"I watched John Wayne cry at John Ford's funeral." RIP A Day to Remember for Michael Blake! AWOW!
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2023
- Watching his hero, John Wayne weep is an unforgettable memory for prolific author and make-up artist Michael F. Blake. It happened when his actor father, Larry, took the then-teenager along with him to attend legendary director John Ford's 1973 funeral. It's still a very emotional recollection.
An Emmy-winning make-up artist, Michael shares secrets of Duke that he gleaned from the superstar’s late career make-up man. He also gives his reasons why John Wayne's Oscar-winning TRUE GRIT is much superior to the acclaimed Jeff Bridges version by the Cohen Brothers.
Beginning his career as a child actor, Michael appeared in such series as ADAM-12, BONANZA, and KUNG FU, before changing careers at the age of twenty-one to become a much-in-demand make-up artist, working on the features BACK TO THE FUTURE II AND III, STAR TREK VI and TV series such as HAPPY DAYS and MAGNUM P.I.
Among his books are “Lon Chaney, The Man Behind the Thousand Faces,” “Code of Honor: The Making of HIGH NOON, SHANE and THE SEARCHERS,” “Hollywood and the O.K. Corral,” and two books of Teddy Roosevelt, “The Cowboy President” and “Go West, Mr. President.”
Blake joined producer host Rob Word at the Autry Museum for this interview, May 2014.
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This was a interesting remembrance Michael Blake about his own father, John Ford and John Wayne. What can be said of both Ford and Wayne is they were both transformative figures in the history of film. Unique, talented, and ultimately legendary.
Thank you for saving this oral history.
Good interview, Rob. Michael touched on John Wayne’s politics briefly, and killing Hollywood at John Ford’s funeral, ironically it was politics that killed Hollywood as we knew it.
There are some who still carry the torch like these two men and I thank God for them.
The story about Duke crying reminds me I only saw my dad cry twice. The first was when he had to put down his favorite cutting horse. The last was the day my mom died. Great video Rob.
Unforgettable memories. Thank you, Wes.
fantastic interview Rob.
Ireland 🇮🇪 is very proud of John Ford.
As Ford was proud to have been Irish (me too).
Why would he not cry? John ford was instrumental in Dukes life and career from basically the beginning, like a mentor and father figure and even a tough coach ☘️
My maternal grandfather got called "Mr. John" by my friends that met him. John was his middle name but he didn't go by it. No, my friends called him that because he reminded them of John Wayne. He was a big guy like Wayne and what you saw is what you got. My grandfather was a huge fan of Wayne, having grown up going to the theater and watching his movies. He once told me that my friends calling him "Mr. John" was one of the greatest compliments he ever received. He passed that love of Wayne's movies down to me. My grandfather's name was Leo John Noll and I miss him every damn day!
Hey! I has an uncle in La Pampa province of Argentina called Juan (John) Noll. Like my father, he was grandson of Volga Germans.
@@Tordogor My grandfather's family was from Germany, as well. His grandfather immigrated to the US when he was a young man.
Mr. Blake thank you for you telling us about John Ford and your father and sharing your experiences. You feelings and love of all these people. When John Wayne died, I cried for a week. And I never met my hero. This was wonderful.
I got to spend an afternoon with Mr. Wayne and I mostly sat quietly not wanting to seem foolish or say anything dumb.
I was 20 or so.
He was filming a movie but I never left the trailer until it was dark & I was too much in awe and scared to ask which one and had a chance to ask when the person who took me there drove me home.
But I'm 6 foot 2 inches tall and a big guy and being with Mr. Wayne, for the first time ever I felt small somehow.
I was in awe of being in the same room with my hero and a legend and it probably was the greatest day of my life.
He was very nice to me and my going there was a surprise birthday present from my friend who knew I had seen all of John Wayne's films and knew he was ( and is and always will be ) my favorite actor.
My girlfriend Kathy does not get why I love the man and his films.
She makes fun of me and that's when I start talking like him and tell her :
" Woman, this is MY home and I'll not have such talk about Mr. Wayne in my home. You'll either stop or leave.
Now ! "
We've been together 46 years and she knows better than to continue as in the past I had pushed her out the door and locked it with her yelling at me with every epithet she knew.
She has slowly stopped making light of my friend because she knows I am a Taurus and knows the wrath of my anger when I am riled up or put upon.
I love her dearly but I won't tolerate anyone attacking my friends for no reason.
I have 2 John Wayne wall clocks, I broke my John Wayne coffee cup awhile back and miss it and have been slowly upgrading my film collection from DVD to Blu Ray.
I have around 40 of his films.
And I have a John Wayne cuckoo clock.
There is no better thing for me to do when I'm alone for me to sit down or lie down, put in a John Wayne movie in the blu ray player and go back in time.
Or watch one on UA-cam or Pluto TV or watch WOW whenever they talk about the Duke.
