Are you a vet with Hollywood aspirations?

[Retired Army Noncom]

Not me because I'm too old and besides, I was in 'The Devils Brigade" as an extra. Been there, done that!!!

 

https://www.military.com/undertheradar/2018/02/09/tom-hanks-wants-veterans-audition-his-next-war-movie.html

 

 

[patches]

Not me because I'm too old and besides, I was in 'The Devils Brigade" as an extra. Been there, done that!!!

 

https://www.military.com/undertheradar/2018/02/09/tom-hanks-wants-veterans-audition-his-next-war-movie.html

 

 

You where an extra in that movie! Wow, where in the Army then?

[Retired Army Noncom]

You where an extra in that movie! Wow, where in the Army then?

Yes, I was stationed in Vicenza Italy. For the second half of that movie it was filmed in southern Italy. The producer sent a scout north to SETAF Hdqs. We had to used our leave time, pay for our own way south. When we arrived we were paid $17.00 a day, room and board and given a train ticket back. I was a german soldier, no speaking part. Our Bn mail clerk was a stand-in for Claude Atkins.

[patches]

Yes, I was stationed in Vicenza Italy. For the second half of that movie it was filmed in southern Italy. The producer sent a scout north to SETAF Hdqs. We had to used our leave time, pay for our own way south. When we arrived we were paid $17.00 a day, room and board and given a train ticket back. I was a german soldier, no speaking part. Our Bn mail clerk was a stand-in for Claude Atkins.

I thought you might of been. Fantastic story, did you see yourself in the film what you eventually seen it? Perhaps you can relate any of your recollections on set in a new topic in this forum.

[Retired Army Noncom]

I thought you might of been. Fantastic story, did you see yourself in the film what you eventually seen it? Perhaps you can relate any of your recollections on set in a new topic in this forum.

We were kept to ourselves and were briefed every morning who and what we were to do. Most of the GIs were used as GIs but a small few were also used as Germans. Most of the Germans were local Italians but some of us yanks looked Aryan. I picked myself out of a group surrender scene during the village surrender. I was in the group marching across the bridge. On the hilltop battle scene I was running around getting myself killed by artillery. One other guy from my plt that was in our group was black and when we arrived the prop manager used him on guard duty watching all the props. There were no blacks in the 1st Special Forces Bde nor the German army. I think he got a bit more pay though because of his job. It wasn't really the special feeling of being in a movie, it was the pay and being away from boring garrison duty that most of us volunteered to use our leave time. Pay back then wasn't much. We made more than we did in 12 days than we did all month on GI pay. The chow was better too and plenty of it. That was the extent of my Hollywood experience.

[63 RECON]

my mate was the armorer on the Pacific so i was pretty much in that

[patches]

We were kept to ourselves and were briefed every morning who and what we were to do. Most of the GIs were used as GIs but a small few were also used as Germans. Most of the Germans were local Italians but some of us yanks looked Aryan. I picked myself out of a group surrender scene during the village surrender. I was in the group marching across the bridge. On the hilltop battle scene I was running around getting myself killed by artillery. One other guy from my plt that was in our group was black and when we arrived the prop manager used him on guard duty watching all the props. There were no blacks in the 1st Special Forces Bde nor the German army. I think he got a bit more pay though because of his job. It wasn't really the special feeling of being in a movie, it was the pay and being away from boring garrison duty that most of us volunteered to use our leave time. Pay back then wasn't much. We made more than we did in 12 days than we did all month on GI pay. The chow was better too and plenty of it. That was the extent of my Hollywood experience.

That's very interesting, did you see any of the stars. Gonna have to look at still to see if your scenes are there

[Retired Army Noncom]

That's very interesting, did you see any of the stars. Gonna have to look at still to see if your scenes are there

From a distance........we were told what to do, when to do it and where to do it. When filming stopped we had a look around but getting up close and personal, didn't happen for me, some others somewhat.

 

I always wondered if I could get on Family Feud, I would have ask Richard Dawson if he knew what we had in common and then give him a copy of the movie but I never made it on TV.

[Desertrat]

If I was younger or closer in proximity, I would. I will always regret not volunteering to be an extra in "Glory" . They came to Ft Stewart while I was there and I was "too busy" to go.

 

I just know I would have been one of those brave Southerners in the fort, defending against the Yankee hoards...LOLOL

[445th Bomb Group]

When I was in basic at Ft. Jackson I got to be in the movie Renaissance Man. I was one of the guys with LCE, Kevlar and a ruck who marches past Danny DeVito in the scene where he gets woken up at four in the morning to find Army training in full swing. Nobody actually asked us if we wanted to be in the movie, my platoon was just told to draw rifles and report at 2200 with our gear like we were going on a road march and we would be part of the big training scene that was being filmed. Renaissance Man turned out to be kind of a crappy movie (Don’t blame me) but for better or worse it did launch the film career of Marky Mark aka Mark Wahlberg.

