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John Wayne’s Health Made The Shootist An Expensive Role For Him To Take – My Blog

With Hollywood being so competitive, it’s hard to survive without passion. Such was certainly the case for John Wayne, who would push through injuries (including broken ribs) when working on his films. As his career would reach its twilight years, this would ring all the more true: By the time his final film, “The Shootist” (1976), entered production, Wayne was attempting to hide his failing health from crew members. According to “John Wayne: The Life and Legend,” the then 68-year-old was afraid that the news would affect his employability. Unfortunately, while Wayne’s deception did allow him to secure the part, it came at a significant cost. Once the insurance companies realized that the actor’s health was not in the best of shape, they understandably started backing away from insuring the project. After all, in the event that Wayne’s health failed, the financial losses would’ve been significant. But Wayne, ever-determined to work on “The Shootist,” took matters into his own hands. As producer William Self would later recall, the actor ended up contributing around $250,000 out of pocket towards the insurance (or, around $1,350,000 in today’s dollars).Making the final film count

ParamountIt’s hard to know whether John Wayne was adamant that he remain in “The Shootist” because he was passionate about the movie itself, or if he was simply terrified by the career implications of bowing out of a movie due to health challenges. If his main concern was the latter, the $250,000 investment didn’t exactly pay off: “The Shootist” would become Wayne’s last film, so it would’ve been alright if future employability took a backseat to comfort. On the other hand, if he simply wanted to have a good time while making a film, the money was well spent.Even though “The Shootist” was plagued with shooting challenges — some related to Wayne’s health, others to his filmmaking opinions (Wayne had the final approval over the movie’s script, but he wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts during other parts of the filmmaking process, either) — the filming experience was still relatively pleasant. Although Wayne was determined to keep working after the movie’s completion, many top stars (including James Stewart and Lauren Bacall, among others) realized that the film might’ve been his last, so they joined the project in order to make some final memories. Despite his health challenges, Wayne remained chipper, too: at one point on set, he even told a visitor that “If you wake up — it doesn’t matter if the sun is shining or anything — you feel good.”Beau John: the project that could’ve beenParamountAlthough Stewart and Bacall were right that “The Shootist” would be Wayne’s final film, the Western star was determined to keep working long after the 1976 film was released. His last project? An adaptation of Buddy Atkinson’s unreleased novel “Beau John,” which Wayne described as “kind of a half-Western thing” with strong family elements. However, the actor was also aware that his failing health could pose challenges; less than a year before his death, he told Peter Bogdanovich “I hope to h*ll I live to do it.”In the end, things didn’t quite pan out. According to Wayne’s biography, “Beau John” wouldn’t even move into formal planning stages. No one took over the project following Wayne’s passing, either — likely because it was in such an early phase of planning, but it probably didn’t help that the novel doesn’t seem to have any significant critical reception. However, things might’ve worked out for the best: while it’s truly unfortunate that Wayne never got to complete his last project, the fact that “The Shootist” was his final film makes the story behind it — Wayne’s sacrifice, the other stars’ eagerness to support him — all the more sweet.

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John Wayne or Jeff Bridges, who plays the role of Rooster Cogburn well? – My Blog

Two movies made 50 years apart, both based on a novel by the same name. Two different iconic actors took turns playing the rough-and-tumble marshal Rooster Cogburn in their respective versions of “True Grit.” John Wayne played him in the 1969 version, Jeff Bridges in 2010. Both were celebrated critically. Now, Duke’s official Instagram account is comparing the performances to see which one did it better.Of course, the question was posed by the John Wayne account. So it’s safe to say the people who responded in the comments were at least slightly biased toward the 1969 version.


Then again, both Rooster Cogburn actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. So it’s really anybody’s game.“John Wayne & Jeff Bridges were both nominated for Oscars for their performance as Rooster Cogburn. Which version of the movie is your favorite, 1969 or 2010?” the Instagram caption read.

In the world of remakes, few movies do as much justice to their original counterparts as the 2010 version of “True Grit” from the Coen Brothers. There was no consensus among fans whatsoever. But some of the most popular sentiments seemed to be that the 1969 “True Grit” with John Wayne as Cogburn featured the more iconic performance. Though, many fans thought the 2010 movie was closer to the source text than the original.

