I guess it's a good thing John Wayne didn't live long enough - The Undefeated (1969) Discussion

[–] bluelithium 10 years ago

What makes you think he didn't live long enough to know that he worked with - and was friends with - a gay man?

---
You have a Life?
Well make the most of it; you never know when it might be gone.

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[–] Huge_Ack_Man 10 years ago

It was a secret. I remember when Rock Hudson died and his proclivities were a secret up until a few days before he died. Very few knew about it even in Hollywood. Before the current obsession with homosexuality it just wasn't assumed that anyone was one even if it was rumored. Everyone was given the benefit of the doubt. If it was rumored about him I don't know but I do know it wasn't public knowledge.

"If don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do...you are misinformed"---Mark Twain

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[–] Fingaroo 10 years ago

I'm not sure it was that big a secret. As a boy in the early 1970's I remember hearing (spurious) rumors about Hudson and Jim Nabors. I have a hard time believing that Wayne didn't occasionally hear more factual tidbits about him. If he did then he apparently kept them to himself. Maybe he figured it wasn't any of his business. If so, good for him.

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[–] bari2525 10 years ago

Don't be such an idiot, Honk...

It wasn't such a secret in Hollywood at the time. In the DVD commentaries, Andrew McLaglen stated that Duke knew Rock was gay, and that he could NOT have cared less...

The ONLY thing he (Duke) cared about was that he showed up on time, hit his mark, knew his lines, and did what the director told him to do. PERIOD. He often said that what a person did in the privacy of their own bedroom was none of his or anyone else's business.

Another point McLaglen brought out was that the studio told Hudson to leave his long time lover at home, and not bring him to location, as there would be many underage kids there, and lots of family of the cast and crew (it was about a three month shoot), and they didn't want to have to answer a bunch of questions about Hudson and this man sharing a dwelling...

Wayne was far more sophisticated than people give him credit for being, and the ONLY thing that mattered to him was the work.

BTW, as a result of making this movie together, they became pretty good friends.

I don't act...I react. John Wayne

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[–] silvercometred1 10 years ago

According to Aissa Wayne, in her book "John Wayne: My Father" John Wayne knew Rock Hudson was gay during the filming of "The Undefeated." It was during the making of this movie when John told Aissa that Hudson was gay.

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[–] irishtom29 9 years ago

Wayne knew the story and as long as people were professional he couldn't care less about their personal business. He might have picked the attitude up from his mentor John Ford, a fella who had too many pet peeves to be concerned with the conventional prejudices.

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[–] phillipsdan83 (99) 2 years ago

He knew Hudson was gay...he just didn't give a crap what people did with their private lives just so long as they did keep it private. He also worked with bisexual Laurence Harvey on THE ALAMO and George Takei (who admired Wayne) on THE GREEN BERETS.

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[–] Foster (876) a year ago

EVERYONE in Hollywood knew---- I read somewhere, they were considering someone else for the part and The Duke insisted on offering to Rock ---- By all accounts they got along very well during shooting --- Being in The Undefeated boosted Rocks career

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