John Wayne _ The Man Behind the Myth - Michael Munn [26]
In 1935 they had a daughter, baptized Antonia Maria, but they always called her Toni.
Still the couple drifted further apart, and while Wayne tried to be a loving father, he was spending too much time, during his rare moments when he wasn’t working, in the company of his male friends.
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Enter Ringo
There was more behind Ford’s failure to return any of Wayne’s calls since 1930 than mere punishment. Ford often disappeared on air-reconnaissance missions and, unknown to anyone else in the film industry except his editor Leon Sedlitz, used his Hollywood facilities for editing his intelligence films.
Ford had bought a 110-foot yacht in 1934 and had it overhauled, making it into one of the most beautiful yachts on the West Coast.
He called it the Araner and, in between films, Ford would cruise from California to Acapulco after being briefed by Captain Zacharias. American authorities were still allowing Japanese shrimp boats into San Pedro at Long Beach harbor, and Ford’s job was to look out for any shrimp boats commanded by Japanese naval officers in disguise.
Ford was given a commission as a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve as well as a commendation from the commander of the Eleventh Naval District for his initiative in securing information.
Perhaps because he felt justifiably proud of his secret achievements, he decided it was time to forgive John Wayne. It was during one summer’s day in 1935 when Wayne happened to be in a coastal bar that he received a message from Ford inviting him 45
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aboard his yacht anchored just offshore. Wayne was taken by small boat to the Araner and arrived to find the main saloon filled with people. Ford simply said, “Hi, Duke, sit down.” About an hour later Ford announced that the shore boat would take his guests back to land, but to Wayne he said, “Duke, can you stay for dinner?” There was never an explanation from Ford, or an apology; it was as though they had never been estranged. Wayne recalled, “There began a series of Sunday afternoons on board the Araner where we’d read books, have dinner, and play cards. Most of the time Pappy didn’t drink when he was on his yacht, so whenever I awoke on a Sunday morning with a hangover, I’d have a shot of tequila which cleared my head, and I’d head off to the Araner. None of this helped my failing marriage; I guess I was running away from my problems. We’d often spend up to three weeks on board on fishing trips, so I was away from home far too much.
“Some of these fishing trips were secret intelligence missions which myself and Ward Bond found ourselves caught up in, and we were happy to do so. For years Pappy kept his pre–Second World War naval activities a secret, which meant that Ward and me also had to keep silent.”
When Wayne was later criticized for not enlisting when America entered the Second World War, and while he and his studio were giving out the various reasons why he could not join up, Wayne could not reveal that he had, in fact, assisted Ford in gathering intelligence for the navy leading up to the outbreak of war.
When not on his yacht, Ford would hold court at the Hollywood Athletic Club where their leader would spend evenings after a hard day’s work relaxing in the steam rooms and listening to writers pitch their ideas to him over a drink, or several.
He would be joined by Wayne, Ward Bond, writer Dudley Nichols, Preston Foster, Johnny Weissmuller, and other actors, directors, and producers who formed themselves into a club called
“The Young Men’s Purity Total Abstinence and Snooker Pool Association.”
Wayne laughed as he recalled, “The club had its own charter, which stated that our sole purpose was to promulgate the cause of alcoholism, and that would-be applicants must be a career-oriented