The Silver Screen Oasis

Questions about elements various celebrities have in common generally involve simply lookups, but some can be pretty obscure.

Here's what should be an easy one:

What do the following producers have in common?

Mack Sennett
Jack L. Warner

JohnM wrote:Darryl Zanuck was a writer for both of them.

OK . . . . but not what I was thinking of.

This commonality occurred long before either man got into the movie business - it's something very basic.

They had the same birthday (August 2, 1892) and were both born in London, Ontario, Canada. SPOOOOOOOOOKYYYYYY!!

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:They had the same birthday (August 2, 1892) and were both born in London, Ontario, Canada. SPOOOOOOOOOKYYYYYY!!

Well, Christy, 'born in Canada' was what I was looking for. (Different references I looked at give different details for Sennett, giving his birth year as 1880 or 1884 and his birthplace as various towns in Quebec.)

And now it's your turn.

Dear Judith,
Well, I hopped around in the IMDb and they listed the same dates.
Still, unusual if it was the same date. Thanks, Judith. Great thread idea.

I am thinking of two Hollywood-based performers:

Both stars received gifts from Howard Hughes.
Both stars played leading roles for Paramount.
Both stars were popular screen personalities of the 50's.
Both have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Both stars performed many of their own stunts in their earlier years.
Both stars were athletic in their later teens and early twenties.

One More Clue:

Both shared a residence at one point in their careers.

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:One More Clue:

Both shared a residence at one point in their careers.

Christy, all I can come up with so far is[are] Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, but they were stars well before the 1950s, weren't they?

Are we talking about males or females? The Howard Hughes clue suggests females, but I see that Robert Mitchum was a beneficiary of Hughes largesse at some point.

Let's see - who else roomed together? So many starving actors did.
Marlon Brando and Wally Cox. Henry Fonda and James Stewart. Shelley Winters and Marilyn Monroe -- the list is endless.

More help, please?

You've got it. Grant and Scott!

I am so glad! This was a great thread idea.

Next time I will try to arrange my clues for more clarity. (If I can ever guess another question correctly!)

You mentioned Wally Cox and Marlon. I wish the Brando doc would have at least discussed what good friends they were. I loved Wally Cox.

Back to Judith!

OK, Friends ---

Who can tell me what Charles Durning has in common with Sterling Hayden?

This one shouldn't be that hard.

The common factor between Hayden and Durning happened before either one became well-known. Big hint - it has something to do with what they were doing between 1941 and 1945.

Judith, both fought in the European theater during WWII and were marines?

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:Judith, both fought in the European theater during WWII and were marines?

We're getting warmer. Hayden was a Marine (he served under the name of John Hamilton to ward off publicity, since he had already been in several films and had also served in the OSS), and Durning was in the Army. However, what they have in common is bigger than just the fact that they were in the military in Europe during WWII.

I'll give you a big hint: I found one other actor listed among other men, and several women, who share this factor, but I hesitated to mention him, because it would give it away.

The other actor was Audie Murphy. Does that suggest something to you?

They all earned Purple Hearts?

Sue Sue Applegate wrote:They all earned Purple Hearts?

Close, but not quite.

Y'know, please don't take this as a criticism, but this information is clearly available in any online bio of these two actors. Really, Christy and everyone else, no one expects any of us to have all of this information in our heads. Looking up what I don't already know is how I learn things, and I love to learn new things about my Hollywood faves.

So -- here's the answer to what Sterling Hayden, Charles Durning, and Audie Murphy, who I threw in as a bonus clue, have in common.

All three were awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat (all three won their Silver Stars in European battles in WWII). The Silver Star is a pretty big deal, and if you look at the list of recipients, you'll see it isn't all that long. Durning, especially, was what one would call a battle-scarred veteran - he was on the beaches on D-Day and was also in combat in the Battle of the Bulge. He was badly wounded and spent a long time in rehab.

Hayden served in the Marines, and was also in the military secret service, the OSS, which is considered the forerunner of the CIA. He, too was wounded in battle.

Audie Murphy's combat history should speak for itself - he was the most highly decorated American soldier of WWII.

Christy, they all would probably have gotten Purple Hearts too, which is a decoration given to any soldier who is wounded in a combat situation.