John Wayne Surprised ‘The Alamo’ Set With How He Treated His Daughter
Actor John Wayne surprised many on The Alamo set for a variety of reasons. Many folks didn’t expect him to successfully pull off such an epic feature film as his directorial debut, but he proved them wrong. Additionally, Wayne surprised The Alamo set with the way that he interacted with his daughter, Aissa. As a result, many folks saw a side of the actor that they never imagined existed.
John Wayne’s daughter played a small role in ‘The Alamo’
Wayne earned his first official directing title credit with The Alamo. The story is set in 1836, where the Mexican army invaded Texas. They heavily outnumber the small band of American and Texican fighters. However, they’re tasked with leading a resistance battle at the Alamo mission, even though they have no hope of victory. General Sam Houston (Richard Boone) directly gives these orders to Colonels Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark) and Davy Crockett (Wayne).
The iconic actor-turned-director ultimately had the opportunity to bring his family along with him while shooting The Alamo. His son, Patrick, and daughter, Aissa, are only a couple of those closest to him who earned roles in the movie. Aissa played Lisa Dickinson, the daughter of Almaron and Sue. It’s a small role, but it allowed Wayne to spend time with her while he shot The Alamo.
John Wayne surprised ‘The Alamo’ set with his sweet interactions with his daughter
Pilar Wayne and Alex Thorleifson’s John Wayne: My Life With the Duke provided a detailed look into The Alamo set. His wife, Pilar, was worried about how Wayne would handle having Aissa on the set. Her major scene would be at a birthday party, and Pilar worried that the young child might not be able to distinguish between real and imaginary.
Pilar was primarily worried about the notion that many directions hated working with children. She questioned what “if Aissa forgot her lines, giggled at the wrong time, or simply forgot she was making a movie and called him Daddy?”
After all, Wayne was a perfectionist when it came to directing The Alamo and expected everyone on set to bring their best work. “My worst fears were realized midway through the first time,” Pilar recalled. “Aissa stopped the entire take by running to her father’s side, asking, ‘Did I do right, Daddy?”
However, Wayne forgot all about The Alamo for a moment and gave her a hug. “You did just fine, honey,” Wayne responded, picking her up and carrying her back to her mark on the set. Fortunately, Aissa worked through the rest of her scenes without much trouble. However, she would always run up to Wayne after every take for a kiss and pat on the head from her father.
Ultimately, no one was surprised to see Wayne “roughly wipe aside an occasional sentimental tear as he directed his little girl.”
The actor’s wife has positive memories of the filming
Wayne had a lot riding on The Alamo. He received a lot of “no”s in response to getting funding from the studios. However, Wayne continued to push forward because he believed in the project. After all, he wanted to use this opportunity to release a movie that would push back against a movie system that he saw as increasingly corrupt thanks to a greater amount of senseless violence. However, Pilar only looked back on The Alamo set with pure joy.
Pilar recalled: “I have nothing but happy memories of filming in Bracketville. My daughter was with me, my husband was finally seeing his dream come true, and all the Waynes seemed to be growing closer.”
