Books on Duke- Past Discussion (Archive)

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    I think You Guys are Spinning You Wheels on all of these Books, If you want to Know about Duke, in His Last 7 Years of His Life, Read Pat Stacy's Book "Duke a Love Story" and Find Out What Duke Was Like at the End of His Life,, and that was the Way It Was !!!
    :ohwell:



    Chilibill
    :cowboy:

    Hi Bill

    I agree Pat's book on John Wayne's later years is excellent.

    I would also recommend Pilar and Aissa books.

    Considering that they are written by Wife Girlfriend and Daughter and they all have nice things to say about him as a Man he must have been doing something right!!!

    For first time readers on John Wayne they could not do better than to start with
    Donald Shepherd book

    http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/260814/Duke/Product.html

    For more detailed information on John Wayne Randy Roberts book is the most comprehensive

    http://www.play.com/Books/Book…6/John-Wayne/Product.html

    Other books provide new insights or angles but cover the main territory.

    The only one I would avoid is Gary Wills

    http://www.play.com/Books/Book…5/John-Wayne/Product.html Like watching paint dry!!!


    Mike

    I have a Old Book Called "The Film Of John Wayne" But the Last Film they have in the Book is "Rio Lobo !"
    :ohmy:
    The Book is By Mark Ricci, Boris Zmijewsky and Steve Zmijewsky. Does any One know anything about this Book and the People that Wrote it ?
    :yeaahh:



    Chilibil
    :cowboy:

    Hey Guys, I'm slowly putting together a wiki to store Duke related information. You can find this info at http://www.dukewayne.com/wiki/index.php/John_Wayne_Books


    If anyone would like to help out in anyway then let me know. There is alot of very useful information in the forum that I feel needs to be pulled out and placed in an area the is less crowded, so that's why I've installed the DukeWiki.

    Hi Kevin,
    I think to the books relaited to Duke, must be added
    Peter Bogdanovich
    WHO THE HELL'S IN IT Conversations with Holliwood's Legendary Actors.
    The book has very good chapter about Duke.
    Regards,
    Vera:russia:


    Thanks Vera!! I have added it to the Wiki.


    Just curious about what you found farfetched? I kinda felt the assasination stories were a little suspect.

    mhitt

    Yes, the assassination story would be one of the main areas of unbelief. As previously mentioned in other posts the story comes from nowhere else and nobody else has publicly remarked about it.

    The other main problem is that people who seem to have known about it are all dead e.g. Orson Welles, Yakima Cannut and of course John Wayne so attempting to prove its authenticity may be difficult.

    Munn seems to have a lot of contacts in the film industry and most of his stories are
    gossip and rumour.

    He has recently completed a book on Olivier.


    Mike

    Here you go Bill

    Here's a synopis of what is claimed in Munn's book


    LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was so outraged at the anti-communism of film star John Wayne that he plotted to have him murdered, according to a new biography of the American icon.
    "John Wayne - The man behind the myth" by British writer and actor Michael Munn says there were several attempts in the late 1940s and early 1950s to kill the man known to audiences around the world as "Duke."


    In the first attempt, two Russian assassins posing as FBI agents tried to kill Wayne -- born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907 -- in his office at Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood.


    But the plot was uncovered and the would-be killers captured, the book says, citing several sources including director Orson Welles.


    The book says the Soviet plots were cancelled after Stalin's death in 1953, by his successor Nikita Krushchev, who was a fan of the larger-than-life star of more than 100 films.


    "That was a decision of Stalin during his last five mad years. When Stalin died I rescinded that order," the book quotes Krushchev as telling Wayne during a private meeting in 1958.


    But it says American communist groups took up the cudgels against Wayne who was a supporter of the anti-communist witch-hunt led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, citing an attempt in Mexico on the set of the film "Hondo."
    Wayne survived these attempts and another by a sniper during a trip to visit American troops in Vietnam in 1966. He eventually died of cancer in 1979.

    Mike,
    In 1970 at the Cattle sales at the 26 Bar Ranch after Duke had become a Mason in Tucson, I was told this Story by Sen. Barry Goldwater, that had been a Friend of my family for many years, long before He become Sen. Goldwater from Arizona.
    :ohmy:
    Sen. Goldwater was one of Duke's Best Friends, and said that He tried to get Duke to except Protection from the U.S. Govenment but Duke said No He would take care of it Himself !!!
    :angry:
    http://www.ranch26bar.com/STALIN1.html
    Chilibill
    :cowboy:

    Hi Bill

    So do you reckon it is true. The way Munn tells it the story sound like a Hollywood movie.
    It is also at the start of his book so it is like WHAT!!!

    Im surprised that the story was not picked up before or since in the many other books on Duke.

    Mike

    Mike, We have no way of knowing anything more about it, as all the People that had anything to Do With It are Long Gone ! I do have a Friend that is a F.B.I. Agent, and I am going to see if He can tell me anymore about it ?
    Bill
    :cowboy: