Celebrate Veterans Day By Honoring These Real-Life TV Star Vets

While there are plenty of military-related TV shows and movies (not to mention an entire channel) we could watch to celebrate Veteran's Day today, TV Squad wanted to honor the real-life veterans working in showbiz.

Did you know that a pre-'Law & Order: SVU' (and pre-rap career) Ice-T was an army ranger? How about that all-around nice guys Bob Barker and Ed McMahon had badass streaks -- both were fighter pilots during World War II?

After the jump, a list of more veterans-turned-actors. But first, a brief history of the holiday: Veterans Day originated as a celebration of the end of World War I, created by President Woodrow Wilson to thank the American soldiers who fought in the war. In 1978, Gerald Ford designated Nov. 11 as the official date of Veterans Day, and we've celebrated on the 11th day of the 11th month every year since then.

Happy Veterans Day to these television stars:

• Alan Alda -- The 'M*A*S*H' star played an army captain for 11 years, but Alda himself served in the a tour of duty in Korea as part of the Army Reserve.

• Montel Williams -- Before becoming a famous talk show host, Williams enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school but was later accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy and made the rank of lieutenant before leaving the armed forces.

• Bill Cosby -- The comedian served as a hospital corpsman in the navy for four years before being discharged in 1960.

• Ice-T -- After high school but before embarking on his successful rap career (and way before his successful acting career), a young Tracy Lauren Marrow spent a four-year stint in the army.

• Drew Carey -- Carey honed his stand-up comedy skills during his postcollegiate tour as a Marine reservist in the '80s.

• Chuck Norris -- The man, myth and legend as we know him today began his martial arts training while stationed on a South Korea Air Force base.

• Dennis Franz -- After college, Franz was drafted into the army and served nearly a year in Vietnam.

• Mark Valley -- The 'Human Target' star graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served in the Gulf War. "It's sort of that kind of teamwork and camaraderie that I experienced in the Army that seems to be showing up again here in this show," he told reporters of his current acting gig.

• Bob Ross -- While stationed on an Air Force Base in Alaska, Ross developed his quick-painting technique during breaks from duty. The picturesque scenery around him inspired many of his works on 'The Joy of Painting.'

• Bea Arthur -- The late 'Golden Girls' star was one of the first Marine recruits when she volunteered as a medical technician during World War II.

• Johnny Carson -- The legendary talk show host enlisted in the navy in 1943, and was on his way to board a battleship in the South Pacific when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

• Bob Barker -- The long-running 'Price is Right' host was a fighter pilot in the navy during World War II.

• Rod Serling -- The 'Twilight Zone' creator was greatly influenced by his time in the army, where he earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star during World War II.

• Ed McMahon -- The former 'Tonight Show' announcer joined the Marines as a fighter pilot after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

• Sinbad -- The comedian polished his stand-up routine during his stint in the air force.

• Nancy Culp -- The 'Beverly Hillbillies' star volunteered as a member of the navy reserve's WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) program during World War II.

Did we miss any famous vets? Honor them in the comment section below.