Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question about John Wayne

I know he despised liberals like good Americans do

That idiotic claim was obviously made by a few numbskulls who haven't any real knowledge of Hollywood and the movie business. The world is full of little, jealous people who make up absurd lies in order to denigrate and belittle those whom they hate.

Wayne was a conservative and in Hollywood, that engendered a lot of enmity from the liberal left crowd of which Hollywood is mainly comprised. It is quite understandable to me the venom that was often thrown his way. He just shrugged it off.

Years ago for seven or eight months I dated the daughter of a very well known actress who had worked three times with John Wayne in his movies. I and my girlfriend had dinner, etc., a number of times at her home. Of course, a lot of the conversations had to do with "the Biz." The actress idolized Wayne and made it quite clear that he "enjoyed women."

The idea that Wayne was "homosexual" is not only ludicrous but laughable.

L.W.

Many of his popular contemporaries (Jimmy Stewart, Ted Williams, etc.), as well as, the general population - in his circumstance -, jumped through some small hoops to enlist and serve.

JW went to Mexico to lay low (bang the locals).
His director/career mentor at the time, John Ford, strongly encouraged him to return at the time for the sake of his career.

He did not "try" very hard to enlist.

Thats funny, you claiming to know about JW, I figured you for a Truman Capote fan

Must have been on the way to film "The Quiet Man", one of my favorite movies and one of the only three movies that I actually own on DVD. I was in Ireland about 10 years ago and stumbled upon the town of Cong which was used as the set for the movie. My girlfriend and I spent the day walking around the town seeing the sights from the movie. We tracked down the original cottage from the movie which is sadly in ruins now, it's in a farmer's sheep pasture about 10 miles outside of Cong.

Here's a picture I took of his grave in Newport Beach, CA, about a year ago when I was out there on a trip:

Little off topic, but it's already been mentioned, Gunsmoke. My dad loved the program. Since he was born in 1902 in arizona, he lived in the tail end of the old west, and I think Miss Kitty grew up/lived at one time around prescott. He loved the opening sequence of gunsmoke, the confrontation in the street. I remember him saying can you think of anything so silly as intentionally exposing yourself to gunfire. Much better a shotgun with double ought buck from ambush.
Oh well.
I of course never knew Wayne, but I have or have had clients that did. From some of the stories i have been told being gay is not even close. He did have an appreciation for the senoritas.
there are some great stories about wayne and his cattle business here in arizona, that i hesitate to put on here.

Miss Kitty, (Amanda Blake) did marry an Austin Texas city councilman, Mark Spaeth, back in the late 70's early 80's who did die of HIV related disease.

Thanks Leanwolf! I will never forget sitting in my grandmaw's lap in the early 60's watching Matt Dillion on her TV. She adored that program! Thanks!

That liberals are trying to smear his name comes as no surprise to me.

I don't give them an ounce of credibility, but rather see it as another plan to desecrate the America that we grew up with.

The time for a reckoning is getting closer.

for some reason I think amanda lived around mayer arizona, which is just south of prescott. the following link is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Blake

there are some great stories about wayne that i will relay to you maybe in person one of these days at quemato, or the like.

Yes it is.

I was fortunate enough to know 3 of the Gunsmoke cast, and work with two.

Knew John Wayne's youngest son, Ethan, and worked with him as well. You'd be amazed at how organized and structured John Wayne's estate is, and how well it is managed, even today.

Ethan now runs things.

Wayne and Ben Johnson would visit my Mom's cousins horse ranch in Buckeye. That side of my family farmed cotton and hay but also had a large horse operation.

One of the big sorrels Wayne rode came out of my cousin's stock, we had a filly from the same stock, had some race horse lines in her and was definitely the fastest horse I ever road.

Johnson was also friends of a family I grew up and hunted/fished with and I camped with him up at Big Lake when I was in HS. He was a real horseman and down to earth regular guy. Retired and passed away right here in Mesa.

Kent

I remember back in the early 80's the shop sent me to a Tom Kielman auction that had a lot of Wayne memoribilia up for bid. Before the auction started, I believe it was Ethan that called and worked out a deal with owner for a special purchase for the estate.

It was nice that the owner didn't want to see the stuff broken up. And worked withthe family to get it back to them.

Ben was a real cowboy. And a first class guy.

Not many actors can wear that badge. Especially today.

My buddy and I were 15 or 16, when the men were sitting around BSing and passing the whiskey, he'd offer us a sip with a grin, we'd respectfully decline and he'd laugh.

Kent

my old man, a b17 bombadier during ww2, hated john wayne and called him a draft dodger. i never really knew the reason. not saying he was or wasn't, but i know my dad wasn't the only ww2 vet who felt the same. i personally like old jw and nobody except for maybe clint did westerns like he did.

many evenings long gone I shared a sip with Ben Johnson and Jack Elam while losing at poker to one or the other of them.
never met The Duke but knew some of his close friends and only bad thing I ever heard about him was he wouldn't take care of his body.

He chain smoked, and liked his whiskey!

Could throw a helluva party though...

He got rowdy and burned down the clubhouse at Ft. Clark Springs in Brackettville after they wrapped the Alamo movie.

Still stands as a burned out shell there at the fort. He paid for it, btw.

Jack Elam... born in Miami Az and graduated Phoenix union HS, which is now the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Lots of Az connections with those guys.

Kent

He was married 3 times. You can debate the homosexual angle all day and you can't change that fact.

He was kept out of WWII because his handlers pulled political strings to keep him out. The US Government was OK with this because he continued to make patriotic pictures that were good for America all during the war. Everyone was happy but Mr. Morrison who always regretted his decision to go along with his handlers.
Just what I heard in the past.
kwg