Many people enjoy a classic American Western, even Joseph Stalin. The Soviet leader was a fan of the genre but reportedly didn’t care much for its biggest star, John Wayne. Rumor has it that the actor’s anti-Communist views provoked Stalin to put a hit out on him. But is this story fact or a fabrication tied to one of Hollywood’s most famous figures?
In the late 1940s, many countries feared the global spread of Communism. This included the United States, where it was feared people were secretly supportive of the USSR and its Communist regime. John Wayne was vocal about his dislike of Communism, a rarity in Hollywood, as many in the entertainment industry had secret ties or sympathies.
Stalin learned of Wayne’s popularity from Soviet filmmaker Sergei Gerasimov, who’d attended a peace conference in New York City in 1949. He worried Wayne’s prominence would pose a real threat to his mission, and it’s alleged he ordered to have the actor assassinated by the KGB.
According to Michael Munn, film historian and author of John Wayne – The Man Behind The Myth, Wayne caught wind of the assassination plot, which was set to occur at his Hollywood office. When the two hitmen arrived, they were met by hidden FBI agents, who handed the pair over to Wayne and scriptwriter Jimmy Grant.
It’s alleged the pair took them to the beach and staged a mock execution, after which they told the FBI to send them back to the USSR. The pair, fearing retribution back home, pleaded to remain in the US and became FBI informants.
There were other incidents, as well. Munn alleges additional KGB agents were sent to the set of Hondo to take out Wayne following his appearance in the anti-Communist movie Big Jim McClain, while a sniper captured in Vietnam claimed to have been hired by Chinese Chairman Mao to kill Wayne while he was visiting troops in 1966.
Through it all, Wayne is said to have declined any protection from the FBI, opting instead to move into a house with a large wall surrounding it. He also had Hollywood stuntmen infiltrate communist cells to expose any plots against him. This is alleged to have revealed a potential plot in 1955.
Following Stalin’s death in 1953, his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, reached out to Wayne to issue an apology and inform him the order for his death had been rescinded.
The question arises: where did Munn get this information, given that Wayne never discussed the assassination attempts publicly? Munn claims that actor and director Orson Welles shared it with him at a dinner party in 1983. According to Welles, he had heard the story from prominent Russian filmmaker Sergei Bondachuk, who had it confirmed by Gerasimov and fellow filmmaker Alexei Kapler.
He also claimed Wayne personally told him that stuntman Yakima Cannutt “saved his life once,” likely in the early 1950s, and that Cannutt himself said the FBI confronted Wayne upon learning about the plot. “He said the FBI had come to tell John about the plot,” said Munn. “John told the FBI to let the men show up and he would deal with them.”
Many doubt that Stalin ever sent KGB agents to assassinate Wayne, pointing to several inconsistencies in the accounts. They highlight that Wayne’s claim of communist cells in the US plotting his murder came two years after Stalin’s death, making it unlikely. Additionally, they question the plausibility of federal agents handing the supposed assassins over to Wayne, especially for a mock execution, seeing this as reminiscent of a classic Russian trope.
Moreover, Wayne’s FBI file contains no mention of any assassination attempts. If the federal government had been aware of such a plot, there would likely be documentation. However, those with access to Wayne’s file confirm that no such information exists, nor is there any indication that files have been redacted.
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We might never know if these claims are truthful, but one thing is certain: they work to strengthen the public image Wayne created for himself.
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