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Obi Wan Kenobi Took On the Third Reich and Other Lesser Known World War II Facts

Khalid Elhassan September 14, 2022 38 min

KRT ENTERTAINMENT STORY SLUGGED: OSCARS-COUNTDOWN KRT PHOTOGRAPH VIA ZAP2IT.COM (November 21) Alec Guinness, who played Colonel Nicholson in the 1957 Academy Award-winning war drama "The Bridge on the River Kwai," won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in the film. (ZP) NC KD 2002 (Horiz B&W Only) (lde)

The ‘King of Hollywood’ Left His Realm to Go Fight the Nazis

WWII - Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind — Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind. Cultura Estadao

Once known as “The King of Hollywood”, William Clark Gable (1901 – 1960) was one of the silver screen’s greatest legends. He starred in over 60 movies, and is probably best known for his role as Rhett Butler in the blockbuster Gone With the Wind. He won an Oscar as Best Actor for his lead in It Happened One Night. Other notable films in which he starred and that met both critical and commercial success include Mutiny on the Bounty, The Hucksters, and The Misfits, his last film, as well as that of his co-star, Marilyn Monroe. When America entered WWII, Gable was Hollywood’s biggest star at the time and its greatest box office draw. He gave it all up, and took a break from the silver screen to go and fight the Axis.

Clark Gable, right, in The Painted Desert. Turner Classic Movies

Gable had quit school at age sixteen to work in a tire factory, and decided to become an actor after he saw a play. As he nursed his dream, he took acting lessons and worked a variety of jobs, from oil field roustabout to necktie salesman. In 1924, he married his acting coach and the couple moved to Hollywood so he could focus on his dream. He began his Hollywood career as an extra. After years of bit parts and stints in the theater, he got a contract from MGM in 1930, and garnered notice for a powerful performance in his first starring role in The Painted Desert.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.