Everyone knows that Santa Claus has a white beard, but John Wayne might have the title for gruffest-looking Santa in history.
On Friday, the John Wayne Estate released a photo from its archives.
Outsiders, we’d be hard-pressed not to call him “Santa Duke” as that might offend both Claus and Wayne. So, here’s a pic from back in the day as Wayne spreads Christmas cheer.
As you can see, this pic is on the official Instagram account for all things John Wayne.
We looked for some type of time reference that would allow either a date or place to be affixed with this sweet Christmastime photo. No luck, though.
Wayne never played Santa Claus in a movie. “The Duke” might have made some type of TV appearance as the jolly old St. Nick.
Still, seeing John Wayne dressed up like Santa Claus is a sight to behold. Outsiders, we don’t think he’d be saying “alright, pilgrim” with his red-and-white suit.
So many people still love John Wayne and his movies. Maybe you can find one during this holiday season to enjoy.
John Wayne Receives Quite A Compliment From Singer, Costar Glen Campbell
Fans of John Wayne remember that singer Glen Campbell found himself in a movie titled True Grit. But the Wichita Lineman musician had absolutely no training as an actor.
That was OK by Wayne. Let’s take a look at the story behind Campbell working with “The Duke.”
Glen Campbell considered Wayne as a nice person.
The one-time Los Angeles session musician talked about Wayne at Remembering John Wayne and True Grit for the Jules Verne Festival in 2011.
Campbell, in an interview, remembered how he and Wayne met on his TV show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. The singer recalled meeting him there. Wayne asked if a man named Campbell was there. His daughter wanted to meet him. Campbell said he was shocked by his request but obliged.
“You must be pretty good or my daughter wouldn’t have wanted to meet you,” Campbell recalled Wayne saying to him. Then Wayne asked Campbell if he wanted to a movie together. This led to True Grit with Wayne, Campbell, and Kim Darby.
Campbell told Wayne that he’d never acted before. Wayne said, “That’s alright, I’ll drag you through it.”
“He was one of the nicest men that I’ve ever met in my life,” Campbell said of Wayne. Both men reportedly stayed in touch over the years until Wayne’s death in 1979.
True Grit would bring John Wayne his only Oscar for playing U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. He reprised that role in the 1975 film Rooster Cogburn.
