By Lee Pfeiffer
It was January 1972 when my friend Alan and braved bitterly cold winds to stand on a seemingly endless line at Radio City Music Hall for what felt like an eternity. What would cause two 15 year-old kids to suffer this test of endurance? A chance to see our idol, John Wayne in the flesh. The Duke was making a rare New York personal appearance on stage with director Mark Rydell to promote the opening of The Cowboys. They were to introduce kids who had won a national contest to attend the screening and have lunch with The Duke. The Big Apple was not Wayne Country. While Duke's films cleaned up at box-offices around America, this bastion of east coast liberalism was generally immune from his appeal. Thus, the opportunity to see Wayne in person was too good for local fans to resist. From the looks of the crowd, every Wayne fan in the region must have shown up. When we finally made our way into the cavernous theater, the Duke strode on-stage, dressed nattily in a blue blazer and tie. I remember being amused when he put on eyeglasses to read some introductions. It seemed to be an unintentional replication of the scene from Big Jake where his character did the same thing, much to the amazement of his character's ex-wife, who is a bit shocked to see the imposing man had human frailties.I recall Wayne introducing the young kids who had been fortunate enough to win the contest. Then the film unspooled and I remember thinking this was one of Wayne's finest achievements (an opinion I still hold).