79-09-A1
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John Wayne[edit]
Transcript[edit]This commentary will be a few minutes of remembering a friend, you probably think of him as a friend, too. I'll be right back. It's still difficult for me to realize that John Wayne is no longer here. If you don't mind I'd like to share some memories with you. Many people in these last few weeks, have asked what was he really like. Well, he was just about what you saw on the screen. He stood up for what he believed was right, he placed a high premium on honor and he had a rare sensitivity. Nancy and I can bear witness to that. There are two other men in Nancy's life, both alike in many ways and yet different: John Wayne and Jimmy Cagney. I'd better explain this, although I don't think any of you had any wrong ideas. Some years ago before either of us knew Duke really well, there was a time of labor trouble in Hollywood. As President of the Screen Actor's Guild, I was up to my neck in it. I'd leave the house in the morning on my way to another of the meetings that filled my day. Nancy would be left with the trade papers and the movie columns in the newspapers. Emotions ran high, and very often I'd come in for a pretty rough going over. Nancy hadn't developed, as she did later in Sacramento, the ability to read such attacks without getting upset. On one particularly bad day, she received a phone call right after she read the papers. It was John Wayne. He told her he just thought she might like to hear a friendly voice and then proceeded to tell her why she shouldn't let these stories get her down. A few minutes later, she had another call, this one from Jimmy Cagney, who said about the same things Duke had said. From then on, every morning when the press was bad she'd get those two calls. Then there came a time when a mass meeting had been called at which I'd have to preside. Nancy dreaded the thought of being there, but wouldn't stay home. This time she received a call in the afternoon. It was Duke. He asked her if she'd feel better if he were there. The answer was yes of course. When it came time for me to go to the podium she was escorted to a place in the audience by Duke, dressed in a dinner jacket. He'd left a dinner party to be there. A few years ago, several of us were talking about a friend who was terminally ill. The question arose, would you rather know or not know if you were about to die. Duke said with no hesitation he'd want to know, and in typical Wayne fashion, added, "So you could throw your Sunday punch." Weveral weeks before he left us, he threw his Sunday punch. He told the doctors to use him in any way they could, to learn, if they could, anything that might one day help someone else. And then in the last hours of his pain, he refused sedatives so he could be with his children and grandchildren. Goodbye and God bless you Duke. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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