“I have to fall on the side of the Duke. BUT, that’s the BEST remake of a film, I’ve ever seen! Loved them both,” a fan replied to the Instagram post.“2010 Much richer film and truer to the book’s feel. Wayne was robbed of an Oscar for the Searchers and this was a lifetime achievement award,” another added.Two Versions of ‘True Grit,’ Two Very Different Approaches to Character . One of the biggest complaints John Wayne fans had of Jeff Bridges’ approach to Rooster Cogburn was how disheveled he appeared.

“Jeff Bridges was horrible had marbles in house mouth and portrait Roster as a slob,” another fan replied to the post from John Wayne’s estate.But a different fan pointed out that, indeed, the portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in the novel by Charles Portis was one of a slobbish man.This isn’t to say that the Bridges performance is better for accuracy. It’s just that Henry Hathaway, the director of the 1969 “True Grit,” and the Coen brothers took different approaches to their movies. As a result, the actors contrasted greatly in their portrayals of Rooster Cogburn.

At the end of the day, however, the win may have to go to John Wayne on this one. After all, we’re still waiting on Jeff Bridges to reprise the role in a sequel. Duke did it in the 1975 film “Rooster Cogburn.”

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John Wayne’s ”expensive” sayings made the fans ”nod”’. – My Blog

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) was an American movie Actor, director, and producer, known in movies like Stagecoach, Angel and the Bad Man, Red River, and The Shootist.They say that life is a good teacher and through them who lived this life we can learn a lot, especially from great people like John Wayne a.k.a Duke.Today I am going to share with you Wayne’s 5 rules you should be remembering in your daily life:


1. Money cannot buy happiness but its more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
This is a long debate everywhere, rich people say that “those who say money can buy happiness are the ones who don’t have” and broke people reply that “you don’t know how miserable we are just because we don’t have coins in our pocket”.John Wayne made it clearer that though money cannot buy happiness but when unhappy moments arrive money can make someone comfortable.


2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastard’s name.
Forgiving your enemy is in your favor, most of the time carrying such burden in your heart is more painful while the bastard doesn’t even know.Just to be careful, put their names somewhere in your mind. Once a soldier always a commando and once enemy, I don’t know.

3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they’re in trouble again.
Do what is right, help people but never expect something in return.According to John Wayne, the only thing you can expect from people is that if you have helped them in the hard times, they will remember you when they’re in trouble again.

4. Many people are alive only because it’s illegal to shoot them.
Everyone has enemies and some people do harm to us to the level we even wish to kill them. Not only our enemies would be killed if to kill was not illegal but also some innocents and powerless people.About this rule, something you have to learn is that we’re surrounded by people that don’t kill us only because it’s illegal.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.
Haha this rule is somehow funny but it is true on the other hand. You will find people telling you stop drinking alot it will solve nothing but at least you’ll have that sedative moment.Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.

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Interesting things happen at the “Duketober” celebration at the John Wayne museum . – My Blog

The enduring legacy of actor John Wayne, America’s ultimate cowboy, was celebrated last month, fittingly enough, by the Cowboy Channel in association with the John Wayne: An American Experience museum in Fort Worth, Texas.


The “Duketober” celebration is a month-long airing of classic John Wayne movies via broadcast and streaming. It will culminate with a 50th anniversary live panel discussion on Nov. 3 in remembrance of Big Jake, the 1971 movie that bought Wayne together with sons Ethan and Patrick, who will participate in a discussion about his films and career.Wayne’s legacy has taken a few hits in the last couple of years.

A 50-year-old Playboy magazine interview outlining some of his controversial views on race surfaced, sparking his USC alma mater to remove an exhibit on him. There’s also a movement to remove his name from the Orange County airport. So far, that action has failed to gain ground . But Wayne’s cinematic legacy, particularly his western movies, continue to rank among the finest ever produced by Hollywood. Such films as The Searchers, True Grit, Stagecoach and Rio Bravo are considered classics of the genre.

“The John Wayne: An American Experience (JWAAE) museum in the Fort Worth Stockyards has created a perfect synergy for the Cowboy Channel to highlight this incredible western film legend and showcase many of his classic films for our audience,” said Cowboy Channel CEO Raquel Koehler Gottsch.

“Our fans absolutely adore John Wayne, and we couldn’t be happier to have a great relationship with his family and be able to share his movies with our audience and dedicate an entire month to such a western star legend.”“He would be thrilled to learn that so many people still cherish his films after all these years and I know he’s smiling somewhere,” said son Ethan Wayne.

The Cowboy Channel will also feature a Halloween movie marathon of Wayne films, and fans can tune-in to such classics such as Rio Grande, Sand of Iwo Jima, and The Shootist.

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