# What celebrities have committed heroic acts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845 "2005-03-10T15:30:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/61 "2005-03-11T16:53:23Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > One of the U.S. Track and Field team’s sprinters once apprehended a thief in an airport in Spain. IIRC, it was in 1999. I’m not recalling the sprinter’s name. Oh yeah – it was [Maurice Greene](http://starbulletin.com/1999/08/18/sports/joe.html) and his teammate, hurdler Larry Wade: > [@](#): > > Some thief in Seville, Spain, tried to make off with a suitcase the other day and high-tail it to the airport exit. What he didn’t know is that the suitcase belonged to Larry Wade, a world-class hurdler. > > Ooops. > > Apparently Wade was waiting for teammate Maurice Greene, the 100-meter world record holder, to finish a television interview when he saw the thief take off with his bag. > > Greene and Wade chased the guy down with ease. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/62 "2005-03-11T18:32:53Z")
Daryl Hanna ran down a mugger once. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/63 "2005-03-11T18:49:45Z")
Neville Brand, one of my favorite movie bad guys, was a decorated [combat veteran of WWII.](http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/military/neville_brand.html) Knowing what guys like Neville Brand, Audie Murphy, James Stewart, Clark Gable, et. al. did during “The Big One” makes it difficult for me to stomach John Wayne. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/64 "2005-03-11T20:34:30Z")
What about giving large sums of money? Does it count as heroic or does it have to be something that puts one in physical danger? I’m not talking about celebs who bought a $25,000 ticket to an AIDS fundraiser but those who have been exceptionally generous (e.g. Ray Charles gave tens of millions of dollars to charities for the blind and African-American causes, Bill Cosby has built libraries and university buildings, Dolly Parton has sent hundreds of Appalachian kids to college and bought millions of dollars worth of books and educational equipemnt for them, Johnny Carson basically rebuilt Norfolk Nebraska, Victor Borge gave millions to charity [even though he wasn’t a super-wealthy entertainer when compared to Cosby or McCartney, etc.], etc.). Or… how about USO performers? Bob Hope risked his life to do his shows (and often found out only years later how truly close he’d come to being killed or kidnapped a few times). Al Franken often uses his appearance on gigs in war zones to great effectiveness when combatting O’Reilly and Limbaugh and their ilk when they’re questioning his patriotism (and he’s earned the right). ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/65 "2005-03-11T20:56:03Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > What about giving large sums of money? Yes, in fact, I never liked Superman, since he was never actually putting himself in danger like other superheros. Both USO show examples are great examples of heroism in my book, although it is not the ones I had in mind when I started this thread. I think that this thread has opened my mind. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/66 "2005-03-11T21:14:20Z")
Old Dirty Bastard once helped lift a burning car off of a 4-year old child. He later went to the hospital to visit the child and bring her Wu Tang merchandise. Immediately afterward, he insisted on being referred to as “Big Baby Jesus” during interviews. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/67 "2005-03-12T03:50:05Z")
Atlanta Falcon Chris Draft and Herschel Walker: [http://www.stpetetimes.com/2002/05/03/Columns/A\_crash\_\_a\_life\_saved.shtml](http://www.stpetetimes.com/2002/05/03/Columns/A_crash__a_life_saved.shtml) ---
**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:** [March 12, 2005, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/68 "2005-03-12T11:18:13Z")
While governor of California, **Ronald Reagan** was hosting a party at the governor’s mansion and a child fell into the swimming pool and clearly was in danger of drowning. Reagan, a former lifeguard (among other things like “B” movie actor) dived in and rescued the child. The very popular movie actor in the late '20s and early '30s **Tom Mix** had been a Texas Ranger and had been wounded several times while in that job. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/69 "2005-03-12T18:58:51Z")
I don’t think giving lot’s of cash, or volunteering your time counts as being “heroic”. Nice, sure. Does show they “give back”. One of my per peeves is when they commentators talk about “sports heroes”- those being those rich prima-donna’s that do well in their particular sport. That’s also not being “heroic”- not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/70 "2005-03-12T22:23:00Z")
Is it not true that in WW2 some actors were told that it was more important that they act than they enlist? Morale is very important. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/71 "2005-03-12T22:48:06Z")
Rosie O’Donnell rescued a drowning swimmer with her Jet-Ski. Bobby Sherman was an EMT throughout the 80s and 90s. Madonna would take Puerto Rican teenage boys into her limo and make out with them before kicking them to the curb (which doesn’t sound particularly heroic, but consider if she’d done it with you!). John Lennon and John Denver tithed lots of money to altruistic foundations. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845/72 "2005-03-13T01:13:32Z")
Another sports figure: Michael Matz, a US show-jumper and three-time Olympian riding with the United States Equestrian Team, was on that United Airlines flight that crashed outside Sioux City, IA in 1989. He lead three children out of the burning plane, then returned to the wreck and helped rescue a fourth child. [Story here](http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/sports/2004/08/22delparktrainerl.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-committed-heroic-acts/293845.md?page=3)