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John Wayne

John Wayne Asked ‘Gunsmoke’ Actor James Arness 1 Question He Didn’t Want to Answer Before Working With Him

Legendary Western movie star legend John Wayne helped make James Arness the notable actor that he became. However, it all came down to one fateful interview that decided their fate to go into business together. Wayne asked Arness one “main” question that he thought was important, but it instantly made the Gunsmoke actor uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he gave the correct answer, as they developed a wonderful working and personal relationship.

James Arness got his start in theater

John Wayne and James Arness. They're smiling and wearing tuxes with Arness holding an award.

L-R: John Wayne and James Arness | Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Long before Arness met Wayne, he started his career in the entertainment industry on accident. He tagged along with a friend to a local theater, where he quickly attracted attention. As a result, Arness gave acting a shot for fun, which he was able to turn into a very successful career for himself.

However, Arness had a difficult time when it came to getting roles in Hollywood. He stood at a tall 6’7″, which intimidated many of the leading men. Therefore, they refused to work with him because they thought it made them look bad. Arness picked up roles in pictures such as The Thing from Another World, but one interview with Wayne would change his life forever.

John Wayne asked James Arness if he drinks alcohol

According to Deseret News, Arness once met with Wayne in a meeting that had him more than a little bit uncomfortable. After all, he didn’t know the type of person that existed behind the tough cowboy aesthetic that the world couldn’t get enough of. Arness met Wayne at his Republic Studio office for the fateful meeting.

“He asked me a couple of questions about my acting,” Arness said. “Then he said, ‘The main thing I have to know, is — do you drink?’ I didn’t want to say, because I didn’t know him at the time; maybe he was a teetotaler. I said, ‘Well, I have been known to take one occasionally.’ We got a laugh out of that, and he put me on the picture, Big Jim McLain.”

Big Jim McLain follows the title character played by Wayne and his partner, Mal Baxter (Arness). They work as investigators for the House Un-American Activvities Committee with the goal of finding the leaders of a local Community Party in Hawaii. However, Jim and Mal are in way over their heads, as they become targets of a Communist boss named Sturak (Alan Napier).

John Wayne convinced him to do ‘Gunsmoke’

There were long-standing rumors that Gunsmoke decision-makers wanted Wayne to play U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon. That rumor was dismissed years ago, but what is true is that the Western movie star brought the world Arness. The actor was young at the time and doubted his possible success on television, but the legendary star said, “This is something you should really do.”

Arness initially thought that Gunsmoke would spell the end of his career, but it actually gave it a whole new life. He played the lead character for 20 seasons and five made-for-TV movies, solidifying him as CBS’ biggest star at the time.

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John Wayne

John Wayne and the ‘Bonanza’ cast once appeared together at a special event.

Some of television’s most iconic western stars came together in the 1990s giving fans the best beer commercials ever made. It’s a throwback to some of our favorite western families as The Duke himself, John Wayne, joins forces with the Bonanza team in a marriage of classic television footage; technology; an old-fashioned storyline; and a good, cold Coors Light.

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And, the result is an awesome one. The cast of Bonanza and John Wayne weren’t around at the time of the development of the commercial. However, technology inserts the western heroes directly into the storyline.

Looking Back At Coors Light Ad Starring John Wayne And The 'Bonanza' Cast |  Classic Country Music

The hilarious ad begins as two rough-looking men barge into a bar. The decidedly intimidating patrons soon notice a couple of cold bottles of Coors light sitting at the bar. The men decide to make themselves at home and drink up the “free beer.”The men are surly and certainly have no desire to make friends at the establishment. However, the bartender warns the two that they may be pushing their luck.

John Wayne and the 'Bonanza' Cast Appeared in This Epic Coors Light Ad

“I gotta warn you boys, those seats are taken,” the bartender says. A nice gesture no doubt. But it does little to sway the beer-drinking bullies. Then another bar-goer shows up, telling the men that these are “our beers.”The two large men don’t seem to care, however. And they soon begin to give the Coors light owner a rough time, finally asking “who do you think you are, John Wayne?”

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1990s Coors Ad Has Legendary Cowboy John Wayne Doing What John Wayne Does Best : Now, few who watched this commercial back in the day were likely expecting what came next. However, it seems that in a Coors commercial, if you summon The Duke, The Duke shall appear ! “No,” says a familiar voice off-screen. “That would be me,” the commenter continues just as we see John Wayne step into view.https://www.youtube.com/embed/iwdcsPqS1x0

However, one of the beer thieves doesn’t see the iconic cowboy just yet and he responds by saying “yeah right, and I’m Ben Cartwright.” “No, he’s over there,” says the bar-goer whose beers have been stolen. Sure enough, the camera pans to the other end of the bar revealing the familiar faces of the Bonanza cast. That’s right, Ben Cartwright and the rest of the Bonanza clan including Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker are all standing tall. Looking as if they have just stepped off the Ponderosa Ranch.

Well, soon the barroom bullies realize that their ill-tempers have no place when sitting in a bar with John Wayne and the Cartwrights. So, they offer to buy a round of beer for the house. A happy ending for all.

