John Wayne Trends in Wake of Sacheen Littlefeather Oscars Apology – My Blog
John Wayne’s name began trending on Twitter after the the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a formal apology to Sacheen Littlefeather over her treatment at the 1973 Oscars.
Littlefeather appeared on stage at the awards in place of Marlon Brando, who had won best actor for his performance in The Godfather. However, as Littlefeather went on to explain, Brando wouldn’t be accepting the award due to “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry.”
Decked out in the traditional Apache attire of a buckskin dress and moccasins, Littlefeather, who was president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee at the time, was booed following her 60-second speech.
Brando had hoped the protest would shine a light on the occupation of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, which had begun a month earlier. On February 27, 1973, 200 members of the American Indian Movement had taken control of the reservation hamlet in protest at the treatment of Native Americans in a stand-off that would last 71 days
However, the speech drew an angry response that night, not least from Wayne who, according to Littlefeather herself, had to be restrained by as many as six security guards while attempting to accost her on stage.
In 2021, she told the Guardian: “During my presentation, he [Wayne] was coming towards me to forcibly take me off the stage, and he had to be restrained by six security men to prevent him from doing so.”
An actor from Hollywood’s Golden Age who made his name starring in Westerns, Wayne was scathing of the protest at the time, telling Entertainment Weekly: “”If [Brando] had something to say he should have appeared that night and stated his views instead of taking some little unknown girl and dressing her up in an Indian outfit.”
Wayne wasn’t the only star to express his disdain. While presenting the Oscar for best picture soon after, Clint Eastwood was heard to quip: “I don’t know if I should present this award on behalf of all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns over the years.”
However, nearly 50 years on, it’s the actions of Wayne that night that are back in the spotlight after the Academy issued an apology and confirmed plans for an event in September honoring Littlefeather.
In a letter sent to the activist by Academy President David Rubin back in June, he said: “The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified.”
The letter continued: “The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”
A full statement of apology will be read at the September event.
In the wake of the news, Wayne’s name began trending on social media, more than 43 years after his death, with many slamming his actions at the 1973 Oscars. Some are suggesting the apology is a PR stunt designed to combat the backlash generated by the Academy’s response to Will Smith’s slap on Chris Rock.
Film critic Hanna Ines Flint tweeted: “It’s hard to imagine this apology happening without The Slap and the subsequent reaction online reminding the Academy how it failed Sacheen Littlefeather in 1973 when John Wayne tried to attack her.”
Comedian and podcaster Ken Reid said revisiting the incident should serve as “a periodic reminder that John Wayne was a garbage human and not a good actor.”
Journalist and author Richard Newby was similarly scathing in his assessment of the incident, writing: “John Wayne will always be a punk and I don’t think movie clips of him should be shown at the Oscars again. My parents hate John Wayne. All my homies hate John Wayne.”
Fellow writer Borzou Daragahi also hit out at the response recalling how: “John Wayne had to be restrained from storming the stage to physically attack her [Littlefeather]. Her identity and integrity were impugned.”
Another scribe, Wajahat Ali shared a link to the article noting: “There’s a reason Chuck D dissed John Wayne on Fight the Power,” in reference the Public Enemy star’s noted lyrics hitting out at the actor.
The reaction was similarly vociferous among Twitter users.
Zombief1ed described it as “an apology 50 years later when John Wayne had to be held back by SIX security guards so he didn’t physically attack her for reading a speech that she didn’t even write.”
John Wayne is a pos, so is Clint Eastwood. Took the Academy Awards 50 to apologize to this lady for their racist rants yet they punished Will Smith for a slap smdh. #otakusneakerhead https://t.co/AVQ3boAmeN— Giovanni Brooks The O.G. Otaku Sneakerhead (@Giovanni_Brooks) August 16, 2022
Veronasfilms agreed, writing: “It took five WHOLE decades to apologize?! Where was the apology on the night when John Wayne was literally fired up and tried to gather up a mob to attack her?!”
TreyAirline meanwhile called it a “desperate” PR move. “The Academy essentially killed her career and was nearly assaulted by John Wayne for doing it,” they wrote. “Absolutely disgraceful and speaks to the arrogance of these people.”
Unuomodipalermo, meanwhile, tweeted: “If they’re serious about apologizing they should strip John Wayne of his Oscar for trying to assault her.”
This isn’t the first time Wayne has faced a backlash in recent years.
The University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts previously opted to remove an exhibit dedicated to the actor amid renewed anger over racist remarks made by the long-dead Hollywood star.
There have also been calls for the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California, to revert to its original name of the Orange County Airport after white supremacist, anti-LGBT, and anti-Indigenous comments made by Wayne in a 1971 interview came to light.
