John Wayne, racist. I told you so ...

Responding to another thread which brought up John Wayne's name, I mentioned I'd met him in 1953 on a film in St. George, Utah where my Dad was the make-up artist. I pointed out that Wayne was a racist and a John Bircher fan.

Now this account came out today:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-lawmakers-reject-john-wayne-day-debate-191705957.html

His interview in Playboy which I posted and remember reading in the early 70s knocked the petals off his flower for me. He was simply out of touch. It is ironic with some of his views that he married a beautiful Mexican wife.

2seaoat wrote:His interview in Playboy which I posted and remember reading in the early 70s knocked the petals off his flower for me.  He was simply out of touch.  It is ironic with some of his views that he married a beautiful Mexican wife.

Good point. At one point in my life I worked for a major marketing corporation in Fort Worth. Visiting a string of our chain stores located in department stores, I learned that the best selling framed graphic in Texas was a portrait of John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn (True Grit).

Because of the heroic figures he portrayed on the screen, I suppose it was natural for people to begin to believe he was, in fact, the greatest American hero.

It was all bullshit of course. He was a film star, and the only uniforms he ever wore were in front of cameras. And every bullet he fired in anger at a human was a blank.


But I'd wager there are still folks who proudly display his poster on a wall of their front room. Beside the rebel flag and their other framed poster, this one of Jesus as a blonde, blue-eyed God figure.

He's a jerk in the recent Trumbo movie but they have him standing up for Edward G Robinson and against Hedda Hopper. I don't think Wayne would do that in real life because it would endanger his career. Betty Garrett says he backed Larry Parks but even Wayne wouldn't take on Hedda Hopper.

I need to see the Trumbo flick.