The best years of my life by Russell, Harold, 1914-; Ferullo, Dan. William Wyler saw the film and decided to cast him in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). The fact that Homer was played by Harold Russell, whose own hands were amputated after a wartime injury - and replaced with steel hooks - added to the poignancy of the performance. Search for Library Items Search for Lists Search for Contacts Search for a Library. Russell, who was then attending business school at Boston University, got $250 a week, and $100 a week for living expenses. His family moved to Cambridge Massachusetts when his father died in 1919. Earlier in the ceremony, he was awarded an honorary Oscar for "bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans." After choosing steel hooks rather than plastic hands, he became so adept at using them that he featured in a US army training film, Diary Of A Sergeant, made for soldiers who had lost both hands. "I can dial telephones, I can drive a car, I can even put nickels in the jukebox.

In 1941, he was so profoundly affected by the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor that he enlisted in the United States Army on the following day.

Harold Russell and Cathy O'Donnell in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). It was the only time in Oscar history that the Academy has awarded two Oscars for the same performance. Russell does a good job of telling his life story until 1981 when this book is written.

After the movie he attended Boston University. [Harold Russell; Dan Ferullo] Home. Upon completion of the film, Wyler told Russell to return to school since there "weren't many roles for actors without hands."

Harold John Russell was born in Nova Scotia in 1914. Harold Russell, Actor: The Best Years of Our Lives. Claiming he needed money for his wife's medical expenses, Russell defended his action, saying, "I don't know why anybody would be critical. "I made a rush to the recruiting office, not out of patriotism but because I thought of myself a failure," he explained in his autobiography, Victory In My Hands (1949). The best parts are of the aftermath of his military training accident and subsequent recovery, the making of The Best Years of Our Lives and anecdotes about his travels all over the world on behalf of injured veterans.

He also appeared in the Vietnam war television series, China Beach. The Best Years of My Life by Harold Russell, 9780839710264, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. Russell appeared in only two other films after his debut, From the early 1960s to the late 1980s, Russell served as the Chairman of the President's Commission on Employment of the Handicapped, an unpaid position. In 1992, Russell needed money for his wife's medical expenses. After the movie became a box-office hit, the producer Sam Goldwyn gave him a weekly bonus of $120 for a year, asking that he make promotional tours. For this role he received 2 Oscars, a Best Supporting and one for being an inspiration to all returning veterans. In August 1992, he created controversy by auctioning the best supporting actor statuette for $60,500 to an anonymous buyer, claiming that he needed the money for his wife's medical bills. The movie will be here, even if Oscar isn't.

On Wyler's advice, he then went back to college, "because there wasn't much call for a guy with no hands in the motion picture industry". "Boy, you ought to see me open a bottle of beer," he boasts. The picture focused on three second world war veterans returning to civilian life with severe disabilities. He is the only actor to receive 2 Oscars for the same role. She's never seen anything like these hooks."

As Homer, the boyish-looking Russell, who has died aged 88, revealed remarkable dexterity - he lifts a cigarette from a pack with his prosthetics, strikes a match and lights his companions' cigarettes. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson made him chairman, and Richard Nixon reappointed him. Upon completion of the film, Wyler told Russell to return to school since there "weren't many roles for actors without hands." One of them, Homer Parrish, a young sailor, has had both hands, lost in combat, replaced with articulated hooks. Russell defended his action, saying, "I don't know why anybody would be critical. In response to criticism, he said: "My wife's health is much more important than sentimental reasons." But Wilma's only a kid. Harold John Russell was born in Nova Scotia in 1914. Russell, who was born in Nova Scotia, but moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, was working in a food market when Pearl Harbour was bombed.