Fortunately for fans of John Wayne, the Instagram account dedicated to him frequently shares interesting throwback photos of the late Hollywood icon. In a recent post, the Duke appears with one of his costars from a 1943 film.According to the post, this beautiful photo shows Wayne and Jean Arthur locking eyes on the set of “A Lady Takes a Chance.”
The post also invited followers to take part in . For this, they asked fans about this 1943 movie. “Do you know John Wayne’s character’s name in this movie?” fans were asked.Wayne Played a Character Named ‘Duke’ in 1943 Film . Spoiler alert: John Wayne’s character in “A Lady Takes a Chance” is named Duke Hudkins. That’s right, his character’s name in this movie is “Duke.”
As the actor’s fans are aware, the Duke was Wayne’s very well-known nickname. So, did that nickname come from his role in “A Lady Takes a Chance”? According to IMDb, the answer is no.The nickname reportedly came to Wayne years prior. In fact, it started when he was just a teen and the bright lights of Hollywood hadn’t come calling. During these years, he was residing in Glendale, California. And he had a dog whose name was Duke.
The future icon was very close to the dog and the two spent a lot of time together. Because of their close bond, people began to refer to the duo as Big Duke and Little Duke. Obviously, the name remained with him.The plot of “A Lady Takes a Chance” is: “A city girl on a bus tour of the West encounters a handsome rodeo cowboy who helps her forget her simpy city suitors.”The film was directed by William A. Seiter. In addition to John Wayne and Jean Arthur, it also starred Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Mary Field, and Don Costello.
John Wayne Costars Shared Her Impression of the Hollywood Legend .Throughout the years, John Wayne left quite an impression on film audiences. His costars were also often impressed with him. One of these costars was actress Constance Towers. She appeared with the Duke in the 1959 film titled, “The Horse Soldiers.” It was only the second film of her career.
Unsurprisingly, Towers was very impressed with the 6’4″ actor. “He was as big as he was on the screen and he treated me like his little princess,” the actress recently told Fox News.Towers also said that she was impressed by Wayne and another costar, William Holden. “I could hardly speak when I first met them. … I was in total awe of working with these two stars, but they were both just wonderful.”
