John Wayne’s final words show a softer side of the Hollywood hard man
John Wayne notably deserves his grisly reputation. Having found fame as the spit-and-sawdust hero of the boom of western-focused Hollywood hits of the mid-20th century, Wayne garnered a reputation as a hard man that few could out-muscle. Standing at 6’4″, the stature of ‘The Duke’ gave him a presence on screen that translated to the cinema-going audience, who would queue up to watch his doll out a beating or two almost every time he released a movie.
As time went on, and arguably passed by Wayne, the former star has been more and more consistently thought of as a blight on the industry. His early work is now overshadowed by his noted racist and misogynist attitudes. Both aspects of Wayne have helped to paint the picture of a man who, beyond patriotism, was incapable of any real emotion.
However, as almost any person touched by the not-so-magic wand of fame will attest to, public perception is not exactly the whole truth when dealing with a figure in the eye of society. Wayne is no different. Though he is often regarded as cold-hearted and even outwardly nasty by many who have worked with or interviewed him, he did have a softer side. One that was largely reserved for his family.
There is no better declaration of this cuddlier side of ‘The Duke’ than in his heartbreaking final words. Wayne, having suffered from cancer following an ill-advised role as Genghis Khan in the 1956 movie The Conqueror, which was shot near a nuclear area of concern and subsequently exposed all its crew to cancerous radiation, lost his battle with the illness in 1979 at the age of 72.
In 1964, Wayne was also noted as one of the first public figures to address cancer in such a bold way, often credited with coining the term The Big C. During his recovery, losing his left lung and having many ribs removed, he continued to smoke and chew tobacco.
Wayne had seven children from the three marriages that bookmarked his life. One of those children, his daughter Aissa, would open up about her father’s softer sides, noting on Twitter that the former silent movie star was “really a loving dad and granddad”. She would also note that the former straight-shooting cowboy would “get all ‘goo-goo’ and ‘gaga'” with his grandchildren, claiming that underneath it all, he was “a jolly guy”.
During the final days of his battle with cancer, Aissa grew concerned that her father’s consciousness had been lost and his memories clouded by the pain of the disease. In an attempt to quell her fears, she asked him if he recognised her, and his response was as tender as anyone could have expected Wayne to be: “Of course, I know who you are. You’re my girl. I love you.”
These would be Wayne’s final words to his daughter and offer up a new viewpoint on the kind of man Wayne was.
