Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne

Maureen O’Hara met John Wayne at a dinner party thrown by John Ford.  The party occurred in May of 1941 and neither O’Hara nor Wayne had an inkling that they would become costars and life-long friends.  John Ford was an eccentric director and he and Wayne had made a number of films together, including the classic, Stagecoach.  O’Hara was filming How Green Was My Valley with Ford, a film that began a long relationship between the director and his favorite actress.

O’Hara and Wayne Costar in Rio Grande

Although O’Hara and Wayne were occasional dinner guests of Fords, they did not do a picture together until 1950.  The movie Rio Grande was a movie Ford did not want to make.  However, the studio bosses told Ford he had to make Rio Grande if he wanted funding for his pet project, The Quiet Man.

O’Hara wanted desperately to film The Quiet Man and Wayne wanted to work with Ford.  The Quiet Man was a story about an Irish lass failing in love with a former boxer.  Ford, like O’Hara was Irish by birth and longed to film the movie in his homeland.  First, however he had to satisfy his bankrollers, so cajoled Wayne and O’Hara into making Rio Grande with him.

From the first scene they filmed together, O’Hara said they felt comfortable with each other.  Neither one of them realized the erotic chemistry they had together until they watched themselves onscreen.  While filming Rio Grande, Ford’s cruel streak became apparent as he berated and humiliated Wayne in front of the cast and crew.  According to O’Hara, it was so upsetting that she went to a bathroom and vomited.

The Making of The Quiet Man

In 1952, Ford got his wish and filmed The Quiet Man.  O’Hara and Wayne both had members of their families included in the cast.  Four of Wayne’s children appeared in the film as well as two of O’Hara’s brothers.

Wayne and Ford conspired to pull a prank on O’Hara.  The scene called for Wayne to drag a resisting O’Hara though a field.  Before the filming began, the men loaded the field full of sheep dung.  O’Hara really was resisting as Wayne pulled her thought the field.  O’Hara later discovered she had injured a disc in her back.  To make matters worse, Ford refused to let her change her costume of clean up for the rest of the day.  Nonetheless, O’Hara said in her autobiography that The Quiet Man is the favorite of all the movies she made.

O’Hara and Wayne’s Appeal

O’Hara believed that the audiences liked her and Wayne together because she was big and strong enough to handle Wayne.  Most of Wayne’s leading ladies would cower in front of him.  O’Hara was feisty and gave as good as she got.  When there was a love scene between the two, it would appear that Wayne had conquered her, if only for an instant.

O’Hara and Wayne only made two more movies together, McLintock and The Wings of Eagles.  All the while, the two became best friends.  When asked about O’Hara later in his life, Wayne said, “There’s only one woman who has been my friend over the years, and by that I mean a real friend, like a man would be.  That woman is Maureen O’Hara.  She’s big, lusty, absolutely marvelous—definitely my kind of woman.  She’s a great guy.  I’ve had many friends, and I prefer the company of men.  Except for Maureen O’Hara.”  Despite the appearance the two were never lovers.

O’Hara Speaks Before Congress about Her Friend, John Wayne

Shortly before his death, O’Hara flew to California to visit Wayne.  They talked for hours and Wayne insisted she stay overnight in a room next to his.  That night they talked until Wayne fell asleep.
O’Hara flew to Washington to speak before Congress regarding a Congressional Gold Medal for Wayne.  She initiated a petition for the medal and this is what she had to say, “It is my great honor to be here.  I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the president to strike it.  And I feel the medal should say just one thing, ‘John Wayne, American.’”  The vote to approve the medal was unanimous.  Wayne watched the proceedings from his hospital room.

O’Hara flew back to her home in the Virgin Islands.  A few nights later she was sitting in her living room when she felt a sense of gloom envelope her.  She knew in her heart that Wayne had died and within an hour she received a phone call telling her he was gone.

Reference:

O’Hara, Maureen and Nicolletti, John. ‘Tis Herself, A Memoir.  New York, N.Y. Simon & Schuster, 2004.