Connect with us

John Wayne

‘You can’t kill John Wayne!’ Hollywood legend’s death removed from script out of respect

John Wayne – who stars in classic The Longest Day airs from 4am on TCM on November 12 – is famed for being one of the most well-respected and well-loved actors of his generation. So much so, in fact, that his demise was removed from a script after a disagreement between its writer and director over the man himself.

Wayne, often nicknamed The Duke, remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring and popular figures, starring in some 180 films and TV productions. His status was cemented in 1970, when he earned the Oscar he craved for Best Actor, thanks to his role in True Grit.
And his popularity with fans also saw screenwriters and directors change scripts and plotlines in order to preserve characters portrayed by Wayne, including in the film In Harm’s Way, which led to a dispute between production staff.
Wayne aficionados were always keen on seeing their beloved star survive whatever encounters he faced on screen. And this even led In Harm’s Way screenwriter Wendell Mayes to alter his entire script to ensure his audience was left happy.
Mayes noted how he originally intended to kill off Wayne’s character in the 1965 film, which also starred Tinsel Town legend Kirk Douglas. However, after discussions, his wish was ultimately denied

John Wayne's death removed from script as mark of respect


‘You can’t kill John Wayne!’ Hollywood legend’s death removed from script as mark of respect (Image: GETTY)

John Wayne’s way to protect ‘man he loved more than anybody’ from humiliation

The Duke protected the “man he loved more than anybody” from an award night humiliation, by pretending to make the same mistake as his friend, unearthed accounts show.

The screenwriter spoke to Focus on Film regarding his experience of writing for, and working with, Wayne. And despite his own complaint about his script, he spoke highly of the western legend.
He said: “In a scene in which I know John Wayne is going to play a role, I will say to myself: ‘Well, John Wayne can’t say that line of dialogue,’ so I won’t write it.
“Now in In Harm’s Way, John Wayne was hired after the screenplay was written. It was not written for John Wayne and if I’d been writing it for him, there are certain speeches that I would not have written because I felt he could not read them.
“As it turned out, John Wayne was able to read the lines and read them very well indeed–so that I think it was a better film because I didn’t know he was going to play the role.”

John Wayne with Kirk Douglas
John Wayne and Kirk Douglas starred in a number of films together (Image: GETTY)

The screenwriter, who won New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay in 1959, noted how Wayne was “a great pro” who “never blows a line”, adding: “The other actors will blow lines, but he will stand there patiently, wait for them to get their lines, say his in his own way.”.
He went on to discuss his wish to kill off the star, which ended in a row with director Otto Preminger.
He continued: “I wanted Wayne to die and the son to live, and Otto wanted the son to die and Wayne to live. His argument was: ‘You can’t kill John Wayne!’.
“So, he won, and perhaps he’s right. You can cut a leg off, or an arm, or an ear, or something, you can maim him for life, but you can’t kill him.”

john wayne hollywood news
John Wayne is one of Hollywood’s most enduring figures (Image: GETTY)

While Wayne enjoyed a close relationship with many of the stars he worked with, according to his daughter Aissa, the Academy Award winner didn’t speak fondly of Hollywood legends Clark Gable or Gene Hackman.
She said in the 1991 book John Wayne: My Father: “My dad called Gable handsome but dumb at least four or five times, and now I wonder if it had something to do with my father’s friend, John Ford. During the filming of Mogambo, Ford and Gable had clashed again and again and the subsequent feud had simmered for years.
“In my father’s way of thinking, disloyalty to allies, support in any fashion for their enemies, was expressly forbidden. If Clark Gable took on John Ford, my father’s code demanded that John Wayne stand by his old pal.”
While Wayne enjoyed a close relationship with many of the stars he worked with, according to his daughter Aissa, the Academy Award winner didn’t speak fondly of Hollywood legends Clark Gable or Gene Hackman.
She said in the 1991 book John Wayne: My Father: “My dad called Gable handsome but dumb at least four or five times, and now I wonder if it had something to do with my father’s friend, John Ford. During the filming of Mogambo, Ford and Gable had clashed again and again and the subsequent feud had simmered for years.
“In my father’s way of thinking, disloyalty to allies, support in any fashion for their enemies, was expressly forbidden. If Clark Gable took on John Ford, my father’s code demanded that John Wayne stand by his old pal.”
She added: “Gene Hackman could never appear on-screen without my father skewering his performance.
“I wish I could tell you why he so harshly criticised Hackman, but he never went into detail. Although it’s pure speculation, had my father lived to see more of his work, I think his view of Mr Hackman would have changed. Back then, however, my father called Hackman ‘the worst actor in town. He’s awful’.”

