I'm only now just returning to this great John Wayne online forum (JWMB) ~ (the best and most comprehensive) ~ and only after a very lengthy absence (12/14/2010) ~ the result of some rather unintended consequences of a very violent head-on MV accident ~ I eventually survived (still with some limitations) ~ but the other motorist unfortunately wasn't so lucky. Such is 'life'. Trust me ~ I am a walking/talking and "still bitching" example for why every motorist on the road today should ALWAYS WEAR A SEATBELT.
But now that I'm back and have pretty much all of my "normal faculties" and sometime 'ornery disposition' somewhat yet intact but still functioning properly ~ I'd like to say that I am continually appalled at the American Film Institute's failure to recognize the lifetime achievement and accomplishments of John Wayne ~ This man wasn't just an "actor/producer/director" in films or television ~ he was a hell of a lot more than just that.
Here is just part of what the AFI says it uses to determine the 'worthiness' of one whom they deem "deserved " into their hallowed hall of reverence, respect and recognition ~
" The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973 to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television"
"The Trustees initially specified that the recipient must be one who fundamentally advanced the art of film and whose achievements had been acknowledged by the general public as well as by film scholars and critics and the individual's peers. The Trustees also specified that the work of the recipient must have withstood the test of time"
I would encourage each and everyone of you reading this to focus your attention on some of these AFI "requirements" ~ "lifetime contribution" ~ "enriching American culture through motion pictures" ~ and each and every other such accomplishment as also hi-lighted above and then try to convince anyone why this man ~ John Wayne ~ has never been inducted into this much revered and more than respected cadre of motion picture American actors?
Here is the AFI's list of previous (mostly actor/but also producer/director) inductees and the year they were inducted ~ James Cagney (1974) ~ Orson Welles (1975) ~ Bette Davis (1975) ~ Henry Fonda (1978) ~ James Stewart (1980) ~ Fred Astaire (1981) ~ John Huston (1981) ~ Lillian Gish (1984) ~ Gene Kelly (1985) ~ Barbara Stanwyck (1987) ~ Jack Lemmon (1988) ~ Gregory Peck (1989) ~ Kirk Douglas (1991) ~ Sydney Poitier (1992) ~ Elizabeth Taylor (1992) ~ Jack Nicholson (1994) ~ Clint Eastwood (1996) ~ Dustin Hoffman (1999) ~ Harrison Ford (2000) ~ Barbra Streisand (year ?) ~ Tom Hanks (2002) ~ Robert De Niro (2003) (only my son David will know why I particularly highlighted Robert De Niro's name) ~ Meryl Streep (2004) ~ Sean Connery (2006) ~ Al Pacino (2007) ~ Warren Beatty (2008) ~ Michael Douglas (2009) ~ Morgan Freeman (2011) ~ Shirley MacLaine (2012) ~~~~~ Mel Brooks is a "potential candidate" for 2013.
So, here's my own personal "beef" with these Board of Directors of the American Film Institute ~ Either they are "completely oblivious" as to the achievements and accomplishments of John Wayne, the actor/producer/director ~ and also as to being the lifetime contributor to the "enrichment of American culture" through motion pictures ~ or, these same Board of Directors of the AFI are completely disambiguous to the absolute multitude of literally millions of loyal American (and others) movie fans over more than one generation whose lives were either altered or otherwise completely changed by his presence upon the American motion picture screen.
I just happened to be one of them. "Flying Tigers" (1942) ~ and eventually "Island in the Sky" (1953) is what encouraged me as a 19 year old to eventually go to work for Flying Tiger Airlines in 1953 and spend most of my professional career (30 + years) working and flying with them. John Wayne did that ~ No one else could have inspired a young teenager like me back then ~ but he sure as hell did and I also eventually wound up doing pretty well for myself with FTL.
So then, just who should this man/actor/producer/director John Wayne be compared to or "against"? Another Dustin Hoffman or another Warren Beatty or another Mel Brooks? And if he is then at the very least ~ then why not he too also be included in with these equally fine and deserving actors/directors/producers?
If many of you truly are fans of John Wayne and the legacy he left behind for many of us and want to make a difference, if not to JW himself then at least to his family, then why not let your own voices be heard and become a part of the decision making process when the AFI decides who is "worthy enough" for their coveted 2013 Award ~ Mel Brooks or John Wayne?
American Film Institute
2021 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027-1657
323.856.7600
323.467.4578 Fax
Email: information@afi.com
Let your own voices be heard ~ tell the AFI who you think is most deserving of this "Lifetime" award.
Why hasn't John Wayne yet been inducted into the "AFI Lifetime Achievement Awards" ??
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He died too soon. You have to be living and agree to come to the ceremony to accept in person in order to win the award. Had he lived a few years longer I'm sure he would have won. I'm a big fan of the AFI Lifetime Achievement awards. I look forward to it every year.
Year Honoree Age
1973 John Ford 79
1974 James Cagney 74
1975 Orson Welles 59
1976 William Wyler 73
1977 Bette Davis 68
1978 Henry Fonda 72
1979 Alfred Hitchcock 79
1980 James Stewart 71
1981 Fred Astaire 81
1983 John Huston 76
1984 Lillian Gish 90
1985 Gene Kelly 72
1986 Billy Wilder 79
1987 Barbara Stanwyc 79
1988 Jack Lemmon 63
1989 Gregory Peck 72
1990 David Lean 82
1991 Kirk Douglas 74
1992 Sidney Poitier 65
1993 Elizabeth Taylor 61
1994 Jack Nicholson 56
1995 Steven Spielberg 48
1996 Clint Eastwood 65
1997 Martin Scorsese 54
1998 Robert Wise 83
1999 Dustin Hoffman 61
2000 Harrison Ford 57
2001 Barbra Streisand 58
2002 Tom Hanks 45
2003 Robert De Niro 59
2004 Meryl Streep 54
2005 George Lucas 60
2006 Sean Connery 75
2007 Al Pacino 67
2008 Warren Beatty 71
2009 Michael Douglas 64
2010 Mike Nichols 78
2011 Morgan Freeman 74
2012 Shirley MacLaine 78
2013 Mel Brooks 86 -
He died too soon. You have to be living and agree to come to the ceremony to accept in person in order to win the award. Had he lived a few years longer I'm sure he would have won. I'm a big fan of the AFI Lifetime Achievement awards. I look forward to it every year.
