John Wayne

Right wing creep who hated gays and with luck will fade from cinema history some day.

I wonder how he got along with Montgomery Clift when making Red River?

I never liked him or his movies. Instinctively. I guess for my grandparents generation he represented the Masculine Handsome Manly Man. The Ideal. Ugh.

R1- You should also mention the fact that he was a LOUSY actor.

Referring to the anti-gay slur, Ethan Wayne said his father “used a terrible word, no doubt about it.”

“But he used it not in the context of an individual’s sexuality. He used it in the context of the changing landscape of the motion picture business, something that distressed him,” Ethan Wayne said. “My father worked in Hollywood for 50 years, and Hollywood is probably, you know, one of the most progressive and diverse communities on Earth. He didn’t care what race, gender, sexual orientation you were. He cared how well you did your job. He took everyone at face value.”

What a load of sour pusses..

Any man who can rock this look like he is in this snap has my vote!!

R6- He looks like he has a bit of a GUT in your photo.

He broke into Hollywood on his back, so I'd hope he appreciated the queens who put him in front of a camera.

During his conservative political speeches in the late 1960s and early 1970s, students opposed to his political stances would often walk out of or boycott university film classes that screened his films.

R8- What do you mean ON HIS BACK?

In the final years of his life, with the resignation of President Richard Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War, Wayne's political beliefs appeared to have moderated. He attended the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter on 1/20/77, and along with his fellow conservative James Stewart he could be seen applauding Jane Fonda at AFI Life Achievement Award: AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Henry Fonda (1978). Later in 1978 he uncharacteristically sided with the Democrats and President Carter against his fellow conservative Republicans over the issue of the Panama Canal, which Wayne believed belonged to the people of Panama and not the US.

Queen

"Fort Apache" and "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" are my favorite films of his. I especially like them because the britches he wore in them were very fitted, highlighting Wayne's rather nicely muscular hindquarters.

You left my favorite John Wayne film off your poll, OP...None

John Wayne and Jane Fonda were friends.

Wayne met Jane when she was 10 or 11 years old and she visited her father Henry Fonda when Wayne and Henry Fonda were making John Ford's "Fort Apache".

Wayne was quoted

[quote] I’ve known Jane Fonda since she was a little girl. I’ve never agreed with a word she’s said, but would give my life defending her right to say it.

He worked with Rock Hudson on 1969's "The Undefeated". According to Wikipedia

[quote] According to Rock Hudson's partner Marc Christian, John Wayne started out picking on Hudson during filming but the two men became friends. In Mark Griffin's biography of Hudson, 'All that Heaven Allows', Wayne is shown to have initially started to 'direct' Hudson, constantly suggesting what he should do on camera. When Hudson began to do the same to Wayne, Wayne pointed his finger at Hudson and said, 'I like you.' The suggestions stopped, and the two men became frequent partners in chess and bridge.

I remember seeing a photo of Wayne and Hudson playing chess while waiting on the set of "The Undefeated". Sorry, perhaps someone else can find it. There are lots of other pictures of him playing chess with co-stars, including Marlene Dietrich.

I know that current Dataloungers find it hard to believe but in a healthier time, people could disagree politically and still be friends. Consider also the long time friendship between liberal Henry Fonda and conservative James Stewart. I think Stewart talked about this once on The Tonight Show. Apparently when young men, before their success, the two had had a huge disagreement about politics, but decided to keep the friendship and never discuss politics again. They maintained that attitude.

Much healthier than today's cut and burn approach.

John Wayne joined the greats and won an Oscar for his role in the beloved film, True Grit. It was a big deal at the time and he deserved to win.

I picked "The Searchers," but mostly for the cinematography, although he acted well in that one.

How did he deal with director John Ford, who was rumored to be gay?

I also thought he was effective in "Flying Leathernecks," but that role was easy for him and fit his pseudo-macho persona like a glove.

Didn't I read on this site he attended gay pool parties in Hollywood?

Didn't I also read he was fond of taking attractive men in their 20s out on his yacht on the ocean off of Newport Beach for an afternoon?

Maybe he got into Hollywood on his knees rather than his back. I don't see how a homophobe could have much of a career in Hollywood.

R16 2 for the price of 1 - John Wayne with his Oscar for True Grit AND with Babs.

I’m a big fan . The Quiet Man and Stagecoach are fantastic. I could give a flying fuck about politics

[quote] in a healthier time, people could disagree politically and still be friends.

It might be the case of Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, but not the case of John Wayne and Rock Hudson. The latter was a lopsided friendship, as Wayne could be himself much more than Hudson could be. Hudson couldn't even come out to him in the first place.

One of the worst actors who ever became a movie star, OP, besides being a miserable human being. Considered sexy? NO, not ever. He was a "tough guy" idolized by many straight men, that means sexless.

Red River is my favorite followed by Stagecoach.

[quote] Hudson couldn't even come out to him in the first place.