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

John Wayne

Reveal 7 fascinating facts about John Wayne’s 1963 film ‘McLintock! ‘

A Standout Film In John Wayne’s Catalog . In the immense list that is John Wayne’s filmography, one title stands out among the rest. That movie would be McLintock! which starred Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in the lead roles.

Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, McLintock! is a Western in which John played the role of cattle, timber, and mining baron George Washington “G.W.” McLintock. Maureen played his estranged wife, Katherine, who moves out East after suspecting that G.W. cheated on her.However, she eventually comes back to his town, and the two find themselves tangled up in a series of messes.

7 Facts About John Wayne's 1963 Film 'McLintock!' – Country Music Family

The film also focuses on the couple’s daughter, Becky, who was played by Stefanie Powers. Once Becky comes back to town after her time away at college, she brings along a suitor named “Junior” Douglas, who was played by Jerry Van Dyke. But eventually, Rebecca ends up falling in love with a young man who lives in her father’s home named Dev, who was played by John’s son Patrick.

If you’re a fan of John’s movies, you’ve definitely seen McLintock! a time or two…or more. But there’s a few facts about the film and its creation that you’re likely clueless about.That’s what we’re here for, to tell you those facts! Are you excited to learn what they are?https://www.youtube.com/embed/VcAzj_b0bIM

1. The Movie Was Produced By John’s Son : John Wayne was always good about including his children in his projects, and ended up launching their careers in the process. While you likely already knew before reading this list that the character Dev was played by John’s son Patrick, did you know that another one of his children was involved in the film as well?

McLintock! / John Wayne / Technicolor 1963 - YouTube

It turns out that John’s eldest son, Michael, served as the sole producer of the film. Although Michael had worked on many other films in the past, McLintock! was the first that he ever fully produced.

2. John Insisted On One Of The Actresses Being Cast : One of the supporting roles in McLintock! was played by the immensely popular and beloved Yvonne De Carlo. She played Louise Warren, a widow who moves in to McLintock’s home with her two children and serves as the housekeeper and cook.https://www.youtube.com/embed/4aF4oGRM9Q0

While Yvonne appeared in a number of starring roles in earlier years, she was forced to accept supporting roles as her career declined. You probably didn’t know this before, but she may not have ever been cast in McLintock! if it wasn’t for John insisting that she be given a part.

McLintock!” – John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara | Katherine loudly… | Flickr

John wanted Yvonne to be cast in the film because her husband, stuntman Bob Morgan, had been seriously injured while working on the movie How the West Was Won, which John also starred in. The injuries put an end to Bob’s career, so why John Yvonne to have a role in McLintock! when it came time to start filming it.

3. John Wanted To Do One Stunt Because It Looked Fun : According to John’s son and the film’s producer, Michael, John really wanted to do one of his own stunts in the film. The stunt required John to jump from a hayloft down into a pile of hay below.

Michael said that his dad thought the stunt looked like a lot of fun, and he declared that he wanted to do it himself. The studio wasn’t too keen on the idea, since John was one of the brightest stars in Hollywood at the time.

John finally won the argument, and he got the chance to perform the stunt himself. However, the studio also shot the scene with a stuntman as well in case something went wrong.

4. There Isn’t A Bit Of Mud To Be Found In The Famous Brawl Scene : Sometimes, films have to substitute other substances for their real-life counterparts, such as blood, or even ice cream. In the case of the famous mudhole brawl scene that takes place in McLintock! the “mud” wasn’t mud at all!

In reality, the substance used in the mudhole brawl scene was a material called bentonite. This material is typically used while drilling oil wells, and resembles chocolate syrup in terms of appearance and consistency. On the movie screen, it stands in as a good substitute for mud, which is usually much thicker.

