John Wayne was left ‘livid’ after what Kirk Douglas did on The War Wagon set
In September 1966, John Wayne was set to shoot a Western heist film, however he wanted the appropriate co-star to play his character’s former enemy Lomax.
Burt Lancaster turned down The War Wagon half as he didn’t wish to work with Duke, whereas Rod Taylor was supposed for the function till Kirk Douglas confirmed curiosity.
The Spartacus star had already co-starred with the Western legend in Cast a Giant Shadow and In Harm’s Way the earlier two years, so he was nicely acquainted with him anyway.
The War Wagon director Burt Kennedy ended up having to surrender half his wage to afford to rent Douglas, who was paid $300,000 plus 10 per cent of the gross.
Just earlier than the 12 week shoot started in Durango, Mexico, Wayne was not in good condition having had his left lung and several other ribs eliminated in a 1964 main most cancers surgical procedure.
READ MORE: John Wayne condemned Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus upon its release
During the flight over, he had actual problem respiratory on the aircraft and had to make use of an oxygen masks the entire method. It was solely right here the place Douglas first realised simply how fragile the 59-year-old Duke was, however that didn’t cease the outdated bull from getting offended together with his co-star.
During The War Wagon’s manufacturing, Douglas was late to set as he had been capturing a business to endorse Edmund G Brown, a Democrat, as Governor of California. This enraged Wayne, a life-long conservative, who was late himself the following day as he’d been filming an advert to endorse the Republican candidate, fellow actor and future US President Ronald Reagan.
Although the 2 Hollywood stars had their political variations they did finally grow to be associates and had a mutual respect for one another. In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett, Douglas shut down being requested about Duke’s controversial views on the US taking Native American land.
Cavett introduced up that Wayne had mentioned it was “because a lot of people needed land and the Indians were being selfish and thought that they ought to have it.”
Yet Douglas replied: “I don’t want to get involved in a conversation about John Wayne. I’ve made quite a few pictures with John Wayne and, by the way, I’ve always called him John. Everybody calls him Duke. We have never seen eye-to-eye on a lot of things.” However, he did praise the Western star, saying he was “one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with.”
The Spartacus star shared how when engaged on a film collectively, he would solely have dinner with Wayne on only one evening. He mentioned: “We get along well, we never discuss politics. But he’s the first guy on the set, the hardest worker I’ve ever worked with, and I think he’s quite a character.”
Given Duke’s towering 6 ft 4 top, Cavett joked that it was no surprise the 2 by no means noticed eye-to-eye. In reality, throughout his first scene with Wayne, Douglas wore enormous lifts so he would look in step with Wayne.