If you think that John Wayne didn't know that Rock Hudson was gay when he worked with (and played chess and bridge with him) on "The Undefeated", you are nuts.

Wayne worked in Hollywood for over 50 years.

Of course, he knew.

[quote]How did he deal with director John Ford, who was rumored to be gay?

John Ford was never rumored to be gay. Maureen O’Hara speculated he was gay in her autobiography. Like Wayne, Ford was one of those male-bonded macho lugs who saw women as servants and accessories.

A lot of actors from those days have been conservative or Republican, but it doesn't stop me from watching films that I love.

Of course, Wayne knew Hudson was gay but you can be sure they never discussed it. Not that Rock would have wanted to chat about it with the Duke of all people.

Look at the lineup in this picture!

Looks like a celebration of Wayne's 40 years in film.

What a group of actors!

[quote] will fade from cinema history some day.

I doubt that will ever happen. It's more likely that he will be rediscovered in this era of disposable filmmaking. Watching something like Stagecoach after sitting through the forgettable garbage on Netflix is rather refreshing.

I understand, R25. But the fact remains that John Wayne was a terrible actor.

John Wayne threw shade at Eastwood over the violence in his films in response to a letter from Clint asking if they could make a picture together.

[quote] Are there any fans of John Wayne films here?

I'm black and gay... so, HELL NO!

He was rarely good in modern dress roles.

Like a lot of people he could make exceptions in his real life vis-a-vis his own politics. His wives were Hispanic. Ford, regardless of his sexuality, was a difficult person. It's a shame that his WWII cowardice was never called out during the vietnam or Cold War eras.

[quote]John Ford was never rumored to be gay. Maureen O’Hara speculated he was gay in her autobiography.

Recalling the incident on the set of the 1955 film, "The Long Gray Line," the 83-year-old screen legend writes: "I walked into his office without knocking and could hardly believe my eyes. Ford had his arms around another man and was kissing him. I was shocked and speechless. I quickly dropped the sketches on the floor, then knelt down to pick them up...

"They were on opposite sides of the room in a flash," she said.

Identifying the man with Ford only as "one of the most famous leading men in the picture business," O'Hara said he later approached her and asked her why she had never mentioned Ford was gay.

"I answered, 'How could I tell you something I knew nothing about?'"

The problem with John Wayne was not so much that he was a conservative Republican, it was that he was revered by conservatives who saw him an the antidote to the upheavals of the late 1960s-70s. Wayne loved the attention and took the bait as a pro-Vietnam expert, constantly shooting his mouth off. My father - a fan and a Republican - was embarrassed by Wayne.

R23 Wayne had known the rumors about Hudson is different from Hudson coming out to him. Could Hudson be "openly gay" in the presence of Wayne? Could Hudson mention his real life, or introduce his partner to Wayne as such, just as any of Wayne's straight friends did?

To R4,,, His last film "The Shootist" is the only film where he actually acted. He was dying, so he acted the fuck outta that movie. He is very good in thst movie. Also Red River, Stagecoach,True Grit, and The Quiet Man. The Man who shot Liberty Valance is very good too.

I saw The Shootist when it first came out, R36. Wasn't not impressed regardless of Wayne's health issues, which were used to in the PR to sell the movie.

Honestly many Hollywood actors are not good people. They are usually narcissistic and motivated by a desire for fame and power. Also many are uneducated. It's best to see them as tradesmen rather than intellectuals who studied politics and philosophy.

Marion had a hawt ass but he couldn't live forever.

My MAGAT military cousin worships John Wayne as the "last real man in Hollywood", so it's a no from me.

It's interesting that John Ford, who was a real shit to people who worked for him, chose people to be the target of his shit on each picture. Wayne, of course, was one of his victims, but not the only one over the years. I believe Ford chose John Agar as one of his targets (perhaps on Fort Apache?).

Yet John Ford is revered.

My favorite comment about Ford's behavior came from James Cagney, another Irish guy, who worked with Ford on "Mister Roberts". It was Cagney who when asked about what caused Ford to be such an S.O.B, replied succinctly with a single word... MALICE.

And, with that, Cagney hit the nail on head.

Wayne, no doubt, could be a gas bag, but I never heard that he was maliciously nasty to people as John Ford was.

R38, I'm guessing you weren't born when John Wayne played The Great Conservative in the 1970s.

R42 I was not born then. But I read his Playboy Interview from the 1960s where he proudly described himself as a white supremacist and said Black people should shut their mouthes. Left a bad taste to say the less. He made some good movies but he was a terrible person. He's a piece of shit for trying to a right-wing reactionary when people were fighting for social progress.

He even wanted to tackle the Native American lady who accepted Brando's Oscar and gave her activist speech. Someone was holding him back from beating her up on national TV right there. I'm sure he gave her an earful backstage

Classy man.

