I just finished watching "The Quiet Man", with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. In the movie, O'Hara plays the sister of Victor McLaglen. The movie presented a few good Trivia questions to ask here.
What real life siblings had important roles in the movie?
What is Victor McLaglen's unique claim to cinematic fame? (The answer to this one is also the answer to the question, "What is Victor McLaglen's unique claim to Sports fame?)
Another of the actors also has a unique cinematic claim to fame, one that will certainly never be equaled. Who is it, and what is unique claim to fame?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
Posts: 16956 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Close enough, Bob. He fought Jack Johnson in an exhibition in Canada while Johnson was Champion, in 1909. He is the only man to have a legitimate exhibition (rather than a publicity stunt) with a Heavyweight Champion* and also win a Best Actor Oscar (The Informer, 1935). In "The Quiet Man", he was in his mid 60s and in poor health. (He still was nominated for Best Supporting actor.) If you ever see a big guy in a John Wayne movie, and he is KOing a bunch of other guys, it's probably McLaglen. He played Sgt. Quincannon in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and in "Rio Grande". (In a stretch, he played Sgt. Festus Mulcahy in "Fort Apache", and in "Gunga Din (1939), he was Sgt. 'Mac' MacChesney.) Compare his size to Wayne's in any of the movies (McLaglen fought at 175 lbs.), and watch how he fights. You can tell he was a boxer.
Recalling his early years when speaking of his life, McLaglen said, "Acting never appealed to me, and I was dabbling in it solely as a means of making money. I rather felt that the grease paint business was somewhat beneath a man who was once a reasonably useful boxer."
*He may have also fought Jess Willard under another name. This 4 round exhibition took place in 1911, before Willard was Champion.
Posts: 16956 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
