{"id":124818,"date":"2020-05-24T12:43:28","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T16:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=124818"},"modified":"2020-05-24T12:43:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T14:31:11","slug":"the-manliest-actor-in-hollywood-and-the-machinegun-that-almost-killed-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manliest-actor-in-hollywood-and-the-machinegun-that-almost-killed-him\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manliest Actor in Hollywood and the Machinegun that Almost Killed Him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
John Wayne was an American icon. There has never been an actor that so personified the paragon of manliness as the Duke. Note the 100-mph tape on the front of his early M16 in this shot taken from The Green Berets.<\/em> This was undertaken to keep the front sling swivel from rattling while out on patrol. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marion Robert Morrison was\nborn on May 26, 1907, to a pharmacist named Clyde Leonard Morrison and his wife\nMolly Alberta Brown. The boy was the grandson of a civil war veteran. Marion\nweighed a whopping 13 pounds at birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The young Marion Morrison came from humble stuff. He is shown here on the left alongside his brother. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Young Marion did not care\nmuch for his name. He had an imposing Airedale Terrier named Duke that was his\nconstant childhood companion. A local fireman acquaintance began calling the\nboy \u201cLittle Duke,\u201d and the name stuck. This was how one of the most enduring\nlegends in the history of Hollywood came to be named after his dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Morrison\u2019s first real introduction to the manly arts was as a USC football player. The Navy turned him down. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the family moved to\nPalmdale, California, young Marion Morrison thrived at both football and\ndebate. He applied for the US Naval Academy but failed to gain acceptance. Morrison\nplayed football at the University of Southern California but had to give up his\nscholarship after breaking his collarbone during a bodysurfing accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Morrison fell into acting almost by accident after an injury cut short his football career. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a favor to his former USC football coach, famed Hollywood director John Ford hired Morrison as a prop boy. The young man subsequently landed several uncredited roles in several forgettable B-grade films. His first real role was listed as \u201cDuke Morrison\u201d in the 1929 film Words and Music.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Big Trail<\/em> was Morrison\u2019s first real breakout role. It was also a catastrophic failure. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Film director Raoul Walsh noticed Morrison moving studio furniture and cast him in his first starring role in the 1930 movie The Big Trail.<\/em> Walsh and Fox Studios chief Winfield Sheehan felt that Marion Morrison was not a moniker befitting a proper movie star. The two men considered Anthony Wayne but felt that handle sounded too Italian. The two executives eventually decided to call the young man John Wayne. The actor was not even present for the meeting. For his first proper movie, John Wayne was paid $105 per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Along with the starring role in The Big Trail<\/em> Marion Morrison also got a new name. John Wayne\u2019s meteoric Hollywood career skyrocketed from there. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Big Trail<\/em> cost a breathtaking $2 million to produce. That\u2019s about $31 million today and an unprecedented sum in the world of 1930\u2019s filmmaking. The movie was shot in a revolutionary 70mm format that most movie theaters of the day were not equipped to manage. Despite critical acclaim, The Big Trail<\/em> was a monumental flop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Of all John Wayne\u2019s many roles I think Rooster Cogburn is likely my favorite. The Duke won the Best Actor award for the part. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Wayne hit it big in\n1939 with John Ford\u2019s Western epic Stagecoach. <\/em>He ultimately starred in\n142 movies and along the way became the personification of rugged American\nfrontier manliness. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1969 as the\none-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A little known fact is that John Wayne was nearly killed during a demonstration involving an M-10 submachinegun. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whether he was a\ngunslinging frontier lawman, a hard-charging Marine assaulting Mount Suribachi,\nor a Special Forces Colonel battling the VC in the jungles of Vietnam, John Wayne\u2019s\nmany tough-guy roles were invariably associated with firearms. A gun enthusiast\nhimself, later in his career Wayne also grew extremely wealthy. Given his\nsignificant net worth and instant worldwide name recognition, obtaining Wayne\u2019s\npersonal endorsement and financial support could be a real boon for any\ncommercial product. Back in the early days of the Military Armament\nCorporation, the manufacturers of the famed Ingram M-10 submachinegun very\nnearly killed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Players<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Jim Sullivan played an instrumental part in the development of several familiar weapons designs. