John Wayne’s second wife ‘almost shot him’ before split after furious affair accusation
JOHN WAYNE's second wife reportedly attempted to shoot the actor amid claims of infidelity.
John Wayne rose to prominence as an American actor and filmmaker who became a popular icon through his starring roles during the “Hollywood Golden Age”. The three-time married actor is especially known for his appearances in Western and war films, his career having flourished from the silent era of the 1920s through the American New Wave that began in the mid-Sixties.
In total, Wayne — whose real name was Marion Robert Morrison — starred in 179 film and television productions.
In the legend’s real life, the actor had a tumultuous love life, most notably with his second wife Esperanza Baur, who assumed he had been having an extramarital affair.
Esperanza was a former Mexican actress and the second of John’s three marriages, who had believed her husband was seeing actress Gail Russell.
Both actors denied having an affair despite the accusation.
John Wayne’s second wife ‘almost shot him’ amid affair claim (Image: GETTY)
John Wayne and Gail Russell starred in Angel and the Badman (Image: GETTY)
John and Gail filmed the 1946 film, Angel and the Badman, where the pair were involved in love scenes during the movie.
The actor’s other half was unimpressed and later accused the actor of having an affair.
According to the Outsider, following a wrap party for the film, John arrived back at his estate late.
But an allegedly intoxicated Esperanza had waited to catch her husband.
John Wayne and his second wife Esperanza Baur split in 1954 (Image: GETTY)
John Wayne married three times and died in 1979 (Image: GETTY)
As the actor walked through the door, she attempted to shoot him.
Despite the drama, the couple remarkably stayed married for almost seven more years before they eventually divorced.
The Hollywood actor tied the knot with Esperanza in 1946 but the couple called it quits with a high-profile divorce in 1954.
John was first married to his wife Josephine Wayne after the pair tied the knot in 1933 but they called it quits 12 years later.
The same year that Wayne divorced his second wife, he wed Pilar Pallete.
The couple stayed married until the actor’s death from cancer in 1979.
John later confessed to his struggles to live up to his squeaky clean public image.
“The guy you see on the screen isn’t really me. I’m Duke Morrison, and I never was and never will be a film personality like John Wayne,” he commented. “I know him well. I’m one of his closest students. I have to be. I made a living out of him.”
