John Wayne

[tiffsboys4]

I remember watching old John Wayne movies with my uncle back in the day. I saw him at the Oscars before he passed and remember thinking it wouldn't be much longer. I can't say he was a hero of mine but just watching those old movies stirs a lot of memories. Most of my family have passed on and I guess its just way for me to remember old times.

[jedimyndtryx]

My fave JW movie is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" with Jimmy Stewart. Weird seeing how small his feet were at Grauman's. I also remember seeing in the Enquirer some story about him being gay or wore women's clothing or something. Is this true?

[knothere]

I read a rumer that there was a bar/hotel that he frequened
when he was drunk he wood throw pool table balls off the roof.

[Rebekah]

I don't think John Wayne was gay. If he was, I would be shocked!

[candleinthewind]

John Wayne was not gay. He did like to cross-dress which is not as shocking as it sounds. In certain Hollywood circles cross-dressing was common. He said it relaxed him. If you look around the internet you can find some pictures of him in drag. There is one of him, Jack Lemmon and Sal Mineo in drag. Someone wrote a book called "Duke or Duchess?". The pictures usually get taken down quickly but I'll post some links if I find them. By the way, if the Duke came at you in heels and a boa would you say anything? Most people didn't.

[candleinthewind]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

[Rebekah]

I didn't know this so yes, I am shocked but then women have
been wearing jeans and boots and hats for years so turn about
is fair play. I wonder if his relationship with his mother had
anything to do with it. He was always trying to please his
mother who obviously didn't pay enough attention to him from
what I read.

[RoRo]

I just watched an interesting program ( I think it was the HIstory Channel) that was about the movie The Conqueror with John Wayne, Susan Heyward, and Agnes Morehead. Several people that worked on that film died of cancer and there was speculation that it was from fallout from the bomb tests in Nevada. They pretty much proved scientifically the radiation levels were too low, but tons of people in the area (Utah) also died of cancer, so you have to wonder.
My Dad would roll if he ever saw pics of The Duke in drag, he was his favorite actor!

[Bellfire]

I love John Wayne but it's kind of a tainted since I learned he dislikes Indians. I can't imagine why he did but it kind of turned me off to hear it of him.

[onehunglow]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

Sure as hell. The Duke in a dress.............I haven't felt like this since I found out there was no Santa.

[tiffsboys4]

DAMN, John Wayne in hose and skirt. No sleep tonight!

[Rebekah]

I didn't know he didn't like Indians. I am part Indian and proud of it.
What a disappointment!

[mr.wanttohaveitall]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

WOW. I never knew this about JW. Then again, I sure wasn't a fan of his. All I can say is DAMN. What a hypocrite. All of the macho, sexist and homophobic things that came out of his mouth and he got kicks from wearing nylons and heels??

Well well well Dukie, wherever you are now........you weren't one to judge anyone.

[onehunglow]

In real life he didn't have the balls. Just a guess.

[Guest]

How could anyone hate the Rappin' Duke?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bAOnzIu70k

[OBX]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

I'm sorry, but that is photoshopped. If nothing else, look at Sal Mineo's legs. Yeah, Sal Mineo has the legs of an older heavy woman.

[Danny62]

Well his real fist name was Marion!!!

[b57hrle]

I am a lifelong John Wayne fan... Loved his movies, really don't care if he dressed in drag... my opinion.... whatever, it was his life not mine...

[Jason]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

This is the absolute worst photoshop job I have ever seen... you can see the lines around his face where it was pasted on under the hair... I am very experienced with photoshop, I would bet my life on that shot being phony.

[Darrianne]

This is the absolute worst photoshop job I have ever seen... you can see the lines around his face where it was pasted on under the hair... I am very experienced with photoshop, I would bet my life on that shot being phony.

I have to agree - the head shot with the wig on definitely looks photoshopped in that link. And badly.

