Uncle Fester from The Addams Family was “creepy”, “kooky”, and “altogether ooky” – and also a World War II veteran who conducted hazardous missions deep behind enemy lines. Saruman from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings was a WWII intelligence officer who worked alongside various clandestine organizations. After the war, he helped track down Nazi war criminals. Below are some fascinating facts about those and other celebrities who served in WWII.
Uncle Fester Was a WWII Air Commando
Comedian and actor Jackie Coogan (1914 – 1984), best known as Uncle Fester from the 1960s sitcom The Addams Family, was a WWII veteran. Born John Leslie Coogan in Los Angeles, he got his start as an actor at an early age, and his parents had him perform in movies and vaudeville while still an infant. He caught Charlie Chaplin’s eye while dancing on stage, and the legendary comedian signed up the young Coogan. His role alongside Charlie Chaplin in the 1921 hit movie The Kid made Coogan one of Hollywood’s first ever child stars. The following year, his role in 1922’s Oliver Twist catapulted him to even greater fame. Unfortunately for Coogan, his parents squandered his earnings, and left him broke when he reached adulthood. The scandal led to the California Child Actors Bill, commonly known as “The Coogan Act”, to legally protect child performer earnings.
An adult Coogan enlisted in the US Army in 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the country into WWII, Coogan, who had prewar civilian flying experience, requested and was granted a transfer to the US Army Air Forces. He was trained as a glider pilot, and graduated with the rank of flight officer. Coogan volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group, and was sent to the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. There, he flew and inserted members of the Long Range Penetration Group, a specialized unit of the British and Indian armies better known as the Chindits, for special operations behind enemy lines. In one particularly hairy mission during the Burma Campaign, Coogan landed a glider full of Chindits at night, in the jungles of Burma one hundred miles deep into Japanese-controlled territory.
