Posts from josephculliton in thread „I was shot by the Duke“

I remember seeing Dan Vadis' name on the call-sheet. But he wasn't in the scene that I did. The outlaws in that opening sequence were played by Scott Walker, Rayford Barnes, Dan Kemp, Jerry Gatlin and myself.

Scott Walker came directly from filming a role in 'High Plains Drifter'. He spoke very enthusiastically about working for Clint Eastwood and had high hopes for the film. I know Dan Vadis was also in both 'Cahill' and 'High Plains Drifter'.

Jerry Gatlin has the very first line in the film. He was a stunt man on 'Cahill'. Gatlin also did a day's work on 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'.

Keith:

Thank you very much for the thread on 'True Grit'. It was most enlightening. I definitely heard Duke make that remark: 'What Judy Garland's little girl could have done with that part'.

Since there's no evidence that Liza Minnelli was ever in the running for the role, it seems likely that Duke formed this opinion in hindsight. 'Cahill' was filmed in the fall and early winter of 1972, which was the same year 'Cabaret' was released. Obviously, Duke had a high opinion of Liza Minnelli's acting talent.

Joe

Mike:

I don't really know too much about the conflicts on the set of 'True Grit'. I can't really remember how the subject came up, but Duke did express displeasure with Kim Darby's work and conduct. I remember he said she was 'disrespectful'. I asked if she was disrespectful of Henry Hathaway, and Duke fixed me with his eyes and said: 'She was disrespectful of everybody'.

I actually think Kim Darby gives quite an effective performance in 'True Grit'. She seems natural and convincing, and provides a good foil for Duke's 'Rooster'. I've never thought of Liza Minnelli in rustic or rural roles. But of course, 'True Grit' was probably being cast right around the time she was making a big impression in 'The Sterile Cuckoo'.

Joe

I didn't cross paths with Harry Carey, Jr during my 'Cahill' experience. His role came a little later in the shoot. My brother Patrick drove up and visited him a couple years ago. Patrick brought me back a signed copy of 'Company of Heroes' which I really enjoyed. I emailed Dobe my appreciation of the book and got a really nice response.

Back in '72, I had a great afternoon strolling around Durango with Jackie Coogan, Neville Brand and Neville's beautiful young girlfriend. I remember Coogan was looking for a certain kind of East German scissors that you couldn't get in the States at the time. Coogan was great, enjoyable company. And Neville was going through a period of sobriety where he really felt like a new man.

Duke seemed in great shape on the set of 'Cahill'. I was told that his routine was to get back to his hotel at the end of the shooting day and receive a three hour massage. He'd then have dinner at about 9:30 PM. Following this he'd open a bottle and play cards with friends until the wee small hours. He'd then be up and on the set first thing the next day.

Robbie: I don't have any stills from my time on the set of 'Cahill'. I have the scene itself as a memento. But I've never felt comfortable bringing a personal camera on to a movie set. Joe

Well, a big part of my stunt was the shotgun going off under my poncho as I was hit. As I mentioned, the wax discharge from the blank blew a hole right through the poncho as I kicked back. We went through three ponchos in three takes. You don't really see that in the finished film.

But I think the sequence is well edited. Duke arrests the entire outlaw band on his own. He does this by picking off two of us quickly and in rapid succession.

I never read the entire script for 'Cahill'. I was only involved for those first three days. I don't know if anything was filmed that was subsequently cut.

I remember the working title for the film was 'Wednesday Morning'.

I hung out with Richard Jaeckel the whole time he was on 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'. We kept each other company between takes and we sat together at lunch each day, including one meal where the meat dish was mule! Richard stood in contrast to just about every one else on the set. He was not at all actor-ish. He wasn't at all cynical. He was like a guy from an earlier era.

My brother had gone to Loyola High School with one of Richard's sons. I mentioned that when I introduced myself. After that he behaved like a easy-going young dad to me.

If you ever had a young high school athletics coach who was conservative, friendly, and accepting of everybody, that would be Richard Jaeckel.