Interesting real story behind The Searchers. The character Wayne played was based on Brit Johnson who was a black slave in West Texas, belonging to a man who gave him a lot of freedom. Johnson was the slaveholder's ranch foreman, he owned his own land, lived on it with his wife and children, raised cattle and horses and ran his own transport business. One day his ranch was among many targeted in the notorious Elm Creek Raid by the Kiowa who killed his sons and stole his wife and daughters. His slaveholder let him leave in pursuit of his wife and children. Johnson spent years roaming the West, going from fort to fort, pursuing leads on where the Kiowa had taken his family.

After several years he was finally reunited with them after the Kiowas sold them to the Comanches and the Comanche chief intervened in Johnson's favor. The Civil War had happened in the meantime and he was a free man. He started a very successful transport business, hiring a number of freedmen. Then they were all ambushed by the Kiowas while on a job and the Kiowas slaughtered all of them. The Kiowa were mean bastards.

I'm surprised no black movie star has got this movie made.

[quote] I know that current Dataloungers find it hard to believe but in a healthier time, people could disagree politically and still be friends. Consider also the long time friendship between liberal Henry Fonda and conservative James Stewart. I think Stewart talked about this once on The Tonight Show. Apparently when young men, before their success, the two had had a huge disagreement about politics, but decided to keep the friendship and never discuss politics again. They maintained that attitude.

It's one thing to disagree about topics like government spending, educational policies and taxes. Even people who have similar political views argue on those topics. But it says a lot to be friends with someone who is racist, homophobic and misogynistic. Only so much can you turn a blind eye. You are the company you keep.

Many liberals have conservative friends (usually more of the pull-yourself-up types) but support for modern-day Republicans, the alt-right and Trump is too much. A lot of people who were Republicans left the party because it became more fascist.

Look at pictures from 1930's "The Big Trail" - he was absolutely beautiful back then. I've actually seen every single one of his little 1930s westerns (except the two lost ones, of course). I think he was a hunk and a half back then. He was best friends with Ward Bond from college days at USC - oh, to be in that sandwich!

John Wayne did an episode of Maude.

He was totally self aware.

John Wayne was probably a despicable person, but starred in some truly fantastic movies. And definitely got his start by giving up his ass to be closet queen John Ford's "prop boy" and walk on extra......

Ford is, IMO, the great American director. Even arrogant as hell Orson Welles admitted that. I'm also convinced the repressed homosexual closet case director played by John Huston in The Other Side of the Wind (a Welles film released posthumously) is meant to be a stand-in for Ford.

[quote]John Wayne did an episode of Maude. He was totally self aware.

Yeah. The idea was that big John was too above it to argue with the inferior female. It was damage control, and it didn't go well.

Marion was the quintessential draft dodging Phoneywood Murican "hero". There was a reason he was booed off the stage by real marines in WWII.

[quote]I'm surprised no black movie star has got this movie made.

That would be a good movie, as would a movie about Bass Reeves. He was mentioned on an episode of [italic]Justified[/italic].

Wayne's son defends his anti-gay slurs:

"Referring to the anti-gay slur, Ethan Wayne said his father “used a terrible word, no doubt about it.

“But he used it not in the context of an individual’s sexuality. He used it in the context of the changing landscape of the motion picture business, something that distressed him,” Ethan Wayne said. “My father worked in Hollywood for 50 years, and Hollywood is probably, you know, one of the most progressive and diverse communities on Earth. He didn’t care what race, gender, sexual orientation you were. He cared how well you did your job. He took everyone at face value.”

Years before Will Smith's slap.

I have to agree with Monty Clift here:

-- John Wayne's 'forced' machismo 'repelled' Montgomery Clift on Red River set The 26-year-old later said of the two political conservatives: “They laughed and drank and told dirty jokes and slapped each other on the back. They tried to draw me into their circle but I couldn't go along with them. The machismo thing repelled me because it seemed so forced and unnecessary.” --

His PLAYBOY interview was…revealing to say the least. I can’t even watch his movies anymore.

I hate hate hate his politics and racism, but I love love love several of his films.

[italic]Hondo,[/italic] [italic]Stagecoach,[/italic] [italic]The Searchers,[/italic] and an especially sweet little film, [italic]Trouble Along the Way,[/italic] are compulsively watchable. I do like the fact that he seems a confident and generous cast member, not minding allowing his co-stars to shine or even steal a scene.

It's weird, I can happily watch John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Ward Bond, or Charles Coburn despite knowing their far-right views, but I cannot abide watching Eugene Pallette, Glenn Ford, and or Walter Brennan.

R57 here. Meant to add IMO John Wayne was quite handsome, but had zero sex appeal.

He wasn't a particularly great actor, but the camera loved him. Watch how he first appears in [italic]Hondo.[/italic] John Farrow obviously knew this and captured it sublimely; it is one of my very favorite "the star's first entrance." He was an all-caps MOVIE STAR.

If John Wayne were alive today I wonder how he'd feel about pseudo-masculine Donald Trump.

His son Patrick was a good looking man.