Newsweek has contacted the Academy for comment.
American actor John Wayne on the set of ‘The Train Robbers’ and Sacheen Littlefeather holding a written statement from actor Marlon Brando at the Academy Awards in 1973. Wayne’s name began trending on Twitter after the Academy issued a formal apology to Sacheen Littlefeather.SUNSET BOULEVARD/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY
‘Black movie queen’ Maureen O’Hara – a close colleague of John Wayne passed away in front of the audience’s mourning. – My Blog
The star of the movie “Miracle on 34th Street”, a familiar co-star of actor John Wayne, has passed away due to old age and weakness. Maureen O’Hara, an Irish star, was once known as “the queen of movies. color”, died at his home in Boise, Idaho, USA, on October 24, at the age of 95.
The information was confirmed by Johnny Nicoletti, her long-time manager. “She passed away in the loving arms of her family, as well as on the soundtrack of the movie The Quiet Man that she loved so much,” one Maureen O’Hara’s relatives shared.
During her illustrious career, O’Hara had five times played the screen lover of actor John Wayne. She appeared in many classic Hollywood films, such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), How Green Was My Valley (1941), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952). , Our Man in Havana (1959) and The Parent Trap (1961).
However, she never received an Oscar nomination. A year before Maureen O’Hara’s death, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to present her with an honorary Oscar for her service to Hollywood.
During the 1940s, when color film began to flourish, Maureen O’Hara appeared in a series of compelling works such as To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), The Black Swan (1942), The Spanish Main (1945). and The Quiet Man.
Possessing fair skin, red hair, as well as green eyes, she “shines like the sun on a silver screen,” as the New York Times described it. It was Dr. Herbert Kalmus, the inventor of color film, who gave Maureen O’Hara the nickname “color film queen”.
The reason why John Wayne is labeled ‘Draft Dodger’ in Wor ւ ԁ War II . – My Blog
When actor John Wayne visited American soldiers in Vietnam in the summer of 1966, he was warmly welcomed. As he spoke to groups and individuals, he was presented gifts and letters from American and South Vietnamese troops alike. This was not the case during his USO tours in 1942 and ’43.According to author Garry Wills’ 1998 book, “John Wayne’ America: the Politics of Celebrity,” the actor received a chorus of boos when he walked onto the USO stages in Australia and the Pacific Islands. Those audiences were filled with combat veterans. Wayne, in his mid-30s, was not one of them.
Around the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Wayne was not the big-name actor we remember him being today. He was fresh off the box-office success of the 1939 film “Stagecoach.”Being drafted or enlisting was going to have a serious impact on his rising star. Depending on how long the ԝаr lasted, Wayne reportedly worried he might be too old to be a leading man when he came home.
Other actors, both well-established and rising in fame, rushed off to do their part. Clark Gable joined the Army Air Forces and, despite the studios’ efforts to get him into a motion picture unit, served as an aerial ɡսոոеr over Europe. Jimmy Stewart was initially ineligible for the draft, given his low weight, but like some amazing version of Captain America, he drank beer until he qualified.In his 2014 book, “American Titan: Searching for John Wayne,” author Marc Eliot alleges Wayne was having an affair with actress Marlene Dietrich. He says the possibility of losing this relationship was the real reason Wayne didn’t want to go to ԝаr.
But even Dietrich would do her part, smuggling Jewish people out of Europe, entertaining troops on the front lines (she crossed into Germany alongside Gen. George S. Patton) and maybe even being an operative for the Office of Strategic Services.Wayne never enlisted and even filed for a 3-A draft deferment, which meant that if the sole provider for a family of four were drafted, it would cause his family undue hardship. The closest he would ever come to Worւԁ Wаr II service would be portraying the actions of others on the silver screen.
With his leading man competition fighting the ԝаr and out of the way, Wayne became Hollywood’s top leading man. During the ԝаr, Wayne starred in a number of western films as well as Worւԁ Wаr II movies, including 1942’s “Flying Tigers” and 1944’s “The Fighting Seabees.” According to Eliot, Wayne told friends the best thing he could do for the ԝаr was make movies to support the troops. Eventually, the government agreed.
At one point during the ԝаr, the need for more men in uniform caused the U.S. military brass to change Wayne’s draft status to 1-A, fit for duty. But Hollywood studios intervened on his behalf, arguing that the actor’s star power was a boon for ԝаrtime propaganda and the morale of the troops. He was given a special 2-A status, which back then meant he was deferred in “support of national interest.”The decision not to serve or to avoid it entirely (depending on how you look at the actor) haunted Wayne for the rest of his life. His third wife, Pilar Wayne, says he became a “super-patriot for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying at home.”