I was shot by the Duke

[josephculliton]

Hello everybody. I had the great fortune to work with John Wayne in 'Cahill, U. S. Marshall'. In the opening sequence, I'm the long-haired, wild-eyed kid with a mustache who conceals a sawed-off shotgun beneath his poncho and tries to shoot the Duke. Needless to say, 'Cahill' gets the drop on me and takes me out. I was on the film for three days and John Wayne couldn't have been more considerate and helpful to me. It was my very first time on a movie set and he took care to show me the ropes. Mr. Wayne stayed on the set and fired the off-camera gun for the stunt shot where I took his bullet. He gave me suggestions on how to make the shot work best, and on the third take we nailed it. I have many great memories of those long-ago days. I could go on and on, but for now I'll just conclude by saying that he was wonderful actor and a great gentleman. Joseph Culliton

[ethanedwards]

Great post Joseph, welcome, and thank you so much for sharing this real life experience with us.
I am sure many a member would have given anything to have been involved.

[RedRiverDee]

I would loved to have been shot by John Wayne !!!

Have we seen you in any other movies josephculliton ???


Dee x

[josephculliton]

I have a scene opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar.

[dukefan1]

Welcome to the forum, josephculliton. Your first post made a lot of people here envious. I think it's awesome you had that experience with John Wayne and memories to last a lifetime. feel free to share more of your memories, as there are many eager listeners here always glad to hear more Duke stories.

Mark

[josephculliton]

The very first time I saw John Wayne in person was as I walked out of the 'Cahill' production office in Durango, Mexico. He was wearing a khaki jacket and slacks and had his arms around a crowd of Mexican crew members, some of whom I also knew. He was smiling and his eyes sparkled like the ocean on a sunny day. He looked at me and said: 'These are mis compadres.' And I answered: 'They are mine too.'

The next time I saw him was a week later on the first day of filming. I hadn't shaved for several days and was in costume and make-up as a member of the outlaw gang. He spotted me outside the studio building and said: 'You're not as handsome as you were last week.' I introduced myself and told Mr. Wayne that my uncle was Wallace Ford. I asked him if he knew Wally, and he replied: "Been drunk with him.'

On the cover set, he had a beautiful, tall leather directors chair with 'Duke' tooled into the seat back. He didn't really sit in it. He kind of stood in front of it and leaned back on it. I sat next to him most of that day and listened to his stories. I knew enough about his career to ask questions and he was happy to answer and expound on them. Everyone on the set seemed happy that I was keeping him company.

In no particular order here are some of the things I remember he said to me. He said he regretted that he hadn't quit acting entirely and apprenticed with 'J. Ford' to learn to direct. He thought his best work was 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon' because he was only his thirties when he made it, but convincingly played a man in his sixties. He didn't like Kim Darby's performance in 'True Grit' and said she was very disrespectful to everyone. He then said: 'What Judy Garland's little girl could have done with that part!' He meant of course Liza Minnelli, who was just starting in pictures at the time.

I remember he did a very funny imitation of a New York voice coach they'd given him on 'The Big Trail'. ('A God damned Shakespearian actor'.) He put on a sonorous 19th century actors voice and improvised some lines about 'the magnificent mountains' or something like that. He then said he told the studio if that's what they wanted, they should get another actor. I felt slightly uneasy at this because I was a stage actor who had already done a lot of Shakespeare.

He loved limericks and I recited a particularly raunchy one that my father taught me. He made me say it over and over again until he'd memorized it. He touched on politics once. 'Cahill' was filmed during the Nixon vs McGovern campaign. In an angry moment, McGovern told a reporter to 'kiss my ass'. Duke loved that and jokingly said that it made him want to vote for him. If anyone new came on the set, he would introduce me as Wally Ford's nephew.

He seldom went to his dressing room. He basically co-directed the film with Andrew McGlaglan. I remember when they did the shot of me concealing my shot-gun, he came up to me and said: 'You have to telegraph that son' and showed me how to swing the rifle out and back in under my poncho. When it came time to shoot my stunt, Mr. McGlaglen said 'Duke we just need an off-stage gunshot for this, you can go back to your trailer.' John Wayne looked at me and said: 'You'd like me to be here wouldn't you?' I of course answered: 'God yes!'