[Serendipity09]

one of many John Wayne Tribute (s)...enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Vz9QysCG8&NR=1

[Serendipity09]

I love John Wayne but it's kind of a tainted since I learned he dislikes Indians. I can't imagine why he did but it kind of turned me off to hear it of him.

that's interesting, since all three wives were Hispanic women
Spouse(s) :
Josephine Alicia Saenz (1933-1945)
Esperanza Baur (1946-1953)
Pilar Pallete (1954-1979) (his death)

[TheMysterian]

It's always intresting to read stories about actors or famous people who have passed away and can't answer the charges made against them,e.g."John Wayne", Errol Flynn etc. I too am a long time Wayne fan and have read much about him and the story about him being anti American Indian is probably false along with him being a "cross dresser"! It doesn't fit anywhere in his Bio. Someone started a rumor back in the 70's that Errol Flynn was a "secret Nazi Spy"! Anything to make a Buck. The answer to it probably can be found at snopes.com.It's common knowledge that W.C. Fields and Wallace Beery were Big Drinkers and didn't like kids in movies because they somehow would steal the scene away from "the star" but "The Duke" a cross dresser???

[leevancleef]

I too am a long time Wayne fan and have read much about him and the story about him being anti American Indian is probably false along with him being a "cross dresser"! It doesn't fit anywhere in his Bio. Someone started a rumor back in the 70's that Errol Flynn was a "secret Nazi Spy"! Anything to make a Buck. The answer to it probably can be found at snopes.com.It's common knowledge that W.C. Fields and Wallace Beery were Big Drinkers and didn't like kids in movies because they somehow would steal the scene away from "the star" but "The Duke" a cross dresser???

Errol's rumor: absolute bullshit. The same writer (HIGHMAN) also states in the biography that he had an affair with Truman Capote. i could laugh all the day long just to think about it. wtf?! MY GUESS is that probably that writer was gay himself , made a pass at Errol once and he did that bio as a revenge. By the way, ERROL FLYNN was possiby the sexiest man ive ever seen.


As far a John Wayne being an Indian hater, im not sure about it , but i dont think so...keep in mind that his three wives were latin.
i believe that the only quite racist comment he ever made was in that infamous Playboy interview when he Playboy Magazine interview in which he said that he thought that blacks were not yet qualified to hold a public office.

[Katie]

I loved John Wayne. He was my hero growing up. I met him when I was just a little girl. He was the Grand Marshall in the Atlanta Fourth of July Parade. It was hot and we were walking(our dance group) and he was in a car. When he saw how hard it was for us to keep up, he had a fit, and said the F word, which I had never heard, and surely didn't know what it meant. He had his assist get us cokes, and slowed his car down. The parade was I think 3 miles long.

I still enjoy his movies, and have most of them on tape, or DVD. He is one of those people who made me feel safe.

I miss him.

[johnny]

I'm a huge John Wayne fan. He would probably be the first to say he wasn't perfect. And during the 60's he was definitely confused if not angry at what was going on around him.
Here is a clip of a drunk ass Duke addressing an ROTC group circa 1968
http://frozen-peas.blogspot.com/2006...ohn-wayne.html

[leevancleef]

I loved John Wayne. He was my hero growing up. I met him when I was just a little girl. He was the Grand Marshall in the Atlanta Fourth of July Parade. It was hot and we were walking(our dance group) and he was in a car. When he saw how hard it was for us to keep up, he had a fit, and said the F word, which I had never heard, and surely didn't know what it meant. He had his assist get us cokes, and slowed his car down. The parade was I think 3 miles long.



.

Great anecdote, thanks for sharing Katie.

[TheMysterian]

it's my impression that "The Duke" was rather simpathetic towards the American Indian situtation as was his mentor John Ford. Ford always tried to portray the American Indian in a positve way,as he had great respect and admiration for them,he never made them look bad in any movie he made,they were always shown as a proud people.

