With an undeniable screen presence and a commanding screen presence, John Wayne is a legendary American icon. The icon’s career had a career that spanned five decades, during which he established himself as one of the greatest actors of his time, becoming a legendary hero in the Western genre films, as he flawlessly showcased qualities such as bravery, and confidence which the audience of that time enjoyed watching.
The actor has worked with renowned filmmakers who have shown themes like loss, love, and life. John Wayne’s performances in Western films were so magnificent that, soon he became synonymous with the genre representing an entire era. However, being so renowned only comes with a fear that something might ruin his picture-perfect career.
John Wayne Was The Tom Cruise of Yesterday
Being a prolific actor kept John Wayne under immense pressure, as he was an American hero who was a fearless and confident figure. But he knew when to take help from Chuck Roberson, his trusty stuntman who would do his risky endeavors. However, the Rio Bravo actor would often do stunts to showcase his dedication, which could have been done by the stunt doubles.
According to Scott Eyman’s biography John Wayne: The Life and Legacy, while filming the final scene of True Grit where the actor had to jump off a horse, which he insisted on doing. However, the setting of the film was affecting him immensely and one mistake would have stopped production. But following the instructions of Gary Combs, Wayne performed the stunt.
“It’s not an easy thing for an actor to do, to ride a jumping horse. But [stuntman Chuck] Hayward took his old sorrel horse Twinkletoes, and we made a low jump and we set the camera low and Duke ran the horse down there and jumped over the thing which was probably about two feet high. It was a nice jump … He was game for anything.”
Wayne’s dedication paid off, as he won an Oscar for his performance in True Grit for his role as Rooster Cogburn. And he became so successful that he became one of the main targets of the Soviet Union.
The KGB Had Enough of John Wayne
John Wayne had the perfect life that any other celebrity would love to have, starring in multiple smash-hit movies playing either a Cowboy or a soldier in war movies. And he had a significant role in shaping the golden era of Hollywood. The El Dorado actor had everything in the world, fame, money, respect, and admiration, to receiving death threats and narrowly dodging assassination attempts from the former intelligence and domestic agency of the then-Soviet Union.
When the secret intelligence agency was brought down, it caused quite a havoc in the USA and Europe, which carried out numerous missions for the former Premier of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. The actor became one of the main targets of the agency because of the roles he played in the movies, hence he attempted to be assassinated on multiple instances but each attempt only led to failure, questioning the reputation of the agency and Joseph Stalin.
True Grit can be streamed on Paramount+.
Source: John Wayne: The Life and Legacy
