Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.
Last night I turned the channel with the Bruins losing to the Candadiens 5-2 in the 3rd period. I changed to John Wayne's last movie The Shootist which still had about a 3rd to go. Couldn't help but notice that the gravestone JB Book's ordered had his age as 58 if you did the math. That seemed awfully young in today's years so I looked it up - John Wayne died 3-years after the movie at age 72 which would have made him 69 when The Shootist was released. For comparison sake - Tom Cruise is 63-years old but can you picture a comparingly aged Wayne doing his own stunts in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning? We live in a different time.
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What's a Candadien?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, John Wayne was rejected by both the Army and the Navy when he tried to enlist after Pearl Harbour due to a shoulder injury that plagued him all his life so even at his peak he could not perform his own stunts.
Al_in_Ottawa
The Montreal Canadiens who for some reason use that spelling for their team name.
ReplyDeleteDid not know that about John Wayne. Knew he never served and it was a sore subject with him but never the reason why. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
A lot of people from the past looked much older than their age would look today. I first noticed it when someone pointed out how young Carroll O'Connor was during All In the Family. As a kid, I thought he was ancient. He was just 54 when the series ended. In some pictures of ball players of the past you'd think they were decades older. Honus Wagner for one, and Ruth for another. Was it the poor quality of film or rough living? My guess is smoking deserves most of the blame.
ReplyDeleteAgree that people generally looked older in the past. Just look at how old we thought the Traveling Willbury's were when the first album came out - then look up their actual ages. Age with cigarettes but also would add in today's exercise regiment.
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