John Wayne Once Wore a Giant Bunny Costume in a Hilarious ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In’ Sketch
Many movie stars develop an on-screen persona and try not to break it. Actor John Wayne was undoubtedly among those, but he deviated from it when he dressed up as a bunny. His appearance on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In stuck with fans, as his costume provided such a contrast to the on-screen persona moviegoing audiences are used to.
John Wayne portrayed a specific image in feature films
Long before Wayne dressed up as a bunny on television, he created one of the most iconic images of a cowboy. It all started with his first leading role in Raoul Walsh’s The Big Trail, although it was a box office bomb. He spent quite some time making B-movie Western flicks until he combined forces with legendary filmmaker John Ford to make Stagecoach. There, he had a star-making turn that set him on a path to success.
Wayne’s image of the cowboy defined an entire era of masculinity through his booming cadence and his instantly-recognizable way of walking. However, he took this beyond the Western pictures, one of which ultimately won him an Oscar for True Grit. Wayne also demonstrated his ability to take this same on-screen persona into the war film genre, with pictures such as The Green Berets.
John Wayne wore a giant bunny costume on a ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In’ sketch
Wayne was a film actor through and through, generally avoiding the time-consuming regular roles on television. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t ever make special appearances. Wayne appeared on the variety show called Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, which ran from 1968 to 1973.
The bit starts with hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, who explain that the Western movie star “refuses” to do the sketch because he “feels stupid.” Nevertheless, Wayne walks onto the stage in a huge bunny costume and says that the “first one who snickers gets a broken face.”
Wayne explains that the bunny costume is “demeaning and embarrassing,” to which the host says, that “there are no bad parts, there are only bad bunnies.”
Other cast members in large animal costumes join the stage and try to get the actor in on the fun. They call him Billy Bunny, trying to convince him to start hopping to match his animal suit. Finally, he responds, “I can outhop with one ear tied behind my back. I’m gonna go to some bar and have a martini. And a carrot.”
Wayne hops off the stage and he says in his final moments, “I guess it could have been worse. They could have asked me to dress up like a liberal.”
The actor’s fans loved seeing him not take himself so seriously
The Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In crowd went crazy for Wayne in the bunny costume. He sold the act to absolute perfection, embracing the silliness of the whole ordeal. Additionally, those on social media also applauded the Western movie star for not taking himself so seriously. He was so closely associated with the tough guy act that it was a nice change to see him do something a bit different.
One Twitter user said that there are “no words” seeing Wayne dress up as a big bunny on television for the whole world to see. Others noted that it would make a wonderful Halloween costume for those wanting to put a little spin on the Western star’s image.