They put Duke up on a ladder to approximate the height of his horse for my eye line. They gave him eye protection because part of my action was to shoot off my gun as I got hit with his bullets, and the shot-gun discharged a wax wad that blew a hole right through the poncho. Chuck Roberson thought maybe they would cable yank me, but I was able to kick back on my own pretty well and fall into the fake snow of the cover set. As John Wayne fired in the air, I was hit in the face with a hundred or so tiny pieces of blood-soaked sponges that made it look like my face turned to hamburger.

On the first two takes, they weren't getting a good look at my face before I kicked back and it was Duke who figured out how to fix it. On the third take, they hit me with the bloody sponges a split second before Duke fired off his pistol. The sound of the gun would then be moved back a little in post production. When we finished, he came up and praised me for keeping my eyes wide open as they shot those bloody sponges in my face. He said: 'After the first take, I'd have blinked.'

Okay, so now my character is dead. But I have two more days on the film playing the corpse. The second day was on location as 'Cahill' leads his prisoners back to town. Bringing up the rear were two bodies strapped belly down on mules. An assistant director came up to me and said that they had a 'double' for me for the shot. John Wayne, who was at least twenty feet away, whipped around with those sparkling eyes, pointed at me and said: 'He don't want a double!' And I said: 'You're right.' So I spend the day tied onto a mule. When we would cut, Duke would say: 'We have two men on their bellies back there' and I'd be untied and given a break.

The third day I was lying on the floor of a rail car, perilously close to the hooves of Duke's horse. My only direction that day was McGlaglan saying: 'You guys playing stiffs, don't breath.' Outside of the rail car, there was a long tracking shot of Duke and Hank Worden playing a scene. It involved horses, a lot of dialogue and a tricky camera move around a corner. My recollection is that it went to fifty-four takes.

Duke had an ex-boxer with him as his personal masseuse. He told me that Duke received a three hour massage every night. He also told me that Duke had to take a lot of work in the sixties in order to pay off debts he'd run up filming 'The Alamo'. I have to say everyone was nice to me. It was a happy crew. Duke flew down 27 fresh turkeys for the crew at Thanksgiving. The film got ahead of schedule and there was pressure from Warner Bros to film through Christmas week and get it done. But Duke said: 'I'm not separating the crew from their families at Christmas' and he flew everyone home at his expense.

This post is longer than 'War and Peace'! But these are my memories. They are great ones. And I wanted to share them with you all. My gory death can be seen in both the film and the trailer.

Joe Culliton

[dukefan1]

Great story. I enjoyed reading it. Lucky you!

Mark

[Gorch]

Absolutely fascinating, Joseph. Thank you for the time and trouble it took to record your memories.
Your recollections epitomize Duke's professionalism, humor, values and humanity.




We deal in lead, friend.

[Paula]

Joseph, I read your entry at the IMDB and you must have a LOT of great stories about the movies. :) It's wonderful to hear about your time with John Wayne.

By the way, I kind of know your brother Patrick -- online that is. We have exchanged a few e-mails over the years.

[josephculliton]

Thanks Paula: My brother Patrick had a really nice visit with Harry Carey, Jr a couple years ago. I wish he'd taken me along! But Patrick did bring me back an autographed copy of 'Company of Heroes' which is such a good book. Best, Joe

[Colorado Bob]

Wonderful memories Mr. Culliton! Thank you very much for sharing them with us, and welcome to the JWMB! I look forward to reading more about your adventures in Hollywood!

[Lt. Brannigan]

I would say something, but then my bitterness and jealousness would show.

But seriously, thanks for your post. I always enjoy hearing about Duke from people who worked with him.

[RedRiverDee]

I am pretty green too !! What great memories, and will look out for you in J.Edgar too !!

Dee x

[josephculliton]

I have one very short scene in J. Edgar. It takes place in Garfinkel's Department Store where Clyde Tolson is helping Hoover select clothes. Hoover has applied for credit, and I as the store's Credit Director mistake him for another John Hoover whose credit is bad. It is a historically accurate scene in which young Hoover starts going by a different name.

[alamo221]

Great stuff! So glad to have you join us- I'm a fan of Wallace Ford too, so it's a double pleasure!