WITH his immaculate hair, impeccable fashion sense and dashing good looks, it’s easy to see why George Clooney cast himself as a character based on American war hero George Stout in his new film, “The Monuments Men.”
But although Stout was as dapper as Clooney – who changed Stout’s name to Frank Stokes for the movie – he never saw himself as a hero. What’s more, relatives say he would have thought it was “silly” to make a big-budget movie about his World War II exploits.
Stout was the leader of a crack unit of art and history scholars – the “Monuments Men” – who voluntarily risked their lives to stop the Nazis from destroying priceless works of art they had stolen. Stout is credited for creating the unit and leading them from the front lines in France all the way to Austria’s salt mines.