As is well known John Wayne did not serve in WWll and this seemed to affect his politics following the war.

As is well known John Wayne did not serve in WWll and this seemed to affect his politics following the war.

I don’t intend to get into the whys or wherefores of his behaviour. He made some classic war pictures which I love. 

They Were Expendable, Sands Of Iwo Jima and a small part in the stellar, The Longest Day.

In the latter he played a real hero, Lt Col Benjamin Vandervoort. Charlton Heston had lobbied for the role, but the producer, Darryl F Zanuck, wanted Wayne. 

As big a star as Heston was, Wayne was bigger.

There were a couple of problems though. Wayne did not like Zanuck for a slight Zanuck had made on him following the Wayne produced and directed, The Alamo. 

After the relative failure of the movie due to a bloated budget Zanuck had gone on the record chastising actors for taking on producer roles. 

“I’ve got a great affection for Duke Wayne, but what right has he to write, direct, and produce a motion picture? Look at poor old Duke now. 

He’s never going to see a nickel, and he put all his money into finishing The Alamo.” Wayne was angry, Very angry.

When Zanuck came calling with the part in The Longest Day Wayne turned him down saying his fee, $25,000, the same for all the other star cameos, was not enough. 

Zanuck kept upping the fee, and Wayne kept refusing till… $250,000 was on the table. Too much to refuse. 

“It was highway robbery,” Wayne said. “But I needed the money at the time, and that bastard Zanuck had it coming.”

The part itself wasn’t without controversy as Wayne was 54 and, at the time D-Day occurred, Vandervoort was 26. 

Apparently, the real soldier was not entirely pleased with the casting either.

Fortunately, when real heroes are needed they don’t quibble over salaries or egos. 

Here is a colorized photo of Lt Col Benjamin Vandervoort, at the time injured during the battles in France. He died in a care home after suffering a bad fall in 1990. He was 73.

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