John Wayne's Sweet Side Revealed in Old Letters to Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball — 47 Years After His Death
John Wayne sent personal letters to Hollywood starlets.
June 10 2026, Updated 7:27 p.m. ET
John Wayne was known for his tough cowboy persona and classic western films, but he had a soft side to him.
Ahead of the 47th anniversary of his death, RadarOnline.com revisits decades-old letters written by The Duke to celebrities, including Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball.
John Wayne's Sweet Words to Lucille Ball
John Wayne and Lucille Ball worked together in the 1950's and '60s.
Back in 1955, Wayne penned a personal letter to Ball.
"It is always such a great pleasure working with you, Lucy," Wayne told her in the letter at the time. "You’re so dedicated and so talented."
Wayne famously guest-starred on two-part installment of I Love Lucy in the 1950s. In the comedy-filled episodes, "Lucy Visits Grauman's," Lucy and Ethel accidentally break the famous actor's cement footprints from Grauman's Chinese Theatre and must find a way to replace them.
He would later go on to join her on the small screen again for The Lucy Show in 1966. In an episode aptly titled "Lucy and John Wayne," she finds herself in awkward situations with the Hollywood star on set – including spilling ketchup on him.
Congratulations to Liz From The Duke
Elizabeth Taylor won an Academy Award in 1961.
In 1961, Wayne also reached out to Hollywood starlet Taylor, who he affectionally called "Liz," to congratulate her on her Academy Award win.
"Dear Liz … I am more happy that you received your award than if The Alamo had received all that it was nominated for," he penned. "Affectionately, Duke.”"
Elizabeth Taylor famously disliked 'Butterfield 8.'
The Alamo, which Wayne both starred in and directed, was up against Butterfield 8 – a movie Taylor won Best Actress for, yet she famously hated.
Biography author Kate Andersen Brower previously told THR, “When Elizabeth saw the movie, she took out a tube of lipstick and wrote on the screening room’s wall, ‘Piece of s---.’ She really did see it as a personal affront that they were making her play a glorified prostitute.”
'The Guy You See on Screen Really Isn't Me'
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John Wayne died at 72 years old in 1979.
After spending years playing characters, Wayne insisted that his on-screen persona and who he was deep down were not the same at all.
"The guy you see on screen really isn’t me," he once said in a 1950s interview. "I’m Duke Morrison, and I never was and never will be a film personality like John Wayne. I know him well. I’m one of his closest students. I have to be. I made a living out of him."
Wayne passed away on June 11, 1979, from complications of stomach cancer and respiratory issues. He was 72 years old and left behind seven children.
After his cancer diagnosis, the Duke reflected his mortality and the end that would one day come.
"I thought about the possibility of death, but that wasn’t what bothered me the most," he shared at the time, per Variety. "It was the feeling of helplessness. I just couldn’t see myself lying in bed, not being able to help myself. That, to me, was worse than the fear of death."
