Mar 8

12 People You Didn't Know Were U.S. Marines

Thursday, March 8, 2018 10:18 PM


12. Rob Riggle

rob riggle-marine

The comedian and actor Rob Riggle—who appeared on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and dozens of films, sitcoms, and commercials—retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 2013. His deployments included tours in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

11. Bea Arthur

Bea Arthur USMC 1

The late actress Bea Arthur enjoyed a successful career playing acerbic characters on the TV series Maude and The Golden Girls. During World War II, under her birth name Bernice Frankel, she served in the Marine Corps as a truck driver and typist. Oddly, in her later years she would deny that she was a Marine. It is possible that she was embarrassed by the circumstances behind a blemish on her service record that resulted in a reduction in pay.

10 & 9. Don and Phil Everly

Marines - Everly brothers

The Everly Brothers had a string of hit singles, including “Bye Bye Love” and “Wake Up Little Susie” (which was considered a scandalous song in a simpler time), when they enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. Stationed at Camp Pendleton from 1961 to 1962, they frequently entertained their company with impromptu concerts. The duo appeared in their dress blue uniforms on The Ed Sullivan Show and performed “Crying in the Rain.”

8. Bozo the Clown

Marines - Bozo


7. Captain Kangaroo

Marines - Captain Kangaroo

Prior to being Clarabell the Clown on The Howdy Doody Show and then the kindly Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan was a trained killer. An urban legend, claiming that he fought alongside actor Lee Marvin on Iwo Jima, is false. Keeshan never saw combat because the war was over by the time he was of enlistment age. Lee Marvin was indeed a Leatherneck who was wounded during the Battle of Saipan but was not at Iwo Jima.

6. Drew Carey

Marines - Drew Carey

Actor/comedian/game-show host Drew Carey served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. When Time magazine asked him what events in life made him who he is, Carey replied “the Marine Corps. It instilled a great sense of discipline that I can call on when I need to.” Obviously, he enjoyed being a jarhead because he has kept his Marine crew cut through most of his stage and TV career.

5. Pat Robertson

Marines - Pat Robertson


4. Lee Trevino

Marines - Lee Trevino

Before carrying a 9-iron as a professional golfer, Lee Trevino carried an M-14 as a Marine. Enlisting in 1957 and serving four years, Trevino claims that his superior skills made him such a popular golfing partner among the officers that he was promoted to lance corporal.

3. James Carville

Marines - jcarville


2. Gene Hackman

Marines - ghackman

The actor once known as the hardest working man in Hollywood (and certainly seemed to be, appearing in half the films produced between 1970 and 2000), Gene Hackman has quietly retired from acting. Hackman was a Marine field radio operator before launching a film career that including roles as an admiral (Behind Enemy Lines) and an unhinged submarine captain (Crimson Tide).

1. Shaggy

Marines - shaggy

Jamaican-American reggae singer Orville Burrell, a.k.a. Shaggy, served as a field artillery cannon crewman in the 10th Marines during Operation Desert Storm. It was while leading marching cadences that he developed his vocal talents. Shaggy went on to have international hits such as “Oh Carolina” and “It Wasn’t Me.” He continues to perform around the world.

Rumored to Have Been Marines

Mister Rogers

Marines - Mr. Rogers


The Beaver

Marines - Jerry Mather Air Force


Dan Rather

Marines - Dan Rather
