After his Oscar-winning role in “True Grit,” John Wayne returned as a one-eyed US Marshal in “Rooster Cogburn” in 1975.
This time, his co-star would be Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn, who, however, did not share Duke’s political views.
Due to his serious health problems, Wayne occasionally had tantrums on set, but in the end he got along with Hepburn.
When Duke appeared on The Phil Donahue Show a year after the film’s release, he was asked if he would work with her.
In a clip from the talk show shared on Instagram by John Wayne’s estate, Wayne revealed how he managed to get her on his side.
Wayne said, “I loved her! … Yeah, you know, there’s another thing, damn politics come into play. I’ve been for five Democrats and five Republicans in my life or something, but I’m supposedly a far-right Republican. And she was known to go a little further in the other direction. So when we first went on set, there was a kind of silence, and it was explained that there would be no press on set. And finally I asked, ‘Could some people come and see me?’ and she relented and said ‘Yes.'”
Wayne added: “The first guy who came out said, ‘Well, what’s it like working with Katherine Hepburn?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m sure Spencer Tracy and Humpy Bogey would be jealous of me if they were here now, working with this wonderful personality and this really professional actress.’ I said, ‘There’s just one thing wrong.’ He said, ‘What is it?’ I said, ‘Well, she’s a bit more conservative than me, but who isn’t?’ From then on there was no more trouble. She had a good laugh about it and replied, it took her forty minutes to think of an answer. From then on the set was open, she’s a delightful woman!”
