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John Wayne hospitalised on traumatic final film – so ill almost forbidden from finishing – Old western – My Blog

Back in 1964, John Wayne had a cancerous lung and a few ribs removed, leaving him stricken with health problems for the rest of his life. Duke, who would have been 115 last week, would struggle tenaciously through physical scenes in his movies, secretly relying on an oxygen mask that he was desperate to hide from the public, so as not to taint his strong cinematic image. Pushing on to make a string of movies over the next decade, including his Oscar win for True Grit, the Western legend’s final film, The Shootist, hit cinemas in 1976, just three years before he died.

It’s commonly believed that Wayne – who cameos in How The West Was Won on BBC 2 this afternoon – was living with the stomach cancer that killed him in 1979, when playing a cowboy living with the disease in The Shootist.However, this was not the case, as Duke had been cancer-free since 1969. According to Scott Ryman’s John Wayne: The Life and Legend, the star did have cancer again in 1975, but had gone into remission before filming began on his last movie. Nevertheless, the actor’s other health iWayne had been ill for much of 1974, having had a severe bout of viral pneumonia after filming True Grit sequel Rooster Cogburn, with Katharine Hepburn.It caused Duke to cough so violently that he damaged a heart valve causing more problems when he did eventually film The Shootist.At first, his poor health and stamina on Rooster Cogburn meant he wasn’t initially considered for what would be his final film.The likes of Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, George C Scott, Paul Newman and Gene Hackman were offered the role but passed on it.The Shootist’s producers thought Wayne was too old at 69 to be believable as the gunfighter. However, producer Dino De Laurentiis insisted on his casting even though the character JB Books was only 50 in the novel the movie was based on.Filming with co-stars Lauren Bacall, James Stewart and Ron Howard took place at Carson City. With a 4600ft altitude, Duke’s single lung capacity was compromised all the while struggling with mobility.In the end, The Shootist’s production was shut down as Wayne was hospitalised for two weeks with influenza. The star had also been suffering from an enlarged prostate while filming, which wouldn’t be operated on until late 1976.At one point, it was actually uncertain if the movie would be completed since Duke was so ill his doctors were on the verge of forbidding him from finishing his work on the production.Considering his significant health problems on the film, it’s unlikely he would have successfully managed to be insured for the project had the full extent of them been known.Of course, in the end, Wayne did complete filming, but his stomach cancer returned and he made his final public appearance at the Oscars on April 9, 1979.Duke was noticeably very thin and secretly wore a wet suit under his tuxedo to broaden himself out.  The Western star was welcomed by a standing ovation as he announced The Deer Hunter as Best Picture. He died just two months later on June 11, 1979 at the age of 72.

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‘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”.

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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.”

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John Wayne Wanted to Make His Home Alarm a Hilarious Tape Recording of His Voice: ‘I See You, You Son of a B****’

John Wayne Wanted to Make His Home Alarm a Hilarious Tape Recording of His Voice: ‘I See You, You Son of a B****’

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