MovieChat Forums > Sergeant York (1941) Discussion > Cameo by the Real Alvin York?

Cameo by the Real Alvin York?

posted 19 years ago by TorontoJediMaster
11 replies | jump to latest

There's something I've been wondering about.

In the scene where Alvin and Pastor Pyle attend a hearing at the local draft board, and are informed that Alvin's request for exemption has been denied, is the actor playing the head of the draft board the real Alvin C. York?

I was wondering about that because the actor in that scene bears a striking resemblance to what the real Alvin York looked like around that time. (i.e. Heavyset, mustache, glasses). As well, Alvin York had -by this time- become the head of his home district's local draft board. I just thought it would be an easy -and fitting- thing for Howard Hawks to have given York a cameo in his own film biography.

I can't find any listing for that character on the detailed cast list. Does anyone here know if that indeed was the real Alvin York?

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] doug7347 18 years ago

Yes, that was the real Alvin C. York. His picture as a young man is readily available on the web, so you can confirm it yourself.

The real Alvin C. York really did turn down all endorsement money based on his war exploits. He did pick Gary Cooper to play himself, and the money he got from the movie he donated to start religious schools in Tennessee. The home that Tennesee gave him came with a mortgage, and in addition York was hounded for the last half of his life by the IRS. President John F. Kennedy called it "a national disgrace", and finally put an end to it.

Unlike most heroes portrayed in the movies, the closer you look at the real Alvin C. York, the more heroic a man he appears to be.

[–] redmondjeff 18 years ago

OK. So how come the real Alvin York had a big
moustache..... but Gary Cooper does not?

Now Mr Cooper did a fine job. But wasn't he about
ten+ years too old to play the York of 1918. Alvin
York was still in his 20's, and Gary Cooper was
almost in his 40's in 1940.

And how come all the guys who get killed die so
slowly and dramatically? And how come there's little
or no blood? Ahhhh..... Hollywood. Ya' just gotta'
love it no matter what.

{:-)

[–] christopher_greenleaf 18 years ago

You should really get your facts straight before you post. Alvin York was 31 years old in 1918. Gary Cooper was still 38 when shooting began, and turned 39 during the shoot in 1940. These people waste everyone's time!

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] christopher_greenleaf 18 years ago

Ok! Well either way, there was hardly a great age difference between the two men.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] TorontoJediMaster 16 years ago

The age didn't matter so much, as Cooper's age wasn't so apparent on screen. He could have passed for a man in his 30's without a problem.

Eight or nine years isn't that big a problem for an actor playing a real person. It's not like The Spirit of St. Louis, where James Stewart -who was almost fifty years old- played Charles Lindbergh (who was supposed to be only twenty-four, or so, in the film).

[–] vinidici 16 years ago

Funny you should mention James Stewart as Lindbergh. Yeah, an actor playing a man half his age sticks out like a sore thumb to a lot of people, but I don't know who else would have been better suited for the role than Stewart.

He had the motivation and attitude right; much the same height and build as "Lindy;" and a great deal of aviation experience himself in WWII and probably some time prior to his (Stewart's) enlistmant in the Army Air Force.

Because a great deal of screen time is spent on Lindbergh's plane trip in "The Spirit of St Louis," it's almost like a one-man stage presentation, where the age of the actor is usually pretty irrelevent to the character he's portraying onstage.

It's due to these considerations that I've never been overly worked up about the fact that Stewart in 1957 was so much older than Lindy was in 1927.

Secret Message, HERE!-->CONGRATULATIONS!!! You've discovered the Secret Message!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Marlburian 7 years ago

I don't see much resemblance between the head of the draft board and York in the 1940s. News film of him in later life suggests that he retained a good head of hair, whereas the guy in the film is bald. The cast list says he was played by Joe King, whose film biog shows he had uncredited roles in a number of films.