Dark John Wayne Facts His Biggest Fans May Not Know

From Redditor u/hugecatfish:

Joseph Stalin tried to have John Wayne assassinated.

Context: John Wayne according tobiographer Michael MunnStalin became angry at Wayne's anti-communist views. Stalin sent two Russian hit men to kill him in 1951. The FBI knew about the plot and caught the men before they acted. Munn claims Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev, told Wayne he canceled the execution order during a private meeting in 1958.

From Redditor u/scotty76:

TIL John Wayne told Michael Caine never to wear suede shoes; someone could soil them.

Context:Context matters here. Without it, this sounds like nonsense. In his memoir,Blowing the Bloody Doors Off, Caine says Wayne told him"You're going to be a star, kid. But let me give you some advice. Talk low, talk slow and don't say too much." He looked at my shoes, which were suede. He said, 'And never wear suede shoes.' I asked, 'Why not?' He replied, 'Because I told you, you will be famous. You will pee in the gent's toilet, and the man next to you will see you, turn, and pee all over your shoes, so don't wear suede shoes.'"

From a Redditor:

TIL John Wayne started wearing a toupee around 1948. Wayne felt more confident wearing it and never denied it. He joked, "It's not phony, it's real hair. It isn't mine, but it's real."

Context:His wigs have even gone up for auction.

From Redditor u/Chillykitten42:

TIL John Wayne smoked seven packs of cigarettes daily. This led to the removal of his left lung because of a baseball-sized tumor.

Context:Depending on the source, Wayne smoked between five and seven packs of cigarettes a day.CBS reports sixpacks.The habit hurt the actor's health later. After a cancer diagnosis, he had most of his lung removed.. He later died from stomach cancer.

From a former Redditor:

TIL John Wayne supported giving the Panama Canal to Panama for years. This support brought him only hate mail, but also his own island off Panama called John Wayne Island.

Context:According to this John Wayne fan blog, Wayne liked Panama. His first wife, Josephine Saenz, was the daughter of a Panamanian diplomat. Wayne became close friends with many important Panamanian families. Though a Republican, he backed President Jimmy Carter in returning the Panama Canal.returning the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. Online sources disagree on whether Wayne bought the island of Taborcillo or received it for his support.

From Redditor u/HAL9000000:

TIL John Wayne and 90 other people made the 1956 filmThe ConquerorPeople in Utah believe they got cancer from A-bomb tests near Nevada.

Context:Though this facthas not been proven.Cancer rates among the crew ofThe Conquerorthese were much higher than average.The ConquerorFilming took place from June through August 1954 near Saint George, Utah. This location sits 137 miles from the Yucca Flat atomic testing range. Eleven explosions occurred the year prior; two were "dirty," meaning they left long-lasting radiation. Of the 220 cast and crew, 91 developed cancer, and 46 died from it. Experts suggest only about 30 people in a group this size would expect to get cancer.

From Redditor u/szekeres81:

Studio directors knew to film John Wayne's scenes before noon. By the afternoon, he was a "real mean drunk."

Context:This is according toSam O'Steen's memoir.

From Redditor u/nyrfan317:

John Wayne appeared in 82 films over 12 years before starring inStagecoach, the film that made him a star.

Context: A quick look atWayne's IMDB pageshows this. AsBritannicaexplains, "The film was a breakthrough for Wayne, who had been working in lesser westerns. This was his first lead role in a [John] Ford film, and the two men later worked on many movies that defined the genre."Stagecoachreleased in 1939, when Wayne was 32.

From Redditor u/JaBoy:

John Wayne used his stage name. His real name was Marion.

Context:He was bornMarion Morrison, and friends often called him "Duke." He got the nickname like Indiana Jones: it came from his favorite childhood dog.

From Redditor u/mbcs09:

John Wayne used his status as a budding actor to avoid military service. He then made several films about being a war hero.

Context: The Straight Dopeoffers a balanced view of Wayne's choice not to enlist. The actor was 34 when Pearl Harbor attacked, had four children to support, and was not yet a major star. Henry Fonda enlisted at 37 but was already famous. Wayne feared military service would stop his career momentum. Wayne's profile grew during the war years, and by 1944, a government deferment came due to his "support of [the] national... interest." His studio reversed the decision and kept him in the U.S.

From Redditor u/Reginald_Fabio:

John Wayne stated colonists taking land from Native Americans was fine. Early settlers needed new land; the Indians selfishly tried to keep it.

Context:This was said in a1971PlayboyinterviewWayne stated, “I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them, if that's what you're asking... Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.” Wayne also said he believed in "white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility." About slavery and Black issues, he said, "I don’t feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves.... Now, I’m not condoning slavery. It’s just a fact of life, like the kid who gets infantile paralysis and has to wear braces so he can’t play football with the rest of us."

From Redditor u/eden_of_chaos:

People found out John Wayne's voice used heavy processing and editing from archive audio for the Garindan character in 1977's Star Wars.Star Wars.

Context:This fact was confirmed byStar Wars sound designer Ben Burtt. Burtt used a synthesizer to distort a line from John Wayne to make the high-pitched gibberish Garindan speaks. Burtt claims the line was, "'All right, what are you doin’ in this town' or something like that."