This is a new spectacular war series at the beginning of the year. A long-awaited project announced in 2019, Masters of The Air is a new TV juggernaut for which the Apple TV+ platform has spent between $250 and $300 million.
Created by John Orloff, Air Masters Set during World War II and following Band of Brothers and The Pacific, produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Gottzman.
Although the beginning of the series has just landed on the platform, this is a great opportunity to also talk about masters of the air… Hollywood! Engaged during World War II, some talent joined the Air Force in various theaters of operations. And not always, far, for rotation behind the table. Proof four.
James Stewart
“World War II is something I think about almost every day. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.” said the great actor James Stewart shortly before his death in 1997.
An actor adored by the American public, who achieved great success in Frank Capra’s You Shall Not Take It With You in 1938 and Mr. Smith in the Senate the following year, James Stewart was a true war hero.
Passionate about aviation, he obtained his pilot’s license in 1935 and even became an airline pilot in 1938. After serving in the Army during the war (he even became the first American movie star to wear the uniform), he began as an instructor pilot at Glendale Air Force Base in Arizona.
Promoted to lieutenant in July 1942, he spent August through December of that year training to fly B-17 bombers. Promoted to captain in July 1943 as a squadron leader, he flew his first bombing mission in November 1943 against the German submarine base at Kiel.
In total, he will complete 20 missions before the end of the war. Decorated many times, including the French Military Cross with Palms, his commitment was such that he continued to serve in the US Air Force even after the war.
He finished his military career with the rank of colonel, and on July 23, 1959, he was even awarded the rank of Brigadier General of the US Air Force.
Charles Bronson
A real face of cinema, famously emaciated, Charles Bronson left an indelible mark on cinema. The son of Lithuanian immigrants who lived in great poverty (he was the 11th child of 15 siblings), the future actor even worked in a coal mine at the age of 10 and was the first in his family to graduate.
In 1943 he enlisted in the US Air Force and trained as a gunner in the 760th Flying Machine Gun Training Squadron. In 1945, he was part of the crew of a B-29, the Flying Fortress, whose squadron was stationed on the Pacific island of Guam. He and his crew flew 25 bombing missions over Japan. He received a Purple Heart for combat wounds and was discharged from military service in 1946.
Clark Gable
The reasons that got Clark Gable involved are painful. His wife, the actress Carole Lombard, who died in a plane crash on January 16, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was declared the first woman to die in the line of duty during the war and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. freedom.
Considered too old for military service (he was 40 at the time), Gable sent a telegram to the president to appoint him to a war support post. Roosevelt replied: “stay where you are”. Gable defied the president’s orders and enlisted in the US Air Force.
Trained in aerial photography and as a machine gunner, he was sent to England with six crew members in the 351st Airlift Wing. He flew 5 missions, including an air raid in Germany, where one of his teammates died when a bullet went through an actor’s boot and grazed his head. MGM, the studio with which he was under contract, would arrange for him to be reassigned to a less prominent position…
In 1944, he was given the rank of major, and on June 12 of the same year, he was released from his obligations. It is said that Adolf Hitler, a great admirer of the actress, offered a large reward to anyone who could bring the captured star back to Berlin.
Charlton Heston
In 1944, Charlton Heston enlisted in the United States Air Force. He served two years as a radio operator and airman on a B-25 Mitchell stationed in the Aleutian Islands off southwest Alaska with the 77th Bombardment Squadron, 11th Air Force. Then he was given the rank of staff sergeant. He will also take part in the Aleutian Islands campaign.
Demobilized in March 1946, he also gave voice to military educational films under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy. Moreover, films on secret topics, as some of them were related to the development of nuclear weapons. Thus, the actor held the highest level of security in the country’s government bodies for six years.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
