Any truth to Ted Cruz' story about John Wayne and Jesse Helms?

Factual Questions
1

On September 11, 2013 Ted Cruz recounted a story about how Jesse Helms received a campaign donation check from John Wayne. According to Cruz, Helms contacted Wayne to thank him and, as he (Cruz) tells the story, Wayne said to Helms,

Is there any truth to Cruz’s story about John Wayne and Jesse Helms and, if so, how much?

2

The factuality of the statement can still be addressed in the thread that was just moved to Great Debates. I don’t think we need an additional thread on the subject.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator