John Wayne’s Epic Drinking Challenge Led to the Most Surreal Encounter of His Career!

With his square jaw, tight-lipped smile, and rugged demeanor, John Wayne epitomized the fearless hero of Hollywood’s golden age. Known as The Duke, he was the favorite actor of directors Howard Hawks and John Ford, often portraying the daring cowboy committed to upholding the law.

“I played John Wayne in all my movies, and it worked out quite well for me,” said the actor from Rio Bravo, famously known for his staunch anti-communist stance. He was also elected four times as president of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, from March 1949 to June 1953, where he rubbed shoulders with Walt Disney. Established in 1944, the Alliance aimed to protect the film industry and the country from what its founders saw as fascist and communist infiltration.

A Desire to Visit Disneyland and Meet John Wayne

The Duke’s fame reached far beyond the borders of Uncle Sam’s country, known even in the Soviet Union. When Khrushchev toured the United States for six days in 1959—a first for a Soviet leader during the Cold War—he specifically requested to visit Disneyland and meet John Wayne.

This is detailed in an intriguing article published by the Los Angeles Times in 1999, which describes Khrushchev’s brief stay in Los Angeles, where he spent only 20 hours. The city’s mayor, Norris Poulson, provided minimal welcome, wary of being perceived as sympathetic to communism by hosting the Soviet leader.

Much to Khrushchev’s irritation, he was informed that unfortunately, there wouldn’t be enough time to visit Mickey Mouse. However, other arrangements might be possible… Shortly after his arrival on September 19, 1959, Khrushchev was also frustrated by a luncheon thrown in his honor that cost a whopping $45,000 and included 300 movie stars, and a planned visit to the set of the film Cancan, organized by Fox head Spyros Skouras.

While Edward G. Robinson, cigar in mouth, wondered if the luncheon servers were Secret Service agents in disguise, Khrushchev made his way to John Wayne, who was also a guest, and took him by the arm to the bar.

“I hear you like a drink and hold your liquor well,” Khrushchev said to The Duke through an interpreter. “That’s right,” Wayne responded. The two then engaged in a spirited comparison of the virtues of vodka and Mexican tequila, exchanging shots.

“Three months later, Wayne roared with pleasure upon opening a box containing several cases of the finest Russian vodka, along with a note: “Duke, Merry Christmas. Nikita.” Wayne reciprocated by sending a few cases of Sauza Conmemorativo tequila with the note: “Nikita. Thanks. Duke.”

“When Stalin died, I canceled the order”

This surreal encounter comes into context when considering that Khrushchev’s predecessor, Joseph Stalin, had seriously orchestrated an assassination attempt on The Duke years earlier. Viewing the actor as a potential threat to the spread of the communist ideal, the dictator allegedly ordered his assassination after a movie screening.

Two hitmen, specifically Ukrainian expatriates, were dispatched to Los Angeles to carry out the deed in Wayne’s dressing room at the Warner studios, but failed in their mission.

There were two assassination attempts; the second was supposed to occur during the filming of the western Hondo in Mexico in 1953. Interestingly, it was also in Mexico where Leon Trotsky, a former leader of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, was assassinated in 1940 by an NKVD agent sent by Stalin…

British author and historian Michael Munn discusses this affair in his book John Wayne: the Man Behind the Myth. The FBI reportedly thwarted these assassination attempts just in time. Khrushchev, the new General Secretary of the Communist Party and Stalin’s successor, canceled this assassination order in 1953, upon the dictator’s death.

Khrushchev admired John Wayne, and the actor learned of these assassination attempts from the Kremlin leader himself during their meeting: “It was a decision by Stalin during his last five years of madness. When Stalin died, I canceled the order.”