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The Interview That Ended John Wayne and Christopher Mitchum’s Friendship

John Wayne’s tragi* feud with Christopher Mitchum who desperately tried to reconcileWhen John Wayne and Robert Mitchum met on the set of the 1966 movie El Dorado, a remake of Rio Bravo, they formed a fast friendship. After Rio Bravo and El Dorado, director Howard Hawks set out to make a third film following a heroic protagonist and his efforts to defend his town from nefarious outlaws.

For this film, called Rio Lobo, Hawks envisioned the return of both Wayne and Mitchum. Robert Mitchum, however, declined the role, as he was enjoying his retirement. With Robert off the table, Hawks cast his son, Christopher Mitchum, in the role of Sgt. Tuscarora Phillips.

John Wayne and the younger Mitchum already had a history together, as he and Wayne both appeared in Chisum earlier that year. Their third film together came a year later when the two starred in Big Jake, a 1971 Western adventure. Unfortunately, this marked their last appearance together, as John Wayne didn’t get along with Christopher Mitchum nearly as well as he had with Mitchum’s father.

After Big Jake hit theaters, John Wayne and Christopher Mitchum did a series of interviews together. And it was during one of these interviews that their friendship fell apart entirely.
On a 1972 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, the subject of politics entered the conversation. Johnny Carson shifted the conversation to environmentalism, a topic on which John Wayne and Christopher Mitchum disagreed in every respect.Though John Wayne staunchly refused Mitchum’s repeated attempts to rekindle their friendship, Christopher Mitchum maintains a positive opinion of The Duke to this day. In a 2018 interview, Mitchum described what it was like to work with the Western legend on the set of Chisum.
“He was big enough that he would state when he was wrong,” Mitchum recalled. “He also was extremely fair. I remember one time when we were doing Chisum, the prop guy asked the cast to check their guns when they left the set as it was unsafe around Durango and he did not want them to be misplaced.”
Mitchum went on to describe Wayne as “more of a mentor and a father in the business” than his own. “Duke did nothing but give me support,” Mitchum explained. “He took me from a two or three-line role to costarring with him. He basically made my career.”Proc by movies

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Ian Ziering was involved in an apparent road scuffle with multiple bikers in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve


In a video obtained by TMZ, the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star seemed to be surrounded by a group of people riding mini-bikes on Hollywood Blvd. Ziering, 59, then got out of his vehicle and appeared to get into a physical altercation with one of them.

Soon after the two started fighting, other bikers circled back and surrounded the actor as they all started attacking him. The Sharknado actor then appeared to run away from the group as he tried to cross to the other side of the roadway.

Per the TMZ clip, he was chased by the group and apparently grabbed by the shirt, pushed into another vehicle and struck more than once.The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to CW affiliate KTLA that officers responded to the area at Hollywood Blvd and Highland Ave. around 3 p.m. on Sunday following “reports of a fight that broke out after the group of bikers were driving recklessly.”

The incident remains under investigation, per the outlet.
The LAPD and reps for Ziering did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on Monday. The actor has yet to post about the incident on his Instagram account at the time of publication.
TMZ reported that the actor was listed as a victim in an official report, and that as of 6 p.m. PT Sunday, police had not made any arrests.
In another video released by the outlet, Ziering appeared to be comforting his daughter, Mia, 12, who looked like she was upset by the incident involving her father and the group of riders.According to TMZ, “Ian and Mia seem physically fine.”
In March 2023, at 90s Con in Connecticut, Ziering opened up about his career during a 90210 panel moderated by PEOPLE’s Andrea Lavinthal. As he shared at the time, the actor almost had a future in reality TV.“Shortly after [Beverly Hills, 90210] went off the air, Missy Halperin, who we all know [in casting], said, ‘Ian, would you ever consider hosting a reality show?’ And I’m like, ‘No. I’m an actor.’ That reality show was American Idol,” Ziering said.
“Not that it was an offer,” he added. “But would I consider my name being thrown in a hat.”
Still, he joked that he “would have been horrible” and instead has his eyes on The Price Is Right.
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Bruce Willis was fired off course by an explosion that almost ended his life at just 33-years-old


Bruce Willis narrowly dodged death in Die Hard stunt gone wrong – ‘laughed about it’Bruce Willis was fired off course by an explosion that almost ended his life at just 33-years-old.

Bruce Willis made a name for himself in the 1980s with the incredible Die Hard film series.

And while his character, the rogue cop John McClane, got away some some jaw-dropping death-defying stunts throughout the five films thus far, his first picture as the hero was almost his last.