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John Wayne

Synthesize the tragic deaths that John Wayne excellently performed in the movie.

From 1928’s Noah’s Ark to 1976’s The Shootist, we compiled every film in which a character portrayed by Hollywood legend John Wayne met their end . Nicknamed “Duke,” John Wayne is one of Hollywood’s enduring icons. With a filmography that spanned five decades, he is preeminent known for his work in Westerns and epics such as The Searchers, Stagecoach, and The Alamo.

John Wayne even won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in the original True Grit.While many of the characters that John Wayne played were often the white-hat hero who saved the day and rode off into the sunset, there were a handful of films in his extensive acting career in which his character did not survive to the end credits.

While there are nine films in which John Wayne’s character is confirmed to have died on screen, there are five films in which his character dies in the background, off-screen, or his fate is left ambiguous.

In Noah’s Ark (1928), he is an uncredited stuntman that dies during the flood sequence. In the movie Hangman’s House (1928), he plays two characters, one of which is possibly seen being executed by hanging. In The Deceiver (1931), John Wayne plays the dead body of a character that was played by a different actor while he was alive. In Sea Chase (1955), his character’s fate is left ambiguous. Finally, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962) begins at his character’s funeral and then launches into a flashback, but his death is never shown.

Central Airport centers around pilot Jim Blaine, who, after crashing a commercial plane during a flight, becomes a stuntman and falls in love. After his love interest marries his brother, he leaves and becomes a mercenary pilot for communist rebels in China and Chile before eventually returning to save his brother from a plane wreck in the Gulf of Mexico.

In an uncredited role, John Wayne plays a pilot who drowns while trying to save a drunk passenger from drowning during one of the play crash scenes.

In West of the Divide, Ted Hayden is in search of his missing brother and trying to learn the truth about who murdered his father. When Ted Hayden discovers that he bears a striking resemblance to attempted deceased murder Gat Ganns, he seizes the opportunity to assume his identity in an to get the answers he seeks.

In this film, John Wayne plays the roles of both Ted Hayden and Gat Ganns to make their resemble uncanny. As Gat Ganns, John Wayne dies by drinking from a poisoned waterhole.

Directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille, Reap the Wild Wind is set in 1840 and follows ship salvagers who take in the captain of a wrecked ship, played by John Wayne, which leads to a complex series of shifting allegiances, love triangles, betrayals , and ultimately tragedy.

Towards the end of the film, John Wayne’s character, Jack, and another lead character named Steve, go diving in the wreckage of a ship to see if there was a stowaway on board when the ship sank. However, they are attacked by a giant squid, and Jack dies in the struggle against the beast.Released during World War II, The Fighting Seabees tells the fictionalized account of the Navy’s decision to form Construction Battalions or CBs, which were then nicknamed Seabees, so that US forces could advance the war effort in the Pacific even during the threat of attack from Japan.

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John Wayne

John Wayne lays out his personal rules for accepting Hollywood roles.

John Wayne once revealed his personal rule for accepting Hollywood film roles. It was in a recent Talking Pictures episode on the BBC that viewers got an inside look into the long and successful career of Wayne, in addition to his personal rule when it came down to accepting film roles.In some archived footage, Wayne explains how he decide which roles to accept and which appealed most to him.

John Wayne On His Personal Rule For Accepting Hollywood Roles

John Wayne on his personal rule for accepting Hollywood acting roles . In the footage, he says, “Personal story is a rule. Sometimes you’re stuck, and it is getting time for an assignment to come up, and you accept stories that are not completed… But as a rule, whenever that happens, you run into a mess, but I haven’t learned my lesson completely yet, I still do it on occasion.”

John Wayne On His Personal Rule For Accepting Hollywood Roles - NewsBreak

As for the roles he would flat-out refuse? He said, “Anything mean and petty. I think I have established a character on the screen that may be rough, cruel, may have a different code than the average person, but it has never been mean, petty or small.”

From the Archives: John Wayne Dies at 72 of Cancer - Los Angeles Times

Wayne al so had seven children — four daughters and three sons — who would often appear with him in films that he produced and directed. It’s undoubtedly so that Wayne is one of the most celebrated and profound actors in history, so legendary that 20 years after his death in 1979, he was selected as one of the greatest stars of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute. But even though he’s such a legendary part of cinematic history, he didn’t always want to be an actor.

John Wayne Exhibit to Be Removed Over Racist Remarks - Variety

Wayne originally attended college to pursue a career as a lawyer before his career path clearly changed. “I think I would have enjoyed the occupation, but while I was going to school, I was offered a job in the summertime working at the studio…. I met [director] John Ford, and I enjoyed working with him and watching all the people through the scene, and then I go back to school and say, ‘Well, this kid’s father is a lawyer.’”

He continues, “This kid’s uncle is an established lawyer, and they’re going into those offices, and one of them will take me in, and I’ll be writing in the backroom.’ So it didn’t look as appealing or exciting as the pictures, so when I was offered the acting job, I accepted it without realizing it would end up a career.”

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