Hi,

During Duke's film career,
he portrayed 7 real life characters:-

Temujin. (Genghis Kahn) The Conqueror
Cmdr. Frank. W. 'Spig' Wead The Wings of The Eagles
Consul General Townsend Harris, The Barbarian and the Geisha
Col. David Crockett. The Alamo
Col. Benjamin Vandervoort. The Longest Day
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, How The West Was Won
John Simpson Chisum, Chisum

Hi Ethan.

I can only see six here. Could the seventh be Red Adair in Hellfighters?

Hi gt12pak,

Good point!

But remember in the aforementioned movies ,
he played the characters,
in Hellfighters, he played
Chance Buckman,
who was modeled on Red Adair

Ahhh. Thanks for the reply. I misunderstood your thread.

Are we supposed to be guessing the seventh one :ohmy: ? As gt pointed out, there are only six in the first post.

Was Duke's character in Cast a Giant Shadow, Gen. Mike Randolph, a real life person?

Chester :newyear:

Jim,

I'm not sure about his character in Cast A Giant Shadow
Like you, I would have thought, it was real-life one,
although, I can't verify it.

The missing one I was looking for, was

Consul General Townsend Harris, The Barbarian and the Geisha

Aw, The Barbarian and the Geisha, I missed that one, very good.

Chester :newyear:

Hey Keith, can't you add the movie"I Married A Woman"? He played John Wayne in that one. And John Wayne's a real life person. :wink_smile:

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks, you also got me thinking,
we could also add,

Cancel My Reservation,

as he also plays John Wayne in that one, too

Hi


Really, really really stretching a point how about the Centurian in The Greatest Story Ever Told:glare:


Regards

Arthur

Aww, just having a little fun, Arthur :teeth_smile: Sometimes I get a wacky streak in me :stunned:

Mark

I could not find anything on a gen. michael randolph. but there is a randolph air base.do not know if its the same person.it was army air corp in WW11.:confused:

In 1867 a Man by the Name of O.W. Weeler took the First Herd of 2400 Head of Texas Steers on the Chisholm Trail for the First Time.
:cowboy:
Duke said the Man He Played in the Film "Red River" Thomas Dunson was Based on the O.W. Weeler Story.
:ohmy:
So I think You Could Call O.W. Weeler "Thomas Dunson" a Real Character !
:wink_smile:

Below is the Story of the Chisholm Trail and the Film "Red River."

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Chilibill
:cowboy:

Also there was "Alleghenny Uprising" (a.k.a. "The First Rebel") that was based on true events, and the character he played, Cap. James Smith was a very real guy. :beer:

Really, really really stretching a point how about the Centurian in The Greatest Story Ever Told:glare:
OOOOh, good one, Arthur! :biggrin:

ZS_Maverick,

Good point about The First Rebel,
and I would consider this a worthy addition
to the 'Official' list

arthurarnell,

OK, Arthur, let's have the name of the Centurion,
so that I can verify it with Rome!

I could not find anything on a gen. michael randolph. but there is a randolph air base.do not know if its the same person.it was army air corp in WW11.:confused:
Bill - Randolph AFB, just outside of San Antonio in Universal City, was named for William Millican Randolph, a pilot who was killed in a plane crash in the '20s. Still a very active military base which does extensive advanced flight training.
Cheers - Jay:beer:

THANKS FOR THE INFO. JAY.
BILL: :unsure:

Hi Keith

Maximus Glutinous :wink_smile:


Regards

Arthur

Looks like this is where the list sticks!!
Anymore to add, let us know!

Are we supposed to be guessing the seventh one :ohmy: ? As gt pointed out, there are only six in the first post.

Was Duke's character in Cast a Giant Shadow, Gen. Mike Randolph, a real life person?

Chester :newyear:


I saw a publicity shot of Duke and Kirk on the set of Cast A Giant Shadow, and the blurb on the back stated that Duke's character was a composite of George Patton and Maxwell Taylor, both of whom played important rolls in Marcus' life. So we now know that Gen. Mike Randolph was not a real life person. Too bad...Duke made him real to us. :wink_smile:

Mark

Under playing Historical Characters what about Capt. Karl Ehrlich In "The Sea Chase" I believe the real Capt. Ehrlich was demoted by the Nazi's to a Freighter Capt. and is in fact a real person.

Hello ralphper. Do you know where you heard or read about a real Capt. Karl Ehrlich? I know the movie was based on a book, but I thought it was fiction. In the book, Ehrlich wants to get back to Germany so he can salvage his derailed Naval career and command a war ship for the Reich. I googled the name, but it just comes up with the character from the movie. It would be interesting to find out the truth.

Mark

Hi

i think the Karl Erlich character is fictional, although I could be wrong. If you read the book Erlich as a man was not quite as sympathetic as Duke portrayed him in the film.

Regards

Arthur

I found this result for Sea Chase story. It is loosely based on true story but character played by John Wayne is more likely to be fictional than any real person.

Mike

Greer, Andrew
The Sea Chase, 1948 (The German freighter ERGENSTRASSE escapes from
Australia before the outbreak of WW II. Unarmed, she is faced with the
task of returning to Nazi Germany in the face of the Royal Navy's
blockade. Made into a movie with John Wayne playing the part of the
anti-Nazi German master, Karl Erlich. Loosely based on the story of the
ERLANGEN, a German ship which left Dunedin at the outbreak of the war.
She sailed to the Auckland Islands where they cut 500 tons of firewood
(rata - well known as iron wood)! They finally made it to South
America. Good movie, great book.)

What was your favourite true life character,
from the one's Duke portrayed.

Mine has to be Davy Crockett,
followed closely by John Simpson Chisum.

I have to say my favorite is when he played Lt.Col. Benjamim Vandervoort from "The Longest Day". It was probably his most accurate real life portrayol of a real life person. Short screen time but more accurate.