Sunday, May 17, 2020

Why I Left John Wayne! The High and the Mighty! Karen Sharpe Celebrates Duke on A Word on Wayne

Re-posted by Nicholas Stix



A Word on Westerns
45.7K subscribers

After appearing with John Wayne in the 1954 blockbuster, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY, Karen Sharpe won a Golden Globe as the Most Promising Female Newcomer. Duke put the young actress under contract at his Batjac production company, where she joined another newcomer, James Arness.

Karen’s audition for the role in THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY almost didn’t happen! In fact, she wasn’t even supposed to shown up and read for director William Wellman. What happened? In this exclusive interview, you’ll find out why she got the part and why she decided to break her Batjac contract with Wayne. What did Duke have to say about her departure? Recorded May 21, 2019





N.S.: Karen Sharpe is no spring chicken, and yet she’s full of energy, and sharp as a tack (as someone else noted).

When we hit the 2010s, I found that people of a certain age in show business and public affairs were all ten years older than I’d thought they’d be. I had misplaced ten years--but they hadn’t! That’s why I well understand Rob Word’s problem. There were so many people I’d wanted to interview, but who got away.



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