As he continues his media tour promoting When The Legend Became Fact - The True Life of John Wayne, author Richard Douglas Jensen has encountered strong audience reactions to the book -- and most of it has been positive.
"Talk radio audiences are not timid when it comes to expressing their opinions," Jensen said. "We knew that people across the world have very strong opinions about John Wayne. Most of this is due to his strong Republican politics, which came to define him in his later years. So, when I started appearing on talk radio shows, I thought I'd get some hostility. It hasn't really happened."
Jensen said callers to radio shows have been overwhelmingly positive. "They're intrigued. They find out that the book is heavily footnoted and sourced and that it's a serious biography that peels away all of the public relations gloss and they are deeply interested in what the book has to say."
Some callers are skeptical, Jensen said, and some are upset because of the rumor fostered by some John Wayne fans with blogs that Jensen accuses Wayne of being a closeted homosexual.
"When they find out that in the book I explain that I could find no evidence of homosexuality and that I argue specifically that Wayne was not a homosexual, then they calm down and listen to the facts," Jensen said. "I explain the root causes of John Wayne's emotional issues was his mother's abuse of him as a child and the early death of his father. These caused tremendous emotional upheaval in his life and impacted his definition of masculinity. Wayne had trouble relating to women his entire life. His abuse as a child scarred him so deeply that he was an alcoholic from the time he entered college until his death."
Jensen concludes a week-long series of talk radio appearances in Florida Friday. He then travels to New Mexico.
