How did a legendary Western star end up in "Star Wars" without ever trying to get a role?
Let's find out how John Wayne got a secret cameo in the sci-fi classic.
It's always fascinating when two titans of the entertainment industry cross paths, especially
when it happens in a wildly unusual way.
Just such a thing happened in 1977, when the legendary John Wayne had an unexpected cameo
in "Star Wars."
Not only that, his role — in an odd way — was significant, despite his character's
lack of screen time.
And that's especially amazing considering this kind of happened by accident, without
Wayne actually signing up for the role in question.
So let's dive into how this happened, and why, for a few reasons, it was a significant
contribution to both a galaxy far, far away, and Wayne's illustrious career.
Ben Burtt is a legendary sound designer who worked on both the original "Star Wars" trilogy
and the prequels.
He has been a huge part of shaping the "Star Wars" universe as we know it for decades.
During an appearance at the fourth Star Wars Celebration some years back, as noted by the
official Star Wars blog, Burtt revealed an interesting tidbit about the creation of the
character Garindan, who appears briefly in "A New Hope."
As it happens, while he was trying to come up with the way the character sounded, Burtt
accidentally used some words from The Duke to get the effect.
Burtt explained that, according to the notes he'd made from his work on "A New Hope" back
in the 1970s, the sound of Garindan's voice was actually a buzzing sound from his synthesizer
which had been, quote, "triggered by a human voice."
When Burtt checked his archival tapes, he discovered that he'd been using throwaway
tapes of unused dialogue from Twentieth Century Fox, and that the voice that triggered the
sound was none other than John Wayne.
"I guess they'll let ya in the front door from now on."
Yes, amazingly enough, discarded audio of one of the biggest actors in Hollywood history
provided the sound for a character in one of the biggest movies of all time.
You can't make that stuff up.
What's even more miraculous is that Burtt didn't even seem to recognize this until years
later when going back over the tapes.
"He was lucky that day, all right, my shootin' was off."
Garindan, the character whose voice came from John Wayne, shows up at an important moment
relatively early on in "A New Hope."
Apparently an Imperial spy, he's the one who ultimately clues the Stormtroopers into the
whereabouts of R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Obi-Wan.
According to the official "Star Wars" website, the character was one of a network of spies
hired to search for the two missing droids on Tatooine, and just happened to be in town
when Luke and Obi-Wan showed up with them.
You can hear the character's famous voice in the film as he calls the Stormtroopers
to his location to cash in on what he's found.
So, even though Wayne never intended to voice a character in "Star Wars," and George Lucas
certainly didn't intend to have him be the voice of Garindan, that's just how it worked
out.
And it just so happened that the character had a crucial role to play, even if the screen
time was minimal.
But John Wayne's role in "Star Wars" isn't just significant because it was unlikely and
rather odd.
One of the most important things about this strange little cameo in "Star Wars" is that
it technically marked John Wayne's final movie role.
While his final on-screen part was in the 1976 western "The Shootist," the cinema legend
did have his little part to play in "Star Wars: A New Hope" in 1977, which was released
two years before Wayne's death.
Though he was uncredited in the film, it is an important part of his enormous legacy.
Wayne, of course, became famous for his Westerns dating back to the 1930s.
Over the course of a decades-long career, he became one of the most recognizable and
enduring American silver screen icons, with movies such as "Stagecoach," "The Searchers,"
and "True Grit" under his belt, among many, many others.
Wayne was nominated for three Oscars for his work, ultimately winning for his role in "True
Grit."
He remains one of those movie stars who's a household name even to people who don't
watch his films.
So, it is fitting that the man made his mark on one of the biggest franchises in cinema
history, even if it wasn't intentional.
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