Although Kirk Douglas and John Wayne starred in the classic films “Harm’s Way,” “Cast A Giant Shadow,” and “The War Wagon” together,  there was a time when the duo did not see eye to eye with each other. 

According to Express, John Wayne was furious with Kirk Douglas while on the set of their classic “The War Wagon” due to Douglas being late to production one day. This was due to Douglas shooting a commercial to endorse Edmund G Brown, a Democrat, as Governor of California. This seemed to irk Duke because He was a lifelong conservative and supported the Republican candidate, who was Ronald Reagan. Wayne ended up being late the next day due to him shooting an endorsement commercial for Reagan.

Although there was tension on and off the set, eventually Wayne and Douglas did eventually get along. This is despite Douglas not referring to Wayne as Duke ever.

Even during a 1971 interview with DIck Cavett, Douglas did not put up with the discussion about Wayne’s controversial views on Native American land. Wayne previously stated, that a lot of people needed the land and “the Indians were being selfish and thought that they ought to have it.”

When asked about Wayne’s opinion, Douglas declared, “I don’t want to get involved in a conversation about John Wayne. I’ve made quite a few pictures with John Wayne, and, by the way, I’ve always called him John. Everybody calls him Duke. We have never seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things.”

Also during his interview with Cavett, Kirk Douglas stated he and John Wayne did not speak about politics. “We get along well, we never discussed politics. But he’s the first guy on the set. The hardest worker I’ve ever worked with. And I think he’s quite a character.”

Kirk Douglas Reveals Why John Wane Was the ‘Perfect Movie Star’ 

Also during an interview with Roger Ebert, Kirk Douglas stated that John Wayne was the perfect movie star. “I was in a lousy picture with him once, ‘In Harm’s Way.’ I used to think about John Wayne that he brings so much authority to the role he can pronounce literally any line in the script and get away with it.”

Douglas then said that in the duo’s “In Arm’s Way,” there was a line that he thought John Wayne couldn’t get away with. “It was ‘I need a fast ship because I mean to be in harm’s way.’ I thought, ‘Oh s—, I’ve gotta hear him say this line.’ But you know what? He said it. And he got away with it. Now that’s John Wayne…”

Douglas went on to proclaim that there is nothing wrong with a John Wayne movie. “I hate arty-farty pictures. What you always hope to make is a good, honest picture with balls. We did that with ‘Spartacus.’ That was the best big spectacle ever made.”

Today, we know Ron Howard as an actor and producer with more than 60 years of experience. Back in 1976, however, Ron Howard was a young actor of 22, just breaking out of his reputation as the child star who played Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days.

After landing a lead role in the coming-of-age film American Graffiti, Ron Howard moved on to The Shootist, the story of a gunfighter’s battle with cancer. Being cast in this film came with an exciting opportunity: to star alongside legendary western star John Wayne. Though thrilled by the chance to work with the icon, Ron Howard recalls feeling terrified ahead of meeting his co-star John Wayne.

In an interview with The Oklahoman, Ron Howard recounted the nerve-wracking experience. “That was kind of strange,” Howard says. “I went into The Shootist expecting not to have a great time. Wayne was notorious for not getting along with young actors.”

“I went to meet him with (director) Don Siegal,” Howard continued. “Somebody had given Wayne that week’s copy of TV Guide. My picture was on the cover. He looked at it, looked at me, and said, ‘Ah, here’s the big shot.’ I thought, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble.’ But he couldn’t have been nicer. He talked a lot about television, about how it’s such a good training ground sort of like the one- and two-reelers Wayne made when he was young.”

“I’ll never forget the fact that he never, ever made me feel like a kid. He treated me like a pro…one pro working with another.”

Meeting John Wayne Taught Ron Howard the Value of Hard Work

An actor from the age of 5, Ron Howard is no stranger to hard work. That said, meeting and working with a nearly 70-year-old John Wayne was still an inspirational experience for Ron Howard. In an interview with Men’s Journal, Howard described what he learned about work and manhood.

“John Wayne used a phrase, which he later attributed to John Ford, for scenes that were going to be difficult,” Howard said. “‘This is a job of work,’ [John Wayne would] say. If there was a common thread with these folks – Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Glenn Ford – it was the work ethic. It was still driving them. To cheat the project was an insult. To cheat the audience was damnable.”

Ron Howard also credits Clint Eastwood with certain viewpoints he holds today. Specifically, having the confidence to avoid comparing himself to other people. “We’re all constantly keeping score. You can’t help it,” Howard said. “But trying to pit ourselves against other people in some measurable way is largely a waste of time.”

“Look at Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, two guys who, at least creatively, inhabit their space in a way that I admire. I don’t know them well, but I don’t think they are looking over their shoulders and wondering what people will think of them.”

John Wayne’s co-star, Chris Mitchum, worked closely beside the Duke (a nickname Wayne went by) before his passing. In a 2019 interview, Mitchum shared all sorts of anecdotes from his time working with the legend. He even says he has John Wayne to thank for getting him a role in “Rio Lobo.”

The film ended up being Wayne’s last. However partly in thanks to his kindness, Mitchum was able to continue to get roles. While the two were working on the film “Chisum”, Wayne opened the door to an unforgettable opportunity for Mitchum. Mitchum describes how exactly it went down. “He [John Wayne] said, ‘Howard Hawks is coming down to talk to me about my next film, I’d like to introduce you to him.’ That’s how I got the part in ‘Rio Lobo.’ I went up and met with Hawks, it was about an hour meeting. He read me, then we talked awhile. Then he totally did a 180 on the character to see if I could take direction.” 

Mitchum Has John Wayne to Thank For His Role in “Rio Lobo”

Mitchum adds, “I see why he did that, ‘cause he totally changes things when you’re shooting. I did the reading again, he said ‘Can you come in in 2 days on Thursday and screen test?’ I said ‘sure.’ I actually went in for the part that Jorge Rivero ended up playing, and they switched the roles. [Hawks] was there, he’s a very hands-on guy.”

However, casting for actors now is worlds different than what Mitchum experienced in his youth. The actor shared that years later, he went in for an interview for a role. He learned quickly that the casting director didn’t really know who John Wayne was. “When you grow up with that kind of experience, where you’re interviewed by the director, and then years later you go in and [it’s different],” Mitchum explains.

Casting Looks Different These Days

 “The last interview I had…there was a chair on one side and a camera and a chair on the other side with two kids that looked younger than my children. They said ‘sit in the chair, here’s your lines.’ I said ‘okay.’ He said, ‘I’m gonna read here off camera’, and I said ‘okay.’ He says ‘Slate yourself.’ I said, ‘Slate myself?’ [He said] ‘Yeah, say ‘I’m Chris Mitchum for the part of..’ So we did that, I go through the line. He’s looking at my resume, He said, ‘Oh, you were in a couple of films with a guy named John Wayne, was he any relationship to THE John Wayne?’,” the actor shares.

“I realized, Duke [John Wayne] had died before these kids were born! I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’,” the actor laughs. He adds, “I basically just dropped out, I couldn’t deal with that kind of thing. Now, you don’t even meet the would-be second or third casting director, you send it in on the internet.”

Mitchum’s last project was his role of Harald Rosenberg in the 2018 movie “Goy.” However, his newest project has been announced. Although there is no release date set quite yet, the film is titled “Mainland to Oahu”. We can’t wait to see it!