What Did Glen Campbell Think About His “True Grit” Costar John Wayne?
on Jan 06, 2023
Country icon and actor Glen Campbell recalled his True Grit costar John Wayne as “one of the nicest men that I’ve ever met in my life.” Campbell spoke about his friendship with Wayne at the Jules Verne Festival in 2011.
Apr 7, 1970
John Wayne wins the only Oscar of his career for the movie "True Grit." The picture was the first to feature Glen Campbell in an acting role. pic.twitter.com/0OwpQv1bry— RedDirt_Roots (@RedDirt_Roots) April 7, 2021
Wayne’s daughter wanted to meet the singer — Campbell was surprised by her request but was happy to meet the young girl. From there, Wayne and Campbell struck up a long friendship.
Campbell had never acted in a movie before, but Wayne asked him if he’d like to give it a try. He agreed, and together, the two made movie history together with True Grit.
Campbell recalls climbing around the set, doing their own stunts, and putting in long days of hard work.
Of his time on set, Campbell recalled, “I said, ‘Ain’t they got a second guy for this? Whatever they call those guys – stand-ins.’ I was climbing up stuff. And, just wow.”
Glen Campbell and John Wayne in the western True Grit(1969) pic.twitter.com/i0DBGqmlAA
— peterkidder (@peterkidder) January 2, 2021
Wayne appeared as a guest on Campbell’s variety show, where the pair discussed how Wayne handled the beatings he took in his well-known Western films. Wayne shocked audiences when he smashed a prop glass beer bottle over Tim Conway’s head to show that movie-set bar fights don’t actually cause pain.
Watch the 2011 interview below.
