John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth

Front Cover
Penguin Publishing Group, Mar 1, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 400 pages
A rare behind-the-scenes look at John Wayne: the legend, hero, and Hollywood icon of numerous epic Western films, including an Academy Award-winning performance in True Grit

No legend ever walked taller than “The Duke.” Now, author Michael Munn’s startling new biography of John Wayne sets the record straight on why Wayne didn’t serve in World War II, on director John Ford’s contribution to Wayne’s career, and the mega-star’s highs and lows: three failed marriages, and two desperate battles with cancer.

Munn also discloses publicly, for the first time, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s plot to assassinate Wayne because of his outspoken, potentially influential anti-Communist views. Drawing on time spent with Wayne on the set of Brannigan—and almost 100 interviews with those who knew him—Munn’s rare, behind-the-scenes look proves this “absolute all-time movie star” was as much a hero in real life as he ever was on-screen.

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References to this book

Hollywood's Cold War
Tony Shaw
No preview available - 2007

About the author (2005)

Michael Munn is a film historian and the author of more than 20 books, including numerous acclaimed biographies. As a journalist he has written extensively on cinema, crime, ancient history, and World War II. Munn lives in Suffolk, England.

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