Willis – who recently retired after being diagnosed with dementia – joined the John McTiernan-directed picture at just 33-years-old and was eager to make his mark on the film industry.
This meant doing all of his own stunts and putting as much physical effort into the performance as possible.
Willis’ excitement almost killed him just a few days into filming, though, when a stunt involving him jumping off a five-storey building sent him flying through the air on the wrong trajectory.
Willis’ unbelievable stunt was recalled in the new Nick de Semlyen book The Last Action Heroes. In it, the American actor recalled jumping off a five-storey parking garage while covered in flame-repellant gel.
As Willis leapt off the building, explosions were set off to complete the incredible stunt – but something went awry during the caper’s preparation.
When the explosions were set off Willis was caught in the crossfire, sending him way off course on his fall. As a result, he just barely managed to land on the giant airbag placed beneath him for safety. (Via Fox News)
Willis landed on the edge of the safety mat and – against all odds – was completely unharmed. But the cast and crew watching believed they had just witnessed the star’s death.
Willis recalled: “When I landed, everyone came running over to me and I thought they were going to say, ‘Great job! Attaboy!’ And what they were doing is seeing if I’m alive because I almost missed the bag.”
According to the book, Die Hard’s director and crew decided to film this stunt early in production so they had time to recast John McClane if Willis were to die.
At the time of filming, Willis was married to Demi Moore, who was extremely unhappy about how the stunt was handled.
She wrote in her memoir Inside Out that her visit to the set was “terrible”. “He nearly died jumping off a five-storey garage,” she explained.
“Just making it onto the airbag below when he was blown off course by a scripted explosion. He laughed about it. I didn’t.”PROC. BY MOVIES

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Wayne suffered numerous physical difficulties through the years, and while filming Rio Lobo, he couldn’t use one side of his body


John Wayne is a Western film icon and starred in many notable films during the Hollywood Golden Age. For over 30 years, fans saw his name attached to Westerns and war movies and couldn’t wait to see what he was filming next. But that doesn’t mean filming came easy for the superstar, especially in regard to injuries. Wayne suffered numerous physical difficulties through the years, and while filming Rio Lobo, he couldn’t use one side of his body. Here’s why.

Rio Lobo, a remake of Rio Bravo and El Dorado, came out in 1970 and featured John Wayne as the lead. Wayne played Cord McNally, a Civil War veteran searching for two traitors who caused McNally’s unit to go down. McNally travels to the town of Rio Lobo to unearth a shocking discovery.

Rio Lobo was director Howard Hawks’ last film, and it was far from the first time he worked with Wayne. “The last picture we made, I called him up and said, ‘Duke, I’ve got a story,’” Hawks said in 1971, according to Express.co.uk. “He said, ‘I can’t make it for a year, I’m all tied up.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s all right, it’ll take me a year to get it finished.’ He said, ‘Good, I’ll be all ready.’ And he came down on location and he said, ‘What’s this about?’ And I told him the story. He never even read it, he didn’t know anything about it.”

Ultimately, Rio Lobo bombed, and Hawks blamed it on Waynes being too old and out of shape for the movie to succeed. But Waynes had other difficulties on set. Before filming, he fractured three ribs while filming The Undefeated and gained weight for True Grit. He also tore a ligament in his shoulder. Filmmakers had to film only one side of Wayne’s body because he couldn’t move one arm.
Wayne’s torn shoulder was particularly difficult when it came to navigating the fight scenes in the film. Hawks had to utilize stand-in actors, and Wayne could only be seen from certain angles. Mounting and getting off of the horse smoothly also proved near impossible.
John Wayne had just previously gained weight for ‘True Grit’
As stated before, John Wayne was asked to gain weight for True Grit before filming Rio Lobo. Producer Hal Wallis hired Henry Hathaway to direct True Grit, and Hathaway requested that Wayne gain weight for the role of Marshal Reuben J. Cogburn. Wayne was reportedly overjoyed with the request.
The role came with another request that Wayne didn’t want to give into, though — and that was the eye patch. Wayne worried that an eye patch would have his fans turn against him, as it wasn’t the image they were used to seeing. But Wallis requested the eye patch remain.
However, Wallis and Wayne did compromise on one other aspect of Wayne’s appearance as Cogburn, though. They both agreed that Wayne didn’t have to have a mustache to play the character.
He didn’t understand why filmgoers wanted to watch ‘tough and bleak’ WesternsWhile John Wayne is known for filming classic, gritty Westerns, he reportedly didn’t understand their appeal.
“I was getting anxious because there was this young guy called Clint Eastwood making Westerns in Italy and having tremendous success with them,” Wayne said at the end of the 1960s. “All of a sudden, the studios all wanted Eastwood to come and make Westerns for them, but they were not the kind of Westerns I’d been making. They were tough and bleak. I don’t get it. What do people see in these films?”
With that said, True Grit won Wayne Best Actor at the Academy Awards in 1970. Unfortunately, Rio Lobo didn’t win him the same accolades.
Elements of this story were first reported by Mank’s Movie Musings.
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