My uncle, Ted Haworth, was the production designer on ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’. Ted and Sam Peckinpah were colleagues since ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ in which Sam acted and also was dialogue director. Ted was the art director on ‘Body Snatchers’ which included designing those infamous pods.

Ted was my mother’s brother. They came from a theatrical family. In the late 19th century American theater, my grandfather was a playwright and an actor, and my great-uncle was a matinee idol and a star. In 1972, I was twenty-four years old and had already started following the family tradition. I was a professional actor who had played leading roles at the Guthrie Theatre and Trinity Repertory Theatre. I had also played supporting roles in Othello with James Earl Jones and in Richard II with Richard Chamberlain.

Ted was very proud and supportive of me. He wanted to help me get some experience in front of the camera. He proposed that I visit him in Durango during filming of ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’. He said that there were always roles still uncast when a picture goes on location. He also mentioned that John Wayne was making a picture in Durango at the same time, and that I might be able to get something in that film as well.

Once in Durango, I walked into the trailer that served as Batjac’s production office, and introduced myself to Bill Davidson, ‘Cahill’s’ production manager. I gave him my photo and resume, and asked if there might be something I could do in the film. Mr. Davidson immediately said ‘yes’, and hired me. Sam subsequently agreed that he would give me some lines in ‘Pat Garrett’.

My role in ‘Cahill’ was shot the first three days of the film’s shooting schedule. I’ve covered a lot of my experiences in earlier posts. Mike Wayne was ‘Cahill’s’ producer and his word was his bond. Dan Kemp played ‘Joe Meehan’ and he was a really supportive, cool guy. Dan took home movies the whole time on the set. Dan told me two things: that the crew thought it was lucky to have a newbie actor the first day of shooting, and that he heard John Wayne say of me: ‘I was like him when I was his age.’

Back in LA, I had a great evening in Malibu Canyon watching Dan Kemp’s movies. When Dan called me up to invite me, he said: ‘There are some great shots of you…you look so happy to be on that set!’ Duke flicks a cigar at Dan’s face in ‘Cahill’. Dan gave me the cigar as a souvenir. I kept it for years until it finally just disintegrated. Duke smoked cigars as ‘Cahill’ and Mike Wayne personally expressed his concern to me that his dad was inhaling them.

In ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’, Sam used me in the Lincoln, New Mexico scenes. I had a couple lines to James Coburn. They were lines Sam just threw me on the set and they didn’t stay in the film. But I was called on the film for at least three weeks. I spent great days hanging out with Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, Barry Sullivan, Jason Robards, Richard Jaeckel, and R. G. Armstrong. When Jack Elam was there, he had everyone playing liars poker. I also spent time with Bob Dylan. I was in a small group that had dinner one night with James Coburn, and I went out riding a number of times with Kris and Whitey Hughes.

I guess there was a friendly rivalry between ‘Cahill’ and ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid’. The two sets were a study in contrasts. ‘Cahill’ was disciplined and structured. Duke had all crew members get trim haircuts. (Actors playing cowboys were exceptions, of course.) Peckinpah’s set embodied the counter-culture, and there was an attitude that ‘Cahill’ was old fashioned while ‘Garrett’ was breaking new ground.

Both crews were highly professional. I heard stories that there were nights with Sam when the drinking got out of hand but I never saw it personally. Certainly, both James Coburn and Kris were prepared and focused each and every day they worked. Sam, however, began arriving habitually late each morning. Cinematographer John Coquillon would have his crew set up for the first shot by 7 AM, and then would often wait three hours for Sam’s station wagon to arrive. The film quickly fell behind schedule.

I heard that there were conflicts between Sam and MGM. I knew nothing first hand, with one exception. They were shipping the raw footage to Hollywood for processing, and the first ‘dailies’ weren’t seen by Sam and the crew until one week into the shoot. Coquillon had noticed that the lens used for master shots looked out of alignment. MGM sent a Panavision technician up from Mexico City who examined the lens and gave it an OK.

When the first rushes arrived from Hollywood, all of the master shots were out of focus. Sam was justifiably furious and responded by pissing on the projection room screen. I know for a fact this happened because Sam personally told me about it the next day. Sam was still upset about all the out-of-focus footage, but he was proud of his gesture. They had already shot Jason Robards’ scene and couldn’t get him back for retakes because he’d been hospitalized as the result of a serious car accident.

