Robert Carradine, Anita Wayne Swift, and myself.
Out in the wild, wild West, the men were strong, the horses were fast, and the talk was rough-rougher than the saddle on a rustler’s steed, rougher than a barroom brawl, rougher than the face of a lonesome drifter. Okay, you get the picture. It was rough. I spent part of my weekend discussing the rough talking men and women in the numerous films John Wayne made and how that tough talk could be used to deal with any circumstance. Looking for a cool comeback to a tough character? “Pick it up,” Wayne tells a bad guy reaching for his gun in the movie Rio Bravo, “I wish you would.” Trying to get out of an unhappy relationship? “I got places to go and country to put behind me,” the Duke announced to Gail Russell in Angel and the Badman. Wondering how to fit in? “Well, if you’re going to stay around here,” Wayne tells James Caan in El Dorado, “I got two pieces of advice for you. Get rid of that hat and learn how to use a gun.”
An enthusiastic crowd was on hand at the Autry Museum of the American West yesterday to celebrate the wisdom of Wayne. Among those gathered were actors Robert Carradine, Paul Koslo, Mary Kove, Bruce Boxleitner, producers Rob Word, Howard Kazanjian, Wayne’s granddaughter, Anita Wayne La Cava Swift, and many others who knew, worked, or were fans of the Duke. It was an experience I’m not likely to ever forget. Movies are the great equalizer. Politicians may be making decisions on our nation’s security during the day, but at night I’d like to think they’re watching a John Wayne western or any western for that matter.
