Is it true that David Niven was the only pre-war British star to serve in the military during WWII?
I recently read that during the Second World War actor David Niven was the only British actor who had been a star in Hollywood prior to the war who served in the military during the war. According to what I read, the British Embassy advised all British stars in Hollywood to remain there for the duration of the war. Meanwhile it seems that folks who had been minor actors prior to the outbreak of the war, but who never achieved stardom prior to the war, may not have been so advised. How true is this?
Louise C2018-06-27T07:48:25Z
Laurence Olivier returned to England having learnt to fly, he hoped to join the RAF. instead he joined the Fleet Air Arm, and made wartime propoganda broadcasts. Apparently he was not a very good flier. SOme other stars, like C Aubrey Smith and Leslie Howard for example, were too old for active service. Herbert Marshall only had one leg, having lost the other one in WW1. Robert Donat suffered from chronic asthma, which would have made him unfit for active service.
The brilliant Jack Hawkins served during the war. During the Second World War Hawkins served as an officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.[7] He became a colonel in ENSA for India and Southeast Asia.[7] During his military service he made The Next of Kin (1942) for Ealing Studios.
I can't believe you asked this. Last night I was watching the film Spitfire (1942), originally released in the UK under the title The First of the Few. I always liked David Niven and it made me wonder if he served in WW2. I looked it up and here's what I found. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/08/18/david-niven-british-star-hollywood-enlist-world-war-2/
The pre-war British film industry was just as vibrant and prolific (proportionately) as Hollywood – there were few British actors who went to Hollywood and were successful, there was little incentive with so much work available in Britain.
However, Leslie Howard, who starred in Gone with the Wind, was killed during the war.