John Wayne Sought Revenge on His Stunt Double for Convincing Audiences He Had a Bald Spot
Actor John Wayne did many of his own movie stunts, but he did use a stunt double for plenty of the more dangerous acts his characters performed. The Western movie star was very particular about the image that he portrayed on the silver screen, but it was for good reason. He wanted to make sure that he was selling the fantasy that his fans were paying for when seeing one of his pictures. One time, Wayne sought revenge on his stunt double for convincing audiences that he had a bald spot.
John Wayne and Yakima Canutt worked on ‘Paradise Canyon’
Director Carl Pierson’s Paradise Canyon hit theaters in 1935. Robert Emmett Tansey’s screenplay told the story of a tough federal agent named John Wyatt (Wayne). However, his world turns upside down when he’s sent on an undercover mission to infiltrate a medicine show based in Arizona. John will need to pose as a sharpshooter to undergo his investigation, but he unexpectedly falls in love with ex-convict Dr. Carter’s (Earle Hodgins) daughter, Linda (Marion Burns).
Actor Yakima Canutt played a character named Curly Joe Gale, but he also performed as a stunt double for Wayne. However, the two characters interacted in some particularly difficult scenes that resulted in some issues with a long-lasting impact.
John Wayne’s stunt double convinced audiences he had a bald spot
According to Michael Munn’s John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth, actor and stunt double Canutt talked about the “tough” fight scene between their characters in Paradise Canyon. He had to flip Wayne’s character over his head, so he doubled for the Western movie star. Meanwhile, Wayne doubled for Canutt. There was a shot of Canutt crashing through a table with the camera placed behind him, which gave a perfect view of his bald spot.
“When they ran the picture the bald spot was very noticeable, and I got a real chewing out from John and from Paul Malvern, who was the producer,” Canutt said. “We couldn’t afford to reshoot it, so it went out as it was.”
Wayne wouldn’t drop that his stunt double made it look like he had a bald spot, so Canutt had the plan to get one more jab in. He got a woman from New York to write a letter.
“Dear Mr. Canutt, I saw Paradise Canyon with you and John Wayne,” the letter read. “It was a good picture and you did some fine work. But why doesn’t the producer find you a younger man than John Wayne who must be getting old because I noticed that he is getting a bald spot.’”
Wayne saw that the letter was “authentic,” but he knew that Canutt likely had a hand in its existence. As a result, he told his co-star and stunt double, “Yak, you’re gonna have to watch that damn bald spot if you’re gonna double me.”
The Western movie star got his revenge
Munn wrote that Wayne ultimately got his revenge on his stunt double for playing with him in that fashion. In the next feature, which was likely Westward Ho, there was another fight sequence, but it went down quite a bit differently.
Wayne’s character knocked down one of his foes before he stepped out of the way of Canutt’s punch. Afterward, Wayne knocked him through the glass front window, but it was all in one take. Little did Canutt realize, his co-star jumped through the window and performed a “flying football tackle” on him, which knocked the wind right out of him.
“That’s for the letter from your ‘fan’ in New York,” Wayne said.
