A testament to his legendary stature as a Hollywood movie star, John Wayne often appeared as himself on TV.
According to IMDb, John Wayne was credited as “Self” on TV 106 times, only a few of which aired posthumously.
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In 1974, the actor made his final TV appearance two years before his passing. In “Maude Meets the Duke,” the Bea Arthur sitcom played host to the Hollywood star John Wayne in its Season 3 premiere. The episode played for humor John Wayne’s old Hollywood machismo against “Maude”’s ’70s feminist sensibilities.
In 1967, John Wayne introduced himself and played the straight man to “The Beverly Hillbillies”’ Granny for the final laugh line of “The Indians Are Coming” episode. John Wayne’s cameo can be watched at YouRememberThat.com.
John Wayne stepped in as the host on the TV playhouse series “The Dick Powell Show” in 1963. He introduced the play that would be performed during the program, “The Third Side of the Coin” and its players.
In “Lucy and John Wayne,” Hollywood’s most famous cowboy paid a visit to “The Lucy Show” to rescue Lucille Ball’s eponymous character from one of her own misadventures.
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John Wayne sometimes appeared on TV in an uncredited role or under the guise of his own given name or a variation of it. The most notable of these performances was a surprise turn as on an episode of the popular TV Western “Wagon Train” in 1960, according to TV Party.
Pairing with his longtime friends director John Ford and series star Ward Bond, John Wayne, credited as “Michael Morris,” voiced Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in shadow. His face couldn’t be seen but his voice was distinctly audible and recognizable.
John Wayne would return to the character of Sherman in the flesh two years later in the film “How the West Was Won.”
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