Thanks for the correction ~ that thought never even occurred to me. Live and learn I reckon. -
Look at the list from 2008, that's terrible.
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Why in the hell do you have to be living to receive this award. When you die people don't stop appreciating your contributions to cinema.
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They need you to show up for the ceremony.
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Yes, the recipients speech is the highlight of the evening. It's equally ridiculous that Charlton Heston didn't get this award while still alive, and we all know why he didn't.
Hollywood.
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What is disgusting about that list is the small number of women on it. Are they saying that not one living woman who is not an actress has not made a ifetime contribution to films.
And even the actresses are pretty thin off the ground, Julie Andrews, Doris Day and Jane Fonda are all still around, as are Goldie Hawn and Sigourney Weaver.
dee
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I've always thought Olivia de Havilland should have been honored. She's still alive but lives in Paris and probably doesn't travel.
Since there are so few woman out there I am afraid at sometime in the future the dreadful Julia Roberts may be picked. I shutter to think of it.
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I've always thought Olivia de Havilland should have been honored. She's still alive but lives in Paris and probably doesn't travel.
Since there are so few woman out there I am afraid at sometime in the future the dreadful Julia Roberts maybe picked. I shutter to think of it.
Ditto.
And also Duke hasnt been picked because he wasnt a liberal. //:>=((
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"I've always thought Olivia de Havilland should have been honored." I agree, just look at this picture of a young Olivia and Errol Flynn.
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"I've always thought Olivia de Havilland should have been honored." I agree, just look at this picture of a young Olivia and Errol Flynn.
Same here. And--Long Live Olivia. :-))
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I've always thought Olivia de Havilland should have been honored. She's still alive but lives in Paris and probably doesn't travel.
Since there are so few woman out there I am afraid at sometime in the future the dreadful Julia Roberts may be picked. I shutter to think of it.
I will profile her soon -
May2 -"Since there are so few woman out there I am afraid at sometime in the future the dreadful Julia Roberts may be picked. I shutter to think of it."
Julia sure was hot in Erin Brockovich." -
I just talked to the AFI. True that you have to be alive to get the award. I mentioned so many names that should have been on there. The lady explained that some people don't want it......she mentioned Katherine Hepburn.......she turned it down. The board is the only one to nominate and vote. The lady stated that there is no way to petition for someone to be put up for admittance. But, I suppose folks could still try if they got enough people on a petition.......put forward a good case on why the person should be a member, etc.
I think the American PUBLIC should start its OWN awards and go back to the beginning of films. NOW, THAT is a big project, LOL. BUT, if promoted and publicized enough and made easy enough for folks to vote, we might FINALLY know who the PEOPLE who COUNT think are tops in their fields throughout the years. Big project for someone who is retired.....get together a lot more retired films buffs, set up rules and regs, get sponsors, get a publicity firm, a law firm, etc...........Welllllllllllllll, just a thought, LOL, KEITH
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It would be a great idea in a perfect world but it would be hard to stop it become overly political and for money purposes. A campaign to get Duke this award or any other would get my full support and I imagine it could get huge support, one thing Duke still has going for him after all these years is his huge loyal fanbase that most actors could only dream of.
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I just talked to the AFI. True that you have to be alive to get the award. I mentioned so many names that should have been on there. The lady explained that some people don't want it......she mentioned Katherine Hepburn.......she turned it down. The board is the only one to nominate and vote. The lady stated that there is no way to petition for someone to be put up for admittance. But, I suppose folks could still try if they got enough people on a petition.......put forward a good case on why the person should be a member, etc.
I think the American PUBLIC should start its OWN awards and go back to the beginning of films. NOW, THAT is a big project, LOL. BUT, if promoted and publicized enough and made easy enough for folks to vote, we might FINALLY know who the PEOPLE who COUNT think are tops in their fields throughout the years. Big project for someone who is retired.....get together a lot more retired films buffs, set up rules and regs, get sponsors, get a publicity firm, a law firm, etc...........Welllllllllllllll, just a thought, LOL, KEITH
To me, what they told you from afi is--that these "choices" are NOT really choices--its all fixed.
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When they were giving the award to Nicholson, Pacino, De Niro, Ford, Streep, Hanks and Michael Douglas, Paul Newman was still living and should have been recognized long before any of them. I always figured he turned it down. He wasn't much for ceremonies. He said he burned his tux on his 70th birthday.
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When they were giving the award to Nicholson, Pacino, De Niro, Ford, Streep, Hanks and Michael Douglas, Paul Newman was still living and should have been recognized long before any of them. I always figured he turned it down. He wasn't much for ceremonies. He said he burned his tux on his 70th birthday.
I agree, Paul Newman deserved the award more than the mentioned above-though I like some of the names mentioned.
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Don't you find it funny that Tom Hanks received the award at the age of 45? The youngest and though I think he is great, I don't exactly agree it is a lifetime achievement award. Anyway, there are many who should be there but just happen to die before it was awarded or in some cases before it was established. Interesting list. Maybe a minimum age of 60 or ever 65.
Cheers
Hondo -
