re: World War 2 soldiers who went on to be famous

Don Knotts

Knotts was born in West Virginia, the youngest of 4 children. In the 1940s, before earning a college degree, he served in the United States Army and serving in World War II. While he was serving, he chose to become a ventriloquist and comedian as part of a G.I. variety show called "Stars and Gripes".

After being discharged, Knotts got his first major break on television in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow where he appeared from 1953 to 1955. His breakthrough role on Steve Allen's variety show, as part of Allen's repertory company, most notably in Allen's mock "Man in the Street" interviews, playing the role extremely nervous man. In 1958, Knotts made his film debut in the adapted version of No Time for Sergeants.