[Retired Army Noncom]

If I was younger or closer in proximity, I would. I will always regret not volunteering to be an extra in "Glory" . They came to Ft Stewart while I was there and I was "too busy" to go.

 

I just know I would have been one of those brave Southerners in the fort, defending against the Yankee hoards...LOLOL

I was cowboying in Montana when "Son of Morning Star" was being filmed. They called for extras both indian and whites. I was only about 40 miles from where the film was to be shot. I couldn't do it, time was too important and the ranch came first. Although I have been to the Little Big Horn Battlefield four times in my life and I did stand in front of Custer's tombstone at West Point and that's all I'll say about that.

[patches]

From a distance........we were told what to do, when to do it and where to do it. When filming stopped we had a look around but getting up close and personal, didn't happen for me, some others somewhat.

 

I always wondered if I could get on Family Feud, I would have ask Richard Dawson if he knew what we had in common and then give him a copy of the movie but I never made it on TV.

Well here's a mess of stills, The Town scene and the Mountain Battle scene, are you one of them standing in the underwear!

[patches]

From a distance........we were told what to do, when to do it and where to do it. When filming stopped we had a look around but getting up close and personal, didn't happen for me, some others somewhat.

 

I always wondered if I could get on Family Feud, I would have ask Richard Dawson if he knew what we had in common and then give him a copy of the movie but I never made it on TV.

[patches]

Two more from the mountain.

[Retired Army Noncom]

Well here's a mess of stills, The Town scene and the Mountain Battle scene, are you one of them standing in the underwear!

Not in my skivvies but right behind them, taller dude. I'm not in those mountain top stills.

[patches]

Not in my skivvies but right behind them, taller dude. I'm not in those mountain top stills.

It's simply amazing you where there, a Forum First I should think, a member who as a member of the armed forces was an extra in a well known vintage war movie, You might a made it into the Anzio film too maybe, that was shot in Italy in 1967 too, I think in the late summer like August or so.

[Retired Army Noncom]

It's simply amazing you where there, a Forum First I should think, a member who as a member of the armed forces was an extra in a well known vintage war movie, You might a made it into the Anzio film too maybe, that was shot in Italy in 1967 too, I think in the late summer like August or so.

The pay and the chow was good............and leave time worth remembering. I don't remember any 'help wanted' request went out for "Anzio". If it was filmed around Naples, Livorno was a Navy base. Could have ask for extras from there.

[patches]

The pay and the chow was good............and leave time worth remembering. I don't remember any 'help wanted' request went out for "Anzio". If it was filmed around Naples, Livorno was a Navy base. Could have ask for extras from there.

Yes one belief is that they used Italian Army extras on that one, along with U.S. Marines and some Sailors, probably from the MED Fleet. Here,s a fun dialogue on ANZIO.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/250026-anzio/

[Salvage Sailor]

Aloha, Everyone,

 

In the mid 1970's my Salvage ship was used several times for montage-filler scenes on Hawaii Five-O when the episode featured "Commander" Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) and had him either in uniform or it was a Navy related script.

 

Usually we were steaming just off shore from Honolulu or entering/departing the Pearl Harbor channel entrance. Since they would only show the ship with no one visible topside, the crew never got any extra pay for this brief Hawaiian Hollywood experience.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the Hanks Greyhound project. Looking forward to seeing the finished film as I'm also a Destroyer vet.

 

 

[Retired Army Noncom]

Aloha, Everyone,

 

In the mid 1970's my Salvage ship was used several times for montage-filler scenes on Hawaii Five-O when the episode featured "Commander" Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) and had him either in uniform or it was a Navy related script.

 

Usually we were steaming just off shore from Honolulu or entering/departing the Pearl Harbor channel entrance. Since they would only show the ship with no one visible topside, the crew never got any extra pay for this brief Hawaiian Hollywood experience.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the Hanks Greyhound project. Looking forward to seeing the finished film as I'm also a Destroyer vet.

 

 

Quite interesting.......thanks.

 

A lot of Navy personnel were used in Tora Tora Tora and I read some were injured doing so.

[patches]

Yes as Savage Sailor related, many many war films/TV series' or shows use stock footage, but it has to get it right period wise, the older WWII films do for the most part, like Battleground, Breakthrough, To Hell and Back etc etc, but even in those days, sometimes they blow it, as in the 1956 classic Between Heaven and Hell, the move that takes place in a Southern National Guard unit (the 31st Inf Div no doubt) in the Philippines, the one where Robert Wagner famously runs through the jungle blasting away at every enemy he see's at the climax of the film, well during the invasion sequence they used footage of the then current Hawaii based 25th Inf Div, yeah full color 25th Div patches, OD on Blue stripes on some, with the 1955 Spec ranks Yellow on Green seen here and there, and U.S. ARMY and White NAME tapes on all .