No, I didnt have the pleasure of knowing John Wayne OR Lauren Becall personally, and neither did you. I only know people that knew and worked with him.
I trust what THEY say about his health at the time, and what the family has confirmed and commented about many times. John Wayne HATED secrets, and even when his publicist released phony press releases about his FIRST bout with cancer in 1964/65, he allowed columnist James Bacon to interview him about it because he felt the fans deserved to know the truth.
From then on, he never allowed anyone in his "camp" to hide the truth about his health from the public. This was borne out again and again with what he went through.
It would have been a very interesting side-story to the plot of the film if JW HAD been afflicted with cancer at this point (late '75-early '76), and even more intriguing if he was AWARE of this being his last film due to illness, but neither was the case.
Having a lung removed seriously compromised his ability to breathe, especially at very high altitudes, but he STILL made moves from 1965 to 1975/76. This was the only major issue affecting his work and life, but he also had a wrecked shoulder from falling off his horse (due to an error by the handler that saddled it too loosely) during shooting for "The Undefeated."
As late as mid-1978, he was trying to get a script he had commissioned into "shooting shape," and was trying to line up the casting for it. The film was called Beau Jean (or John), and he had contacted Ron Howard about playing the second lead in it. This is straight from Ron Howard's own mouth, and no, I'm not personally aquainted with him, either.
He had heart trouble in early '78, and doctors put in a valve from a pig in his chest. He joked about this a lot.
As for most cancer patients during those years (as my mother was), JW was examined in regular intervals to determine any recurrence of cancer cells. The prevailing wisdom (then and now) was that 5 years cancer-free was a very good milestone to achieve. JW had more than 13 "clean" when they discovered the cancer in his stomach (Sept '78) that would claim his life.
It was not considered terminal at first, but due to his already damaged heart and lungs, the cancer spread very rapidly. Much faster than they could've anticipated. They removed his stomach right after his appearance at the Oscars, but it was too little, too late.
I already said that I'm NOT upset with Lauren Becall, and her statement doesn't change my opinion of her at all. People make mistakes, and that's what went on here.
I don't act...I react. John Wayne
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