - He was a Marine, not Army Edge of Tomorrow, Major William Cage, US Army The closest thing to Air Force may be NASA astronaut Jack Harper from Oblivion. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/99 "2015-03-02T18:55:22Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > [Raymond Cruz](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0190441/), who you might recognize as the guy who was cast to be the Hispanic military guy in the 90s, has all but the Air Force. Uncredited role in **Broken Arrow** as the briefer on the effects, if detonated, of the stolen B63 nuclear bombs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873/100 "2016-01-21T01:03:21Z")
Bumping because another thread just brought to mind John Payne, who served in the Army Air Corps during WWII after playing a Navy pilot in **Wings Of The Navy** and starring as a Marine in **To The Shores Of Tripoli** ; _after_ the war, he of course proved the existence of Santa Claus in **Miracle on 34th Street** before starring as an Army sergeant in **Rails Into Laramie** and then as a USAF Major in **Bailout At 43,000**. (Other starring roles: the cop, the boxer, the pirate, the cowboy, the racecar driver; basically, _“yeah, but what if a six-year-old boy wished for more wishes?”_) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-actor-played-roles-in-all-4-armed-services/619873.md?page=6)