Happy birthday to my friend John Wayne

Spectator, The, May 26, 2007 by Johnstone, Iain

So I went to film him for a BBC documentary.

On the day I arrived he was telling the director, Andrew McLaglen, that he refused to do a scene where he eavesdropped on a young couple -- although it was clearly a relevant plot point. I asked him why. 'John Wayne would never do anything mean or petty or small, ' he informed me.

He had an acting rulebook of his own, such as breaking up his sentences with an inserted caesura so the audience would wait for the point or draw attention to himself in the background of a scene merely by cracking open his rifle to see if it was loaded.

That first night he asked me to dinner and personally barbecued the steaks. 'These Mexican steaks are really tasty, ' I said.

Duke drew himself up to his full six foot four. 'These steaks came from the United States of America.' As, indeed, did he. Like no American before -- or since.