The movie John Wayne made a “son of a bitch” producer beg him to star in: “Served the bastard right”
Some actors can hold grudges longer than others, and few could hold a grudge as successfully as John Wayne, who would only agree to appear in a movie if a producer who’d pissed him off several years previously begged and pleaded for him to join the picture.
That, and a substantial sum of cash, were enough to change his mind, and ‘The Duke’ showed up as promised. It was a power play of the highest order, and there aren’t many stars in Hollywood history who could treat one of the industry’s most powerful figures like their personal bitch, effectively.
This was John Wayne, though, and few stars held more sway, and he had the box office clout to back it up. He worked with who he wanted, he discarded anyone who got on his bad side, and it led to several simmering and long-lasting feuds that saw the ‘Golden Age’ icon stand his ground every time.
When ‘The Duke’ told Herbert Yates that he’d never work for him again after their fallout, he probably didn’t take it too seriously, since he was instrumental in turning Marion Morrison into an American icon. However, when he discovered that Wayne was serious and he’d lost his biggest draw, it can’t be a coincidence that Republic Pictures slipped down the pecking order to the point of oblivion.
If there was one thing guaranteed to get under Wayne’s skin, it was speaking ill of The Alamo. It was his baby; a passion project he’d nurtured for a decade, and ultimately didn’t make a penny from when it was finally released in 1960, not that he minded too much when he’d finally brought it to the big screen.
One of the many heavy hitters who refused to fund the expensive period piece was 20th Century Fox’s co-founder, Darryl F Zanuck. ‘The Duke’ never forgot, and when the producer and executive was seeking the starriest possible ensemble for The Longest Day, he figured he’d give ‘The Duke’ a call and see if he was interested in playing a very minor part as Benjamin H Vandervoort.
“No,” came the one-word answer, and he slammed down the phone. Undeterred, Zanuck called him back, pleading, insisting that the picture would benefit from having his name attached. Taking it under consideration, his terms were clear; he wanted to be begged for the privilege of a cameo appearance, and he also wanted a $250,000 paycheque, ten times more than anyone else.
“Poor old Zanuck,” Wayne recalled. “I shouldn’t have been rotten, I guess. I always liked that son of a bitch. But I was goddamn mad at his attack on me. I didn’t like being pitied by him or anybody.” Hell hath no fury like ‘The Duke’ scorned, apparently, who got everything he wanted out of the deal/
“He was so pleasant, I kind of wished I hadn’t charged him so much money,” he explained. “It has to be the most expensive interview a movie producer ever gave. Should teach us all to keep our mouths shut more often. What the hell, I needed the money, and I didn’t think Zanuck would give me the quarter-mil, served the bastard right.” All he’d done was criticise The Alamo, and Wayne turned it around into an apology, a $250,000 phone call, and having one of his enemies grovel at his feet, not bad work if you can get it.
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