[Katie]

it's my impression that "The Duke" was rather simpathetic towards the American Indian situtation as was his mentor John Ford. Ford always tried to portray the American Indian in a positve way,as he had great respect and admiration for them,he never made them look bad in any movie he made,they were always shown as a proud people.

I agree with you

[jay]

2 of my favourite John Wayne stories

He and his drinking buddy Ward Bond, frequently played practical jokes on each other. In one incident, Bond bet Wayne that they could stand on opposite sides of a newspaper and Wayne wouldn't be able to hit him. Bond set a sheet of newspaper down in a doorway, Wayne stood on one end, and Bond slammed the door in his face, shouting "Try and hit me now!" Wayne responded by sending his fist through the door, flooring Bond (and winning the bet)

The evening before a shoot he was trying to get some sleep in a Las Vegas hotel. The suite directly below his was that of Frank Sinatra who was having a party. The noise kept Wayne awake, and each time he made a complaining phone call it quieted temporarily but each time eventually grew louder. Wayne at last appeared at Sinatra's door and told Frank to stop the noise. A Sinatra bodyguard of Wayne's size approached saying, "Nobody talks to Mr. Sinatra that way." Wayne looked at the man, turned as though to leave, then backhanded the bodyguard, who fell to the floor, where Wayne knocked him out by crashing a chair on top of him. The party noise stopped.

There will never be another like the duke.

[KSHA]

John Wayne's widow, Pilar, has lived in Ft. Worth, Texas for some time. She's married and is moving to California so their home in Texas is for sale. If you visit www.realtor.com, type the zip code 76132 and you can see their home. It's listed for $2,200,000 and the address is 6805 Laurel Valley.

[KSHA]

Also, if you go to www.miravistarealtors.com you can see more pictures of Pilar Wayne's home and the inside too!

[Katie]

Those are beautiful. How old is she now? Do you know anything about what she has been doing since the Duke died?

[KSHA]

She has a website at www.pilarwayne.net or something like that.

[imogene schlogenwockle]

It grieves me that gays sometimes think of John Wayne as anti-gay because he was known as a political conservative. This Week in Texas, a venerable gay publication, posted a short interview with the Duke in the 70s in which he was asked what he thought about gay people and his response was, "I think people ought to be able to live any way they want and be left alone."

[ichabodius]

It grieves me that gays sometimes think of John Wayne as anti-gay because he was known as a political conservative. This Week in Texas, a venerable gay publication, posted a short interview with the Duke in the 70s in which he was asked what he thought about gay people and his response was, "I think people ought to be able to live any way they want and be left alone."

Interesting. I wouldnt have expected that. Welcome to the forum.

[disco]

John Wayne was not gay. He did like to cross-dress which is not as shocking as it sounds. In certain Hollywood circles cross-dressing was common. He said it relaxed him. If you look around the internet you can find some pictures of him in drag. There is one of him, Jack Lemmon and Sal Mineo in drag. Someone wrote a book called "Duke or Duchess?". The pictures usually get taken down quickly but I'll post some links if I find them. By the way, if the Duke came at you in heels and a boa would you say anything? Most people didn't.

[SomeChick]

http://paxety.com/Archive/20050625DukeDutchess.html

They're right above the post you quoted disco.

[ImStillAlive]

That's a parody site. It states you can order the book from Bones and Navel bookstore. The book doesn't really exist.

[SomeChick]

Yep. I realize that.

[Gorey]

John Wayne has God status in my dad's house. You do not speak ill of the Duke. Dad thinks He is the ultimate American. We always call dad and let him know when a John Wayne movie is on tv so he can watch although he's seen them all dozens of times. We grew up watching John Wayne and learning WWII history and American history from the movies . Dad was honest and told us when things in the movies were wrong. Didn't John have 7 children or something? I don't think I want to believe that He cross dressed that would ruin the illusion. I do know He wore a toupee.