Continue Reading

John Wayne

The Gunsmoke cast had no idea John Wayne was going to introduce the first episode

The whole cast was at James Arness’ house when the Duke walked out.

Before anybody ever laid eyes on James Arness as Matt Dillon, the first episode of Gunsmoke moseyed out with a face so familiar to Westerns, he really needed no introduction. That didn’t stop him from saying in that sober, serious way of his, “I’m John Wayne. You may have seen me before, or I hope so. I’ve been kicking around Hollywood a long time.”

The introduction went on, but this was really all it took to get any Western fans to stay firmly planted in the saddle for the premiere, and out of all the fans in the audience when that very first episode aired, you should know that perhaps most surprised of all to see Wayne’s face on the front of his own show was Gunsmoke star Arness. He dispelled a myth in an interview with the Archive of American Television, confirming he not only had nothing to do with Wayne’s involvement, he and the rest of the cast didn’t even know it was going to happen!

“I didn’t ask him,” Arness said of John Wayne’s introduction. “Not at all. In fact, I was really surprised when they said that he had done that. He [filmed] that, we didn’t know about it at all. They did that intro some where else on some picture he was doing, and I don’t think actually, that we knew about it until it came on the air that night. I think they were kinda holding it as a surprise.”

Two big western stars meet again as “Gunsmoke” star Jim Arness stopped by to visit his old friend John Wayne. During the visit on the set of Wayne’s current movie the actors recalled that back in 1952 Arness was under contract to Duke. Wayne was asked to a thing called “Gunsmoke” but sold the producers on Jim instead.

Arness then went on to paint a picture of what exactly it was like to see one of his own heroes tipping his hat before the start of Arness’ new show. He said, “We were all actually over at my house, all the gang from Gunsmoke, watching this… and here’s Duke Wayne with this intro.”

Just imagine Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver and Milburn Stone, sitting shoulder to shoulder on a couch when the screen flickers to reveal John Wayne. It must’ve been quite the surprise, indeed. Arness used a different word to describe the experience: “It was absolutely marvelous.”

In a later interview, he used the same word when discussing his favorite John Wayne movie of all time, The Quiet Man. Arness said, “I watch television all the time, mostly PBS and old movies like The Quiet Man, my favorite Wayne movie. It’s marvelous. I just loved the man and still do.”

Continue Reading

John Wayne

Inside John Wayne’s ‘Wild Goose’ WWII Houseboat

Actor John Wayne loved both land and sea. However, he took his love for the water to another level when he purchased a boat that he spent a lot of time on. The Wayne houseboat is a beautiful piece of history that fans continue to admire long after the actor’s death. Here’s a look inside of Wild Goose.

John Wayne owned a WWII houseboat called ‘Wild Goose’

John Wayne aboard Wild Goose, his houseboat, wearing a collared shirt, captain hat, sitting next to American flag

The Daze with Jordan the Lion YouTube channel takes viewers on a tour inside of the Wayne houseboat. The actor spent a lot of time on the houseboat and owned it for 18 years. However, he sold it shortly before he died in 1979. Jordan explained that Wayne had some of his favorite moments of all time on the Wild Goose. He even convalesced on the boat after he knew that he was going to die.

The Wayne houseboat was a decommissioned World War II Naval minesweeper. However, he wasn’t the original owner. Billionaire Max Wyman purchased the boat, but he wanted to sell it when he grew tired of it. Wayne purchased it off his hands and had to have the ceilings raised to accommodate his height without bumping his head.

Jordan went to the other side of the boat to take a quick look at the kitchen, where the Duke had meals prepared for him. Next, he went into the engine room. The host explained that the ship’s engine was originally a locomotive or train engine that they repurposed when the military had the ship. The ladder at the end of the room leads to the bar area.

The host exited the engine room to head to the second level of the ship, using gold-detailed stairs to get there. He explored a second Bride room, where guests can purchase Wayne and Wild Goose merchandise. Jordan explained that the Wayne houseboat’s captain is still alive and participates in the dinner cruises.

Continue Reading

Trending