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jim Sullivan was born in\nNome, Alaska, and went on to become an esteemed gun designer, working on such\nweapons as the AR-15, the Mini-14, the Ruger M77, the Stoner 63, and the\nUltimax100 light machinegun. While working for Hughes Tool Company Sullivan\nbadly wanted to secure John Wayne\u2019s support. He even designed a .22 rifle he\ncalled the Waynegun in an effort at currying the Hollywood heavyweight\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Mitch WerBell was a legendary soldier of fortune. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Military Armament\nCorporation was an evolutionary development from the earlier SIONICS Company.\nSIONICS stood for Studies in Operational Negation of Insurgents and\nCounter-Subversion and was the brainchild of a larger-than-life WW2-era OSS\nofficer named Mitch WerBell. In 1969 WerBell joined forces with Gordon Ingram\nto produce and market the M-10 submachinegun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The holy melding of the M-10 submachine gun and Mitch WerBell\u2019s sound suppressor offered some unique tactical capabilities. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M-10 was a simple\npressed steel SMG offered in both 9mm and .45ACP calibers. A subsequent\nminiaturized version firing .380ACP was called the M-11 and remains one of the\nmost compact man-portable automatic weapons ever produced. When combined with\nWerBell\u2019s revolutionary two-stage sound suppressor the M-10 seemed destined for\ngreatness. All WerBell and MAC needed was John Wayne on their team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flirting with Disaster<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
WerBell was no stranger to firepower demonstrations. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The site was a duck\nshooting club outside Newport Beach, California. Wayne and his handlers showed\nup to be wooed by both Sullivan and the MAC mob. Sullivan arrived in period\nSeattle garb\u2014a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The MAC demo team was outfitted in\nmatching dapper blue blazers festooned with the gold MAC logo. Like Elijah and\nthe prophets of Baal atop Mount Carmel, the two competing entities vied for\nsupremacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Wayne was said to be a mean drunk. His affection for alcohol and cigarettes ultimately killed him. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Wayne had any number of well-publicized vices, and alcohol was high on the list. This particular afternoon the Duke was generously lubricated with his favorite adult beverage. Jim Sullivan exercised his Waynegun to the delight of the big man himself. The MAC team also burned scads of bullets through their hyperactive little subguns. Their piece de resistance was a live-fire demonstration of the radical MAC operational briefcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gun<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The MAC submachineguns were absolutely tiny. This is the .380ACP M-11 on the left alongside a .45ACP 1911 pistol. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M-10 was indeed a revolutionary little firearm. Heavy at more than six pounds, the little gun would nonetheless tuck into some of the tidiest spaces. As a result, MAC engineers contrived the operational briefcase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The original MAC Operational briefcase is a wicked rare collector\u2019s item today. This copy holds the .45ACP M-10. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The original \u201cSpecial\nPurpose\u201d briefcase was designed for the .380ACP M-11. Later versions\naccommodated the larger guns. These devices began as standard leather attach\u00e9\ncases specially modified with wooden blocks and Velcro to carry a MAC\nsubmachine gun. A mechanical linkage manipulated the trigger. A small pivoting\nbusiness card holder occluded the hole that spewed the bullets. A special\nabbreviated sound suppressor was eventually built for the larger guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The MAC Operational briefcase incorporated a mechanical linkage to activate the trigger from the outside. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To fire the weapon the\noperator would hold the case sideways and squeeze the external trigger. As the\ngun was not externally accessible that meant the case contained a hot open-bolt\nsubmachinegun with the safety off. The original cases retailed for $90 and were\nfrankly deathtraps. One of these deathtraps very nearly killed John Wayne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Accident<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Once unlimbered the M-10 submachine gun is quite the vigorous little bullet hose. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The specific details have been lost to history. We know that the case in question carried a full auto .45ACP M-10 submachine gun. One version holds that the recoil from those heavy .45ACP rounds cycling at around 1,000 rpm allowed the thing to get away from the operator. Another story was that the trigger linkage failed and resulted in a runaway gun. Yet a third is that in his excitement the man demonstrating the device held it backward. Regardless, the operational briefcase ran amok and sprayed the spectator area with a swarm of .45ACP projectiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Wayne was purportedly not unduly bothered by the cloud of half-inch projectiles that peppered the spectator area at the gun range. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jim Sullivan, who had\nnothing to do with the MAC company, purportedly wisely ran for safety. John\nWayne was supposedly not terribly perturbed. Rumor has it that when the dust\nsettled he had not even spilled his drink. Regardless, as the demonstration\nwrapped up John Wayne thanked everyone involved but declined to invest in a gun\ncompany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The original Military Armament Corporation was only in business a short while. Their primary lineup included, from left to right, the .45ACP M-10, the .380ACP M-11, and the 9mm M-10. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MAC only made guns for\nsome four years. The original mission was to convince the US Army to replace\nall of its aging M1911A1 pistols with fast-firing MAC submachine guns. Had they\nbeen successful the number of ventilated Privates littering military firing\nranges boggles the mind. In 1973 MAC folded, and in 1975 their assets were sold\nat auction. The fact that I was nine years old at the time and unable to\nparticipate remains one of the greatest travesties in all of human history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Esperanza Baur, shown here with the parrot, tried to kill her husband John Wayne after she suspected him of having an affair. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Wayne was married three times and divorced twice. He fathered some seven children in total. His second wife, a Hispanic woman named Esperanza Baur, became convinced he was having an affair and tried to kill him when he came home late from the wrap party that followed Angel and the Badman.<\/em> She tried unsuccessfully to shoot him as he walked through their front door, and Wayne divorced her soon thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Wayne wore a toupee throughout most of his acting career. This shot is taken from the 1974 cop movie McQ.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

John Wayne began losing his hair in the 1940s and wore a toupee for most of his professional life. He was an inveterate lifelong smoker, consuming up to six packs a day. He developed lung cancer in 1964 but was declared surgically cured after the removal of his entire left lung along with four ribs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Wayne had a number of great roles. Playing Genghis Khan in The Conqueror <\/em>was not among them. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wayne was also an alcoholic. His directors would try to shoot his scenes in the morning as he was almost invariably intoxicated by noon. In the lyrically ridiculous 1956 movie, The Conqueror<\/em>, John Wayne played a curiously Occidental Genghis Khan. The movie was filmed in the Utah desert downwind from the site of a recent US Government nuclear test. 91 members of the cast and crew subsequently developed cancer, including his costars Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz, and Agnes Moorehead as well as the director Dick Powell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Wayne\u2019s right-wing proclivities made him a definite outlier among Hollywood leftists. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wayne\u2019s was a lonely\nconservative voice in Hollywood, one of the most intolerant communities on the\nplanet. His controversial 1971 interview with Playboy Magazine<\/em> where he\ndiscussed such stuff as race relations and welfare earned him few friends in\nTinseltown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Reader\u2019s Digest<\/em> claims that Wayne carried the same Peacemaker revolver throughout all of his Western movies. The long round in the center is a .45-70 to help keep the ammo load straight. The left-sided cartridges were .45LC for his pistol. The rounds on the right were .44-40 to feed his Model 1892 Winchester rifle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fun fact\u2014According to an\narticle in Readers Digest Magazine<\/em> John Wayne carried the same revolver\nthroughout all of his Western movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
John Wayne was the product of a different time. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wayne ultimately developed\nstomach cancer that killed him in June of 1979. Engraved upon his tombstone he\nrequested the words \u201cFeo, Fuerte y Formal.\u201d This translates to \u201cUgly, Strong,\nand Dignified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In the final analysis, John Wayne was both a patriot and a complicated man. That he was very nearly killed in a range accident involving an M-10 submachine gun just adds spice to an already spicy life. He is shown here with a few of his seven children. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
John Wayne is shown here meeting with President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
They just don\u2019t make them like they used to. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The Military Armament Corporation M-10 submachinegun defined an era in firearms history. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Wayne was an American icon. There has never been an actor that so personified the paragon of manliness as the Duke. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":124839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,752,978],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-124818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-historical-guns","12":"tag-machine-gun"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Manliest Actor in Hollywood and the Machinegun that Almost Killed Him<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Manliest Actor in Hollywood and the Machinegun that Almost Killed Him - Historical Guns\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manliest-actor-in-hollywood-and-the-machinegun-that-almost-killed-him\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Manliest Actor in Hollywood and the Machinegun that Almost Killed Him\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"John Wayne was an American icon. 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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