[dbrian]

Same here Gorey--the Duke is STILL the man in my dad's house. My dad is a WW2 vet and juste recently purchsed a picture of John wayne from The Searchers on Ebay. That cracked me up. I'm like--"Dad quit spending my inheritance."

[Dying Breath]

So what would some of his movies been called? "He wore a yellow ribbon"?

[Katie]

So what would some of his movies been called? "He wore a yellow ribbon"?

I think "She worn a yellow ribbon," and he had a smile because of it.

[interrestedintn]

My step father was absolutely obsessed with John Wayne. He used to get drunk and put on his cowboy hat and gun belts and stand in front of a mirror practicing twirling and holstering his guns. LOL I was so sick of Westerns growing up, I hoped I never had to see another one. Funny though, I prefer newer ones but, westerns are my favorite.
I saw some t.v. show a while back. I can't remember what it was because it's been a while and I don't even recall which movie they were discussing but it said that the Duke and a lot of other old time actors had done a western filmed downwind from where they had tested nuclear bombs and that everyone who was involved had eventually succumbed to cancer. I'll have to do some research and maybe I can be more informative.

[ichabodius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bAOnzIu70k

[Pegasus]

Quite a while ago I read an article about the Duke that said he liked to 'disappear ' for a week to 10 days at a time down in ol' Mexico back in the 1930's . He would purposely not tell anyone where he was going or how to get in touch with him. During one of these ' visits ' , the attack on Pearl Harbour happened and his agent was frantically trying to get in touch with him but was unable to. This seems hard to believe in this day of cell phones , pagers and GPS systems but this was back in 1941. Reason for visits , suggested it was for tequila and senoritas. Everytime i see an old newsreel of PH attack or read something about the Duke , I think about this story.

[RogerV]

Quite a while ago I read an article about the Duke that said he liked to 'disappear ' for a week to 10 days at a time down in ol' Mexico back in the 1930's . He would purposely not tell anyone where he was going or how to get in touch with him. During one of these ' visits ' , the attack on Pearl Harbour happened and his agent was frantically trying to get in touch with him but was unable to. This seems hard to believe in this day of cell phones , pagers and GPS systems but this was back in 1941. Reason for visits , suggested it was for tequila and senoritas. Everytime i see an old newsreel of PH attack or read something about the Duke , I think about this story.

Keep in mind that even today the Mexican telephone system is kind of "creaky." It was a LOT worse in 1941... even if you knew where to call, you frequently couldn't get through.

[johnny]

Interesting. I wouldnt have expected that. Welcome to the forum.

i think it was part of the whole idea of the west. people tended to move out west to get away from too much government and wanting to start anew.

say what you will about john wayne, he wasn't a big government kind of guy...

[radiojane]

In regards to the Errol Flynn book: As a connoisseur of celebrity biographies, I can tell you that Charles Higham (and many times Barbara Leaming) will pick a "fact" out of thin air and write an entire book around it. The Flynn book, which I've read, is pure BS. Leaming claimed in her biography of Kate Hepburn that John Ford was the love of Kate's life. Nothing to back it up. They did have a mild flirtation for a while, but they certainly were'nt hopelessly devoted to eachother.

John Wayne confuses me. His westerns annoyed me as a child, mostly because they were overplayed. I really thought he was a cultural glitch. He seemed to play the same thing over and over. I'm still not convinced that he could act his way out of a paper bag, although I liked Donovan's Reef and Mclintock, and I'm going to watch Without Reservations this week to see if I can prove myself wrong.

At the same time though, I find him very sexy. It may just be the voice, but he sure does something to me, and that annoys the hell out of me. The episode of Maude he appeared on kind of sums it up: Maude wants to tell his republican ass off, but ends up melting into his arms.

If you're looking for a fair, balanced and well written biography, Try Duke by Ronald L. Davis. It's much better than the Michael Munn one.

You have to give him credit for being funny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m74urGhPVM