John Wayne hawks Datril 500, Bristol-Myers’ miracle headache remedy

Where have all the cowboys gone? Having endured open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve followed by a nasty bout with hepatitis earlier that year, a trim 71-year-old John Wayne is feo, fuerte, y formal while shooting a Great Western Savings and Loan Association commercial along the California coastline circa August 25, 1978. Photography by David Sutton / John Wayne Enterprises

After The Shootist was distributed in August 1976 to glowing critical reviews but disappointing rentals — nobody wanted to see American icon John Wayne battle incurable prostate cancer onscreen — the Duke was at a crossroads. Traditional westerns were going out of fashion besides Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales and maybe Charles Bronson’s The White Buffalo.

Retirement was a sinful proposition for a man who abhorred most hobbies except sailing aboard the 136-foot World War II minesweeper converted yacht christened the Wild Goose, became anxious if friends were not nearby, and prided himself on being the first one to arrive on set. The Duke’s finances were precarious after an unscrupulous business manager and later son-in-law cheated him of untold millions. He could also be an easy mark for get-rich quick investment schemes and found it difficult to turn down fans who wrote to him requesting money to combat supposed ailments.

And most importantly, his health was declining. The removal of the entire upper lobe of his left lung and two ribs in 1964 had kept cancer in remission, but bronchial infections were tough to shake. For the first time in his 50-year career the Duke delayed a production and spent two weeks recuperating from the flu and an earache while frequent Eastwood collaborator Don Siegel…