Aside from Darby, Hathaway hated singer Glen Campbell’s “wooden” performance as LaBoeuf and believed he was only cast so True Grit would have a hit theme song to promote the movie.
Originally, Elvis Presley had been the original choice for the role, but The King’s manager blocked the casting.
It turns out Colonel Tom Parker wanted top billing above Wayne for his client, something he was always uncompromising on to the detriment of Elvis’ acting career.
As a result of all his issues with the movie, when picking up his Oscar, Wayne bumped into fellow nominee Richard Burton with a very personal confession. The True Grit star personally told the Welsh actor he should have won for his portrayal of King Henry VIII in Anne of the Thousand Days instead of him.
Duke had taken a break from shooting Rio Lobo to fly back to Hollywood to collect his gong, but when the star returned to the set, he discovered a touching sight that brought him to tears.
According to Randy Roberts’ John Wayne: American: “[Duke] stepped out, laughed uproariously at first, and then settled down into a teary-eyed smile. Everybody, horses included, was sporting an eye patch, and the crowd was clapping and whistling congratulations to the best actor in the world.”
No doubt this was a special moment for the star, who aside from his own health problems had lost his mother during the filming of Rio Lobo and then his brother Robert E Morrison just a month after the wrap.
Despite being displeased with how True Grit turned out, Wayne would go on to star in a 1975 sequel co-starring Katharine Hepburn called Rooster Cogburn.