For the John Wayne expert

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I was 6 when John Wayne died. He's still probably the only actor who has passed on who I really miss. A few years ago I took my family to Ridgway, Colorado and walked around the city park and the adjoining street. It's where they filmed a lot of the "Fort Smith" scenes in True Grit. Walking around under those cottonwoods that John Wayne walked under was like visiting a cathedral.

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Ah yes, the final shootout in True Grit . . . got to be the most classic John Wayne scene of all time.
 
I met John in the 70's not long before he past away, we(my folks and someothers) had diner on the Wild Goose in Gig Harbor with him.....for a kid(I was 12 or so I think) it was a diner of a lifetime
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as its been said........John Wayne played himself.......he was and still in my hero
 
Very cool thread. I believe John's lever loop Winchester is still in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. If you haven't been to the museum lately it is quite a bit nicer than it use to be.
 
When I was a kid the Alamo came out. I went to see it in a drive in. A couple of my friends and I layed on the ground 20 or so feet from the screen. It was awesome!

I have seen all his movies over and over again. They are always great.
 
Originally posted by Faulkner:
Ah yes, the final shootout in True Grit . . . got to be the most classic John Wayne scene of all time.
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The meadow that the famous shootout took place in is accessable by car in the summer near Owl Creek Pass somewhat east of Ridgway, kind of between there and Cimmaron, near Silver Jack Reservoir. The meadow is smaller than I thought it would be but Chimney Rock is very visible....that is the large prominance that is situated behind Robert Duvall as he rides out into the meadow just before the gunfight. Worth the short side trip if one is in the area. For the hikers and climbers among us this area of the San Juans has some fine possibilities.
 
<span class="ev_code_RED">Yes all the great ones are going one by one. They just don't make em anymore like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Harry Morgan. Someone else already mentioned this but it bears saying again, when you saw these guys they really portrayed our country at it's finest. They were really the best. I wish I could have been lucky enough to have known them personely. It would have been a great honor.</span>
 
If you want to walk in the footsteps of John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Bob Mitchum, Bill Holden, Glenn Ford, etc and many other western actors that we all admired, but are now gone to the Big Gunshow, visit the Old Tucson movie set southwest of Tucson. 100s of western epics and TV shows were filmed there, probably more than a dozen of Wayne's had scenes taken there. I was a child actor in the first movie made there, "Arizona", in 1939, starring Bill Holden and Jean Arthur, directed by Wes Ruggles. Gary Cooper was supposed to be the male lead, but he became unavailable at the last moment and a new actor, William Holden was given the lead. The set was a massive recreation of Tucson in 1860 and opened on Christmas day, 1940, in Tucson. During the war it was abandoned but was restored after the war and continued as a western movie set until a fire destroyed it several years ago. It has now been rebuilt and is open as a tourist attraction and occasional film set. You will instantly recognize the various parts of the set as used in many different movies and TV dramas. I used to kid Wayne that I made movies there before he did, but he did OK following in my footsteps! I'd tell him "Pilgrim, keep it up, someday you will learn how it's done!" He was doing retakes filming "Stage Coach" in Monument Valley at the time "Arizona " was made, so that was his excuse why he couldn't come to Tucson and watch me!
 
Originally posted by Faulkner:
Ah yes, the final shootout in True Grit . . . got to be the most classic John Wayne scene of all time.
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Probably not verbatim..but here it goes.

"Lucky Ned Pepper, I mean to take you back to Ft Smith and see you hung at Judge Parker's convenience, or kill you right here...now which will it be??"
"Well thats mighty bold talk for a one eyed fat man Rooster"
"Well fill your hand you SOB"
 
Did I dream it, or did JW have an ownership interest in Old Tucson at one time?
Did the fire destroy most of the old sets and fronts?
 
Thanks to all, and especially Ed for a great, great thread! He was something else.

Bob
 
Originally posted by GoHogs:
Did the fire destroy most of the old sets and fronts?
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It wouldn't make much difference. The place is not historically significant so they feel free to rip it up and rebuild everytime a new director walks into town.

I remember a tour guide telling us that we were standing where the railroad tracks used to be for that movie where the train ran into the saloon. The saloon was gone, too.

That was all the "history" I could stand and promptly departed.
 
Originally posted by Ogandydancer:
<span class="ev_code_RED">Yes all the great ones are going one by one. They just don't make em anymore like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Harry Morgan. Someone else already mentioned this but it bears saying again, when you saw these guys they really portrayed our country at it's finest. They were really the best. I wish I could have been lucky enough to have known them personely. It would have been a great honor.</span>
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Kind of off topic, but I think Tom Selleck will one day be considered in this catagory.
 
Opoefc, thank you, Sir, for sharing. You are truly blessed. I am 34 and grew up watching John Wayne movies and admiring the man. I often tell people that they should make a bracelet for young men today that says "WWJWD?" or "what would John Wayne do?" (no disrespect or sacrilege to the real WWJD and our Lord).
I think that so mny young men would do well to adopt the principles displayed by John Wayne. Those principles are summed up quite well in "The Shootist". Thnaks again, Sir.

JJB
 
What you saw in his movies was John in real life.
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I've heard it said that John Wayne was a terrible actor in the sense that he could only be himself. Somehow that doesn't seem to be a bad thing.

Todd
 
May be we need a JW karma for his 102th birthday may 26th. have to see what i have to give as a karma
 
THis is the best Sunday morning thread I've read in a looooong time.

THank you to all who've been kind enough to share their memories.

I'm jealous, and at the same time, happy to know that what I saw and admired was real.
 
I think McClintock is going into the DVD player this morning so me and THe Bubster (my son) can watch it and get a good start on our "John Wayne-ing" together.

From True Grit"She draws that lawyer like a six gun!"
 
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