weren’t just applauding a career, they were honoring a man who had faced death and still shown up.
When the applause finally quieted, Wayne spoke in the voice that had carried across cavalry charges and frontier towns for half a century:
Five words. The crowd erupted again.
He continued, smiling through the weight of his survival:
”Believe me when I tell you that I’m mighty pleased that I can amble down here tonight. Well, Oscar and I have something in common. Oscar first came to the Hollywood scene in 1928. So did I. We’re both a little weather-beaten, but we’re still here and plan to be around for a whole lot longer.”
Wiped away tears
The audience laughed, some wiped away tears, all understanding the gravity of that promise.
Wayne went on to announce the nominees for Best Picture: The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Midnight Express, An Unmarried Woman, and Heaven Can Wait. Opening the envelope, he declared The Deer Hunter the winner. As the producers took the stage, Wayne stepped back, surrounded by Hollywood friends. Little did anyone know, this would be his final public appearance.
Eleven days later, on April 20, Wayne was admitted to UCLA Medical Center with a bronchial condition. A week later, he was released. On his seventy-second birthday, May 26, he received the Congressional Gold Medal.
Died shortly after
Sixteen days after that, on June 11, 1979, John Wayne passed away at UCLA Medical Center. In his final months, he had enrolled in an experimental cancer vaccine study, telling doctors, ”If this is helpful, I’m going to help you afterward.”
His family would go on to establish the John Wayne Cancer Institute, carrying forward his legacy of courage and hope.
