MovieChat Forums > North to Alaska (1960) Discussion > John Wayne loses his Hat, etc ......

John Wayne loses his Hat, etc ......


From a huge John Wayne fan


In the opening fight scene from the movie "North to Alaska", Ernie Kovacs delivers a return punch to the face of John Wayne, not only
does the Duke lose his hat but is also seen minus his toupee.

I am not sure if the toupee was inside the hat or left out of the scene altogether. Either way it does not diminish my admiration of this
truly great American role model, something that we are truly lacking today.

God Bless you John Wayne


Cheval 52

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The Duke was cool, hair or no hair.

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The Duke was not the least bit vain about his baldness: off the set he never wore the rug, and had no problem being filmed without it. There are many home movies shot by friends and family where he's sans toupee.

But onscreen, it was the John Wayne persona that required the toupee. If the scene called for him to always have his hat on, he'd leave the toupee off. I'd surmise that just because his hat was knocked off, and his pate momentarily exposed, he wouldn't bother asking for a re-shoot; not with his lack of concern about it.

If you want to see what he looked like without the roof carpeting, watch the end of "The Wings of Eagles." When Spig Wead (Wayne) is leaving the ship, that is the only shot of Wayne in the movies intentionally shot without the toupee. (Because the real-life Wead was also balding.)

..Joe

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Actually the fight scene is not in the opening but near the end of the film. Wayne's bald pate is clearly discernible in real time.

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The thing I always have to hand the Duke is that he always wore rugs that IMO anyway, didn't noticeably look like rugs.🐭

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I'd agree. His hair looked pretty realistic at least on screen (which is really what matters). I'd imagine that no expense was spared. It's my understanding that a "good" hairpiece can cost several thousand dollars.

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