Ernie Saftig was one of John Wayne's longest and closest friends. Ernie was there for many big life events including when Duke met his wife, Pilar, acquiring the Wild Goose, filming the Alamo, and raising their children together.
Wayne outright condemned the evolution the Western genre underwent in the 1960s, refusing to star alongside Clint Eastwood even though Clint Eastwood was eager to work with him. Because the two subgenres of Wild West movies were never reconciled, it meant inevitably that Wayne and Eastwood would never be either.
None of John Wayne's show-business friendships were as enduring, or as entertaining, as the kinship he forged with two men he met around the same time—character actor Ward Bond and director John Ford.
John Wayne found Katharine Hepburn to be very feminine and called her “a man's woman”. They had a special on screen chemistry that was apparent to everyone. He called her Sister.
Even after being struck by a car and struggling to stand on crutches, Bond carried out his duties as best man at Duke's wedding. And in 1960, following Bond's untimely death, John Wayne delivered a moving eulogy at his longtime pal's funeral, saying, “We were the closest of friends, from school right on through...
However, Bacall had a real issue with how Wayne couldn't stop spitting on the set, which really got on the actor's last nerve. Wayne personally recommended hiring Bacall for The Shootist after they worked together on 1955's Blood Alley.
Why didn't John Wayne and Robert Duvall get along?
Wayne thought of himself as a professional actor, able to deliver what his director required with the close of a clapperboard, while Duvall was from the school of method acting. In fact, the only thing the two had in common was a short fuse.
Ernie Saftig was one of John Wayne's longest and closest friends. Ernie was there for many big life events including when Duke met his wife, Pilar, acquiring the Wild Goose, filming the Alamo, and raising their children together.
However, Bacall had a real issue with how Wayne couldn't stop spitting on the set, which really got on the actor's last nerve. Wayne personally recommended hiring Bacall for The Shootist after they worked together on 1955's Blood Alley.
In fact, Wayne's most beloved co-star wasn't even a human being but was, in fact, a horse by the name of Dollor. Dollor starred with Wayne in each of his final movies, beginning with 1971's Big Jake and ending with his final ever film appearance in The Shootist by Don Siegel, released in 1976.
Both Wayne and Hathaway had difficulties with Robert Duvall, with the director having constant shouting matches with his supporting actor, and Duvall and Wayne nearly coming to blows.
John Wayne found Katharine Hepburn to be very feminine and called her “a man's woman”. They had a special on screen chemistry that was apparent to everyone. He called her Sister.
They worked on El Dorado, a western of course. Cann said Wayne was intimidating at first but eventually got along well. Wayne was a staunch conservative who approved of the McCarthy communist witch hunt and would have been pleased at Caan's political stand.
Even after being struck by a car and struggling to stand on crutches, Bond carried out his duties as best man at Duke's wedding. And in 1960, following Bond's untimely death, John Wayne delivered a moving eulogy at his longtime pal's funeral, saying, “We were the closest of friends, from school right on through...
“Despite the fact that John Wayne had fired Robert Mitchum from Blood Alley (1955) ten years earlier, he was happy to work with Mitchum again, and they became good friends.
They did manage to maintain a friendly relationship nonetheless. Had appeared with John Wayne in eight films: Tall in the Saddle (1944), 3 Godfathers (1948), Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Undefeated (1969), Chisum (1970) and The Train Robbers (1973).
Who was JOHN WAYNE'S lifelong BUDDY AND BEST MAN, Ward Bond? A look into the great character actor and best friend of JOHN WAYNE, WARD BOND. How the friendship they shared was on a special level!
By the 1920s, he had moved to Hollywood, and performed in the first of almost 350 movie and television appearances. In the 1930s, he became friends with John Wayne. He was Wayne's acting coach and eventually appeared as a featured player in about 27 of Wayne's films.
