Gunned down by ‘The Duke’: when John Wayne accidentally shot his best friend
There’s never been another star in Hollywood quite like John Wayne, but even a personality as powerful as ‘The Duke’ was formed in part by the relationships, influences, and mentors he met along the way.
In a professional capacity, it goes without saying that John Ford was the most formative figure in that respect, with the legendary filmmaker taking the upstart under his wing long before he was a household name and forging one of the most iconic actor/director partnerships in Hollywood history during a friendship that spanned decades and regularly delivered greatness along the way.
Of course, Ford was far from the only industry professional celebrated by Wayne as being one of his biggest inspirations, with ‘The Duke’ freely admitting that he based his entire persona on Harry Carey. They starred in multiple movies together before his death at the age of 69 in September 1947, but even after that the face of the Western’s ‘Golden Age’ regularly worked with his son Harry Carey Jr and wife Olive.
There’s another veteran who Wayne worked with more times than Ford and Carey combined, though, and their friendship not only survived but grew stronger even after ‘The Duke’ had shot him in the arse. Between 1929 and 1959, Ward Bond made 23 features alongside his best friend in Hollywood, with the prolific character actor striking up a close kinship off-screen that predated their movie days.
Fittingly, it was Ford who played a key part in initially bringing them together on-screen after hiring the pair – who were previously football teammates at the University of Southern California – to play small roles in 1929’s drama Salute. According to Wayne’s estate, he wasn’t easily won over by Bond after admitting “he struck me as ugly and a potential discipline problem,” but it was water under the bridge soon enough.
When Bond died in November 1960 at 57 years old, it was Wayne who gave the eulogy at his funeral. Not only that but ever the jokester, ‘The Duke’ discovered in his best buddy’s will that he’d been gifted a shotgun as one final ribbing on a hunting incident years previously.
During the trip, ‘The Duke’ wielded the very same shotgun he’d end up being posthumously bequeathed and ended up accidentally shooting Bond right in the rear end. Even in death, the camaraderie between the pair remained as strong as ever, with Wayne eulogising “a wonderful, generous, big-hearted man” who still managed to get the last laugh by mocking him for the unfortunate incident where he ended up with a butt cheek full of buckshot.
They may have been lifelong friends from their student days right through to the silver screen stardom they shared together, but Bond wouldn’t even let himself be cremated without getting in one last dig at Wayne.