I wish I had been able to know him better and I miss him a lot.
Thanks for your very interesting thoughts and memories, George. What was Duke’s film you were working on?
@@AWordonWesterns I went into the trailer at dawn & left it at night & was too scared to say much because I didn't want to be kicked out. There several of Wayne's actors in the trailer and I chatted a bit but mostly I sat in silence & we didn't leave until dark & never saw what was being filmed.
Being old my memory is not what it once was and after looking up the filmography it was 1970 and not 1977 & we drove and got there in early morning where they filmed shots in LA so it was for shots for Chisum. Which I have seen a lot & have it on my shelf. I was 18 then & really shy. I am 71 now, For some reason my memory thought it was in the late 1970s. It all blurs into one thing as memory fades.
@@georgesenda1952 Even blurry memories are nice to have, George. Thanks for sharing.
Now I can't get the Chisum music out of my head. I am NOT going to start humming Love In The Country. My favorite John Wayne film is The Sons of Katie Elder.
Thank You, Rob :)
Rob, another great video for 1,000's of us admires of the old west! Micheal what a great story! Thanks for putting this together!
John wayne was great Actor R.I.P John wayne 😢😢😢😢
Thanks. A great speaker about a powerful loved actor. I truly enjoyed.
And Duke lives on !!!
Very enlightening , thank you for the exposure of Mr.Blake .
What an Interesting guest
Rob 🤠great throwback interview 👍
My Mother and I are Irish ☘️ and My late Daddy died in 2004 He got through WW2 with the T-Patchers being an Engineer And packing 128 pounds on his back and he was a sharp shooter and I know What You mean we have watched every John Ford film and I totally understand it because of his Deep Love for him you just go past being picked on or in the barrel He was Pure Talent and he knew that camera Always!When My Daddy died My Mother and I Lost it too cried a flood of 😭 Thank You Rob for this wonderful interview and Bless You Both !🙏🇺🇸🥰😃✝️
Thanks, Toini, and bless you and your family.
Blake looks like Wilford Brimley
I’ve always thought so, too, M L. Maybe a little Teddy Roosevelt as well.
I believe Michael saw Marion R. Morrison that day.
You never disappoint. Great video, thanks.
I enjoyed the remake of True Grit 👍
So did I, Gary. Two, different, yet very entertaining films based on a truly fantastic novel. Thanks.
We have had hundreds of actors that have that "charisma", but Mr. Wayne, has a genuine uniqueness. This unique personality of his somehow transfers seamless over to film. Possibly that is why generation, after generation since Mr. Wayne's death, have come to admire him.
Enjoyed
That last piece about the movie is exactly what I thought when that line was read. JW was my hero growing up and maybe as silly as it might sound, the main reason I joined the Marines!!!
WHY NOT CRY JOHN WAYNE WAS A GOOD MAN HE WAS MY HERO 💜
What a great interview. Thank you Rob.
Thanks Rob I have been going down the John Wayne rabbit hole recently this episode is perfectly timed.
Priceless.
Excellent explanation ofJohn Wayne by Michael
I’ve lived westerns my whole life. I grew up with Hoppy, Gabby, Roy, The Lone Ranger , Tonto but there was something special about JW movies. From his early B movies to like wake of the red witch. That’s such a cool title but John Wayne’s westerns always had the same theme. Honesty, integrity bravery , real gentleman. Things that you admire but I think the movies that he made with John Ford were pretty much all classics. I think sometimes that Ford needed Wayne as much as Wayne needed Ford. I tried to mirror his life as far as those attributes went and it worked fir me. Dam shame that kids don’t have good
role models to grow up to. Great interview by the way very interesting guy there. I’m gonna look him up I’d like to read about Lon Chaney. Thanks Rob.
Thanks, Stan. I think you’ll enjoy Michael’s book. He’s also written two about Teddy Roosevelt that are worth checking out.
This is awesome! Keep them coming!!!
Great TRIBUTE to john WAYNE from mr blake. You could feel the love.
Now that interview touched my heart, when I was kid who didn't love the Duke. Thanks for sharing Rob
Another good one, Rob.
My dad watched John Wayne all the time and of course we kids did too. but he had my father's character down pat
Great interview, brings back memories of great westerns 🤠, John Wayne a towering giant of a man, thanks lord Rob Word of Word on Westerns laird of Word manor your friend tom now and always 🤩 🤩
Really beautifully moving interview to Mr. Blake! 👏
There are two men that have been my spiritual guides through life: Dr. Wernher von Braun inspired me to be a Scientist; John Wayne gave the example of hiw to be a Good Ho est Man.
As always, I love this show! 👏👍👌
Good job. Great interview.
Wonderful interview. Gave me insight into the real man off screen.
Robert these are so good. Thanks so much for sharing!
