John Wayne’s five words at the 1979’s Oscars silenced every cynic in Hollywood 

December 13, 2025 by salah

Doctors discovered stomach cancer and removed his entire stomach. At seventy-two, he was no stranger to defying odds — he had survived lung cancer fifteen years prior, losing a lung and several ribs to the disease in 1964. And the year before, he had missed the Academy Awards recovering from open-heart surgery to replace a valve.

Would Duke show up this time? Bob Hope, his longtime friend, called personally to ask. Wayne said yes.

Thin but tanned and jaunty

Inside the auditorium, the audience included colleagues who had shared screens with him over fifty years, from silent films in 1926 to 179 productions that had shaped Hollywood’s vision of heroism. They knew his politics, his controversies —but tonight was about more than that.

Wayne’s entrance was classic “Duke” – he slowly ambled down the staircase, smiling warmly at the audience. Many noticed he looked thin, yet still tanned and full of his signature charm.

One by one, the audience rose. The ovation swelled and did not subside. TheyContinue reading…