Brooklyn Boro

Dual milestones for The Duke

Art of the Silver Screen celebrates John Wayne

May 27, 2016 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A John Wayne painting by Andy Warhol was auctioned off at the event. Eagle photos by John Alexander
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On Thursday, May 26, Art of the Silver Screen in conjunction with the Searchers Club of New York celebrated John Wayne’s birthday. The event also marked the 60th anniversary of the release of Wayne’s classic John Ford Western “The Searchers.” The evening included a dinner and screening of the film with proceeds going to the John Wayne Cancer Institute, which is chaired by Patrick Wayne. The evening’s special guest was actress Lana Wood, an original member of the cast of “The Searchers.”

The event was hosted by Mike and Beth Connors, along with their son Mike Jr. Mike Connors is an attorney with Connors and Sullivan, PLLC, and hosts “Ask the Lawyer with Mike Connors.” Beth and Mike Jr. welcomed everyone and thanked the Searchers Club and Art of the Silver Screen for promoting the arts and education and helping to entertain, enlighten and encourage students to learn about cinema.

Members of the Boy Scouts of America were among the attendees. There were scouts and troop leaders in the audience from Bay Ridge’s Our Lady of Angels parish (OLA). Justin Rodstrom, field director for the scouts in Brooklyn, told the Brooklyn Eagle that the scouts’ mission was to introduce kids to all the richness of the arts, and he praised Mike and Beth Connors for their support for the scouts over the years.

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The dinner was followed by a moving video tribute to the John Wayne Cancer Institute, narrated by Wayne’s son Patrick. Dr. Gary Deutsch spoke on behalf of the institute, and praised it as “a small place that has accomplished great things.” He called it a family and thanked everyone for their support.

Patrick Falci, president of the Searchers Club, expressed his group’s desire to celebrate the John Ford masterpiece.  He explained that the film was recognized by the American Film Institute as the greatest Western movie ever made.

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese was scheduled to present the film, but was unable to attend due to family matters.  Original “Searchers” cast member Lana Wood did the honors of introducing the film by relating some priceless anecdotes about the movie. In the film, she plays the part of young Debbie at age 8, the niece of Wayne’s character Ethan Edwards.  Wood’s older sister, Natalie Wood, portrayed Debbie at 15.  

Wood explained that “The Searchers” is the first film she remembers working in, and how proud she is to be part of such a classic, acknowledging that that the experience helped shape her entire career and her life as an actress. Wood went on to enjoy success in both movies and television.  She played the part of Plenty O’Toole in the James Bond classic “Diamonds Are Forever” alongside Sean Connery, and starred in the popular TV series “Peyton Place.”  

Wood told the Eagle that when she went to meet Wayne and Ford after auditioning for the part, “Wayne looked me up and down, smiled and said, ‘yep, that’s it.’”

She recalled how kind Wayne was to her, but admitted that director Ford did not like her because he just didn’t like kids.  Wayne, however, immediately won her over by always giving her candy.


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