Why on earth would Joseph Stalin want John Wayne assassinated? After all, one was a ruthless soviet leader, while the other was a tough as old boots actor. As first appearances would have it, there is no reason at all why Stalin would want John Wayne assassinated. But below the exterior surface of Wayne’s actor persona lurked a passion that was at odds with the soviet leaders beliefs.
Although Stalin was a huge fan of John Wayne, it was Wayne’s political motives that put him in the cross hairs of the USSR. The reason for this action by the leader of the USSR, Stalin, was because Wayne was an ardent anti-communist and devout conservative. Both political features that raised the ilk of the Russian leader. A conservative capitalist pig just wouldn’t fit in well with the world that Stalin desired. It’s that simple. He had to die.
But it wasn’t always that way. Although Wayne proudly voted, campaigned for and supported conservatives such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon, in his college years he was actually a socialist. It was in his adulthood that his world views changed, which can often happen with people. Not only can maturity bring about a change, but also changes in personal wealth, and social standing can bring about a massive influence to how you stand politically.
In 1944 John Wayne helped create the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, and in 1947 he went onto lead the movement. As a strong anti-communist he also joined the House Un-American Activities Committee. So it was no wonder that as one of the most recognizable and influential actors in Hollywood, and staunchly opposed to the soviet way of life, that Joseph Stalin wanted him dead.
Clearly Joseph Stalin’s planned assassination of John Wayne never happened. Wayne passed away in 1979, not from an assassin, but from stomach cancer.
