John Wayne and Harry Carey, Jr. worked together on several Westerns. Carey will be part of a special celebrity panel next Friday devoted to a ?Company of Heroes,? folks who worked closely with The Duke during his career. Photo courtesy Inyo FilmCommission

Register Staff

9-25-2007

Mention Westerns and no doubt one iconic figure will come to mind over other actors who helped popularize the genre.

Indeed, the man born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907 acted in more than 50 of the most noteworthy Western films to ever grace the silver screen, making him perhaps the performer most easily identified with Hollywood’s representation of the Old West.
It’s only fitting then, that in 2007 – in commemoration of John Wayne’s centennial – that the Lone Pine Film Festival will devote a portion of its celebration of local cinema to the Duke and his work.
Specifically, the LPFF has arranged for a special panel of guest celebrities to gather in the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History to share stories of working with Wayne while on location in Lone Pine.
The panel is called “Company of Heroes,” and will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. Seating in the museum will be limited to 100.  According to LPFF organizers, the panel was not announced in the festival brochure this year, so anyone acting fast may still have a chance to get in on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Harry Carey, Jr., who began his illustrious Western career with Wayne in the John Ford-directed film “3 Godfathers,” promises to be on hand. “Dobie, as he has been nicknamed, also worked with the Duke in “The Searchers” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.”
Wayne’s personal costumier, Luster Bayless, will also be in Lone Pine and will add his stories to the discussion. Some of the Wayne films he worked on include “The Shootist,” “Rooster Cockburn,” “McQ,” “Big Jake” and “True Grit.” The latter film was partly filmed in the Mammoth area and Wayne’s work on the project won him the Best Actor Oscar.

Ed Faulkner, who worked in Lone Pine in “Have Gun, Will Travel” episodes, worked with Wayne frequently. His Wayne films include “Rio Lobo,” “Chisum,” “The Green Berets” and “McLintock.”
Gregg Palmer, rounding out the panel, has a filmography that reads like another list of the Duke’s films. Palmer was in “The Shootist,” “Big Jake,” “Rio Lobo” and “Chisum.” Palmer also worked multiple times with another Lone Pine favorite, Audie Murphy.
The Friday special panel, another in the museum series called, “In conversation with …,” will be followed that evening with a screening in the Wild West Theatre of “3 Godfathers,” included in the price of the ticket.
The hallmark film on Saturday night in the High School Auditorium will also be a classic Wayne movie, “Tycoon.”
Tickets are $25 and seating is very limited.
Call the Lone Pine Festival Office at (760) 876-9103 or e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to order tickets or for additional information.