Sam was a sensitive, gifted man who obviously had major demons. He produced two all-time great films ‘Ride the High Country’ and ‘The Wild Bunch’. I think ‘Junior Bonner’ and ‘The Getaway’ are also masterpieces. All of his films had strokes of genius in them. I’m sorry Sam didn’t live to conquer those demons and make many more great films.

The first thing that comes to mind about Rayford's character in 'Cahill' is that in the script, the name was 'Pee Wee Wimser'. But Duke had a terrible time getting that name out. I can still picture Duke up on his horse, cursing in frustration every time he came to that name in his lines. Duke would get the lines all correct, but then would say 'Simser' instead of 'Wimser'. I guess they decided the easiest thing was just to change the name.

Rayford was really good-natured on the set---a very funny guy. He played that outlaw so convincingly, I never imagined that he was in fact the son of Hollywood royalty. That whole band of outlaws, including of course Neville Brand, were great, great guys. What a bunch of pros!

Sam Peckinpah was filming 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid' in Durango at the same time. I worked on that film as well. My stuff didn't make the final cut. But boy was it an interesting experience.

Here's a Duke/Wallace Ford memory from my childhood. When 'The Alamo' was first released, Uncle Wally brought us the hard cover program that big feature films used to sell during their 'road show' engagements. Wally had hand written on the inside jacket that 'The Alamo' had his Oscar vote for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Chill Wills) and Best Song ('Green Leaves of Summer').

I have one very short scene in J. Edgar. It takes place in Garfinkel's Department Store where Clyde Tolson is helping Hoover select clothes. Hoover has applied for credit, and I as the store's Credit Director mistake him for another John Hoover whose credit is bad. It is a historically accurate scene in which young Hoover starts going by a different name.

Thanks Paula: My brother Patrick had a really nice visit with Harry Carey, Jr a couple years ago. I wish he'd taken me along! But Patrick did bring me back an autographed copy of 'Company of Heroes' which is such a good book. Best, Joe

The very first time I saw John Wayne in person was as I walked out of the 'Cahill' production office in Durango, Mexico. He was wearing a khaki jacket and slacks and had his arms around a crowd of Mexican crew members, some of whom I also knew. He was smiling and his eyes sparkled like the ocean on a sunny day. He looked at me and said: 'These are mis compadres.' And I answered: 'They are mine too.'

The next time I saw him was a week later on the first day of filming. I hadn't shaved for several days and was in costume and make-up as a member of the outlaw gang. He spotted me outside the studio building and said: 'You're not as handsome as you were last week.' I introduced myself and told Mr. Wayne that my uncle was Wallace Ford. I asked him if he knew Wally, and he replied: "Been drunk with him.'

On the cover set, he had a beautiful, tall leather directors chair with 'Duke' tooled into the seat back. He didn't really sit in it. He kind of stood in front of it and leaned back on it. I sat next to him most of that day and listened to his stories. I knew enough about his career to ask questions and he was happy to answer and expound on them. Everyone on the set seemed happy that I was keeping him company.

In no particular order here are some of the things I remember he said to me. He said he regretted that he hadn't quit acting entirely and apprenticed with 'J. Ford' to learn to direct. He thought his best work was 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon' because he was only his thirties when he made it, but convincingly played a man in his sixties. He didn't like Kim Darby's performance in 'True Grit' and said she was very disrespectful to everyone. He then said: 'What Judy Garland's little girl could have done with that part!' He meant of course Liza Minnelli, who was just starting in pictures at the time.

I remember he did a very funny imitation of a New York voice coach they'd given him on 'The Big Trail'. ('A God damned Shakespearian actor'.) He put on a sonorous 19th century actors voice and improvised some lines about 'the magnificent mountains' or something like that. He then said he told the studio if that's what they wanted, they should get another actor. I felt slightly uneasy at this because I was a stage actor who had already done a lot of Shakespeare.

