A list of American actors, actresses, and athletes who served in World War II.

Actors:

Eddie Albert (U.S. Navy)
Gene Autry (U.S. Army Air Corps)
Humphrey Bogart (served in WWI, not WWII — often confused)
Charles Bronson (U.S. Army Air Forces)
James Cagney (did USO tours, not formal military service)
Jack Carson (Canadian-American; served in the U.S. Army)
Kirk Douglas (U.S. Navy)
Melvyn Douglas (U.S. Army — rose to major)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (U.S. Navy, special operations)
Henry Fonda (U.S. Navy — served as a quartermaster)
Glenn Ford (U.S. Marine Corps Reserve)
Clark Gable (U.S. Army Air Forces — bomber gunner and officer)
Charlton Heston (U.S. Army Air Forces)
Rock Hudson (mechanic in the U.S. Navy — still unknown if he saw combat)
Alan Ladd (too ill for military service, but contributed to war efforts)
Burt Lancaster (U.S. Army — entertainer for troops)
Harold Russell (U.S. Army — lost both hands, starred in The Best Years of Our Lives)
Ronald Reagan (U.S. Army Air Forces — made training films)
Robert Ryan (U.S. Marine Corps instructor)
George C. Scott (U.S. Marines — stationed stateside)
Rod Serling (U.S. Army — paratrooper)
Jimmy Stewart (U.S. Army Air Forces — bomber pilot, later brigadier general)
Robert Stack (U.S. Navy)
William Holden (acted in propaganda films; service record unclear)
Lee Marvin (U.S. Marine Corps — wounded at Saipan)
Audie Murphy (most decorated U.S. soldier, later became an actor)
Jack Palance (U.S. Army Air Forces)
Tyrone Power (U.S. Marine Corps — pilot)

Actresses:

(Note: Few women served in combat, but many did contribute through auxiliary forces and entertainment.)

Bea Arthur (U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve — truck driver/clerk)
Julia Child (Office of Strategic Services [OSS] — precursor to CIA)
Marsha Hunt (worked with the USO and War Bond drives)

Athletes:

Yogi Berra (Navy — saw action on D-Day)
Joe DiMaggio (Army Air Forces)
Bob Feller (Navy — served on battleships in the Pacific)
Jackie Robinson (Army — court-martialed for refusing bus segregation, later cleared)
Ted Williams (Marine Corps — fighter pilot)
Pee Wee Reese (Navy)
Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch (Marines and Navy — football player later)
Chuck Bednarik (Air Force — flew 30 missions over Germany)

** This is not a complete list