I’m anxious to see the answers to this.
Personal I vote for Duane “The Rock” Johnson! He’s not known as a fighter, but the dude is a beast!
sorry. nm.
Well as long as nobody is sticking with the OP and just throwing anyone’s name out there the clear victor would be Fedor Emilianenko:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro3n4rnDv40
You have to scroll halfway thru to see the fighting but he would have in his prime, mopped the floor with anyone you can think of, and I would include Muhammad Ali if it’s mma rules, straight boxing who knows?
@leftfield. No puppy stolen and I actually liked Wayne’s westerns. But you have to remember, he was only a make believe Hollywood created tough guy. Just like the reporter said in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “When legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
John Wayne pretended to be a tough guy.
Chuck Norris pretended to be an actor.
I have to go with the Duke, because as the much bigger star, he would have more say over the script.
@johnpost. Wayne was the one that couldn’t act. Think about it, he was the same character in every movie he did. Finally after practicing that role for almost 60 years it won him an Oscar. He was not a versatile actor, he was a movie star and there’s a huge difference between the two. He excelled in movies during WWII when most of his competition was absent fighting a war.
David Niven wasn’t, he just made up a lot of stories to impress his students.
@Peter Morris. You are correct.
In case anyone cares, by the time the question of John Wayne enlisting came up, he was in his mid thirties with 4 young children, which would have put him to the bottom of the list in any case. Add to that the argument that the film studio made that he’d be more useful to the war effort making what were not far off propaganda films, and it’s no surprise he didn’t go.
You can argue he was a coward if you like, but no more so than millions of other people his age who were doing jobs that were considered important.
@Stepohan. Henry Fonda fought in the war and he was older than Wayne.
That didn’t stop James Stewart.
James Stewart found time to make a propaganda filmor two in between his military duties. Why couldn’t John Wayne have done both?
Those other millions of people didn’t make pro-draft propaganda in the Viet Nam era. John Wayne did, which is kind of hypocritical.
Yeah, probably either a boxer or a hockey player. I’ll also nominate Gary Roberts, aka “Scary Gary”. One of my favorite clips:
Roberts vs. Ben Eager. At the time that this took place, Roberts was 41, and Eager was 24.
(Dude is now 47 and a major fitness and nutrition freak. In fact, he works as a trainer to various athletes.)
And I’ll repeat that back in the day, Gordie Howe would’ve mopped the floor with Norris. This is a guy who once passed seven kidney stones at 9 in the morning…and then played a game at 4 that afternoon. The first time he went up against Maurice Richard (no lightweight himself!), he knocked the dude out cold in one punch.
He certainly could have done, my point is that Wayne was hardly unique in not serving. All it means is that he wasn’t a hero - just as most of us aren’t. Stewart undoubtedly was, and his humility about it makes him a greater one in my opinion. Also a better actor, not that that’s relevant.
Maybe, but again no more so than anyone else who’s never served but supports a particular war.
I did film work with Bill McKinney (RIP) who was in Wayne’s last movie. Bill stated if anyone mentioned to Wayne that they were only acting that Wayne would get mad and pout. Also lots of people don’t know this but Wayne collected dolls. If you don’t believe me look it up. It’s true. How about that for the great all American hero?
America could probably benefit from more heroes in touch with their feminine side. If that’s true, it will make no difference to my enjoyment of his films.
From the things I’ve read and heard about Wayne, he was a far more complex person than he appeared from his public persona, or for that matter from the opposing view of him as a boor and a bigot. Almost like he was a flawed human being, capable of good and bad, like all of us.
But mainly I just like westerns.
Hopi kachini dolls, not Barbie or anything like that.
Regards,
Shodan
Well, honestly I kind of figured that there was no real life puppy involved. 
And, at the same time, my curiosity still asks why you have resurrected this long dead thread to basically come in and shit on John Wayne? You’ve been a member for a few days now, and have 9 posts. Every one of them in this thread. Just seems a little odd.
The women I talk to say a doll is a doll no matter what type.
“So you were an artist, big deal, Elvis went to war when his country needed him, that’s why he’s The King and you’re a schmuck”