Even before Sammy Davis Jr. became famous for his music and acting, he had that fizzle of energy in him that made people notice his infectious talent and skills. So when the Second World War started and Davis Jr. drafted, his immediate superiors thought he could serve better entertaining the troops weary from the war, than in the battlefield.
He reaped a lot of benefits out of it upon his return to America, because it reflected brilliantly well on his work. He was given a position in the Rat Pack, a group led by Frank Sinatra himself.
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner is known internationally for his wildly popular Playboy magazines. This political activist and philanthropist was an advocate of freedom of expression and sexual liberation, which would explain the nature of his publication.
Hefner enlisted in the military in 1944, right after finishing high school, which can be hard to believe, based on the personality he has ultimately become known for. He became an infantry clerk, and contributed many of his artworks to US Army newspapers, which helped boost the morale of the soldiers. Most of his cartoons were very fun to read, and perhaps also laid some sort of foundation for his ideas in creating the Playboy magazines. He got discharged from the army in 1946.
Mr. T
Laurence Tureaud, better known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler of the 1980s. He joined the army and became a military policeman back in the seventies, whereupon a punishment for a minor misdeed inadvertently got him a promotion to squad leader. He was the “Top Trainee of the Cycle,” in 1975.
After his military service, Mr. T worked as a highly-paid bodyguard for $3,000 a night, until Sylvester Stallone met him by happenstance and offered him the life-changing opportunity of playing Clubber Lang in Rocky III.
James Garner
James Garner’s first love wasn’t acting. He wanted to serve his country, and did so as a merchant Marine during the tail end of WWII. His real name is James Scott Bumgarner, and he was so rapt about the idea, that he intentionally dropped out of school and lied about his age so he could be taken in. At the time, the merchant Marines were supplying crucial aid to Europe.
After the war, he went back to school and dropped out again, this time to join the Oklahoma National Guard. He was drafted to serve in the Korean War, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts. After his service, he eventually pursued his love for acting and moved back to California.
Harry Dean Stanton
When World War II broke out, Harry Dean Stanton immediately took the chance to sign up for the navy. Like many young men of his day, Stanton was livid, eager to participate in the war effort against evil regimes. This was after he’d already dropped out of college to study acting, but he knew it was a once in a lifetime chance. It was embarrassing to be an able lad left back home in wartime.
He served in the battle of Okinawa, aboard a landing ship, as a galley cook. After the war, he went on to pursue other opportunities in journalism, then went on to radio, before he finally made the decision to stick to acting.