He loved limericks and I recited a particularly raunchy one that my father taught me. He made me say it over and over again until he'd memorized it. He touched on politics once. 'Cahill' was filmed during the Nixon vs McGovern campaign. In an angry moment, McGovern told a reporter to 'kiss my ass'. Duke loved that and jokingly said that it made him want to vote for him. If anyone new came on the set, he would introduce me as Wally Ford's nephew.

He seldom went to his dressing room. He basically co-directed the film with Andrew McGlaglan. I remember when they did the shot of me concealing my shot-gun, he came up to me and said: 'You have to telegraph that son' and showed me how to swing the rifle out and back in under my poncho. When it came time to shoot my stunt, Mr. McGlaglen said 'Duke we just need an off-stage gunshot for this, you can go back to your trailer.' John Wayne looked at me and said: 'You'd like me to be here wouldn't you?' I of course answered: 'God yes!'

They put Duke up on a ladder to approximate the height of his horse for my eye line. They gave him eye protection because part of my action was to shoot off my gun as I got hit with his bullets, and the shot-gun discharged a wax wad that blew a hole right through the poncho. Chuck Roberson thought maybe they would cable yank me, but I was able to kick back on my own pretty well and fall into the fake snow of the cover set. As John Wayne fired in the air, I was hit in the face with a hundred or so tiny pieces of blood-soaked sponges that made it look like my face turned to hamburger.

On the first two takes, they weren't getting a good look at my face before I kicked back and it was Duke who figured out how to fix it. On the third take, they hit me with the bloody sponges a split second before Duke fired off his pistol. The sound of the gun would then be moved back a little in post production. When we finished, he came up and praised me for keeping my eyes wide open as they shot those bloody sponges in my face. He said: 'After the first take, I'd have blinked.'

Okay, so now my character is dead. But I have two more days on the film playing the corpse. The second day was on location as 'Cahill' leads his prisoners back to town. Bringing up the rear were two bodies strapped belly down on mules. An assistant director came up to me and said that they had a 'double' for me for the shot. John Wayne, who was at least twenty feet away, whipped around with those sparkling eyes, pointed at me and said: 'He don't want a double!' And I said: 'You're right.' So I spend the day tied onto a mule. When we would cut, Duke would say: 'We have two men on their bellies back there' and I'd be untied and given a break.

The third day I was lying on the floor of a rail car, perilously close to the hooves of Duke's horse. My only direction that day was McGlaglan saying: 'You guys playing stiffs, don't breath.' Outside of the rail car, there was a long tracking shot of Duke and Hank Worden playing a scene. It involved horses, a lot of dialogue and a tricky camera move around a corner. My recollection is that it went to fifty-four takes.

Duke had an ex-boxer with him as his personal masseuse. He told me that Duke received a three hour massage every night. He also told me that Duke had to take a lot of work in the sixties in order to pay off debts he'd run up filming 'The Alamo'. I have to say everyone was nice to me. It was a happy crew. Duke flew down 27 fresh turkeys for the crew at Thanksgiving. The film got ahead of schedule and there was pressure from Warner Bros to film through Christmas week and get it done. But Duke said: 'I'm not separating the crew from their families at Christmas' and he flew everyone home at his expense.

This post is longer than 'War and Peace'! But these are my memories. They are great ones. And I wanted to share them with you all. My gory death can be seen in both the film and the trailer.

Joe Culliton

I have a scene opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar.

Hello everybody. I had the great fortune to work with John Wayne in 'Cahill, U. S. Marshall'. In the opening sequence, I'm the long-haired, wild-eyed kid with a mustache who conceals a sawed-off shotgun beneath his poncho and tries to shoot the Duke. Needless to say, 'Cahill' gets the drop on me and takes me out. I was on the film for three days and John Wayne couldn't have been more considerate and helpful to me. It was my very first time on a movie set and he took care to show me the ropes. Mr. Wayne stayed on the set and fired the off-camera gun for the stunt shot where I took his bullet. He gave me suggestions on how to make the shot work best, and on the third take we nailed it. I have many great memories of those long-ago days. I could go on and on, but for now I'll just conclude by saying that he was wonderful actor and a great gentleman. Joseph Culliton