And that's the truth
👍
That was fun, Rob! Mr. Blake was very entertaining. I am a fan of Lon Chaney, John Wayne, and John Ford. I agree that "The Searchers" and "Shane" were two of the greatest westerns and I did like "High Noon." I also agree that H. B. Warner did one of the best performances of Christ in the Cecil B. Demille's version of the silent "King of Kings." I love that movie too. 👍👍😄😀
❤Every Sunday I anxiously wait for your video♥️
You are correct about the WORST movie😂. That is the PERFECT hat for you Rob.
A good guy versus the bad guy and he was always the good guy
Boy howdy did that ever choke me up, seeing the Duke tearing up. 5⭐ 👍👍& 🤟💞
On a happier note; May 30th, is Happy Birthday Chuck Connors day.
Betting a lot of viewers never heard the Lyric version of the Rifleman theme. ua-cam.com/video/FyD80q_CnWM/v-deo.html
Thanks, hadn't heard this for years, had it on a 45 back then.
Me too, @@phillipmerriman5603 But I never recalled hearing actual singing in it. I now run the song through my head to dream weave in my sleep, like I did back in the 60's
That was awesome! I've been watching since the 60's and have never heard this! Thank you for sharing!! I miss the way TV was back in the 60's and 70's.
Love your Hoss hat.
Dopo tutto erano consapevoli di aver fatto la storia del cinema e di aver espresso le loro idee senza nascondersi facendo anche la storia dell'America, due uomini così onesti fra loro e così rispettosi dell'intelligenza l'uno dell'altro e avendo una passione in comune e di conseguenza anche molto tempo passato insieme. Perché non doveva piangere Marion Michael Morrison poteva piangere.✨✨✨
OK, I am one of the biggest Duke Wayne fans ever, but I liked the True Grit remake also. I just looked at it as a different movie. Jeff Bridges did a great job, he didn't try to be John Wayne, he played it his way. It certainly wasn't as good as the original, but it was head and shoulders above most modern westerns,, Well written, well acted, just an an all around good movie. Certainly better than any of the Stagecoach remakes.
You got that right, Eric. Thanks.
Wonderful interview Rob! John Ford made John Wayne as an actor what he was. The two worked in sync all films - and we’ve benefited from them so much. Thanks for preserving this memory thru Blake for us western film and actors/actresses. You’re making history live Rob.
Thanks, Sue.
True Grit was not improved upon with the remake, so what was the point in making it?
Other than to trade on the popularity of the original.
Bridges famously wore that eye patch over the other eye (exposing the left, rather than the right as The Duke did) as a political statement he said, to counter The Duke and his politics.
But you ask me, as it turned out, it was more appropriate as a reminder of what we lost with John Wayne's passing, *and* no surprise, Bridges's performance wasn't a patch on the Duke's.
While also reminding us (albeit unintentionally) that there'll never be another John Wayne.
👏👏👏👏👏
John wayne is a legend to me and I love his movies and I am a very big fan of John Wayne I have a very big collection of John Wayne itums . John Ford and John Wayne are legends for ever .👍👏🏜
I never met John Wayne he died a few years before I was born but he's my favorite actor. I would love to have shook he's hand and have a few drinks of Whiskey with him
John Ford was no saint but he made some great movies.
I think JOHN WAYNE may have cried even more when he saw how much of his own money he lost on THE ALAMO... or when he saw how much money the 1960s/70s stars were making more than him, especially someone he detested like Clint Eastwood.
When western fans talk about the Duke they get very emotional and excited, and I think even the Duke himself got caught-up in his self crafted iconic western image, believing in a West and its ideals that never existed in real life.
It's all subjective really, I like many of his movies, he is truly an icon... he was not a good businessman robbed by people he trusted, and used by the powerful rich and politicians whenever they needed a cheerleader for their wars, but still you like him despite all the bad stuff.
In fairness, the Duke really meant well, as for JOHN FORD, you ask yourself how can such a great director be so self loathing of his work and be such a tyrant to his actors?
The love/hate relationship that Ford and the Duke shared is well documented and still produced western classics like STAGECOACH and THE SEARCHERS... but if the passing of his old friend caused the Duke to cry openly, just imagine the tears he'd be shedding now over the death of America and all that it once stood for!
A confession: Whenever I finish watching a John Wayne film, I tend to walk a little straighter and talk a little slower. How about the rest of you guys?
Nice to see Duke is still a big influence, Bill. Thanks.
I like Kim Darby in the first true grit better
Where is the Midway flag now?
I liked the Lone Ranger, but maybe I’m the minority 😌
I thought It was good for what it was looked decent as good most made nowadays good kids movie also
Yeah, I have a feeling you are. I'll give it one thing; it was slightly better than the Spillsbury version. Maybe.
Fantastic interview Rob. Michael still holds Ford and Wayne in the highest regards.