Henrik says on 18/Jan/12
I'd be careful about calling others "idiots" when claiming a peak Eastwood to have been 6'1" (!). John Wayne was listed 6'3" in high scool medical records, and 6'4" in college records. At least my school nurse put down what she got from the stadiometer in my records.

As for Clint, here he is appearing with 6'1"-6'2" (listed 6'1.5") Paul Benjamin: Click Here

? says on 15/Jan/12
Yall are a bunch of idiots John wayne was 6'2, clint 6'1, lee van was 6 to 6'1 John wayne once stated that he was 6'2 when he offered his friend to join a cowboy show who was 6'6 i believe it was gunsmoke. I myself would murder sombody if it would make me 6'2 or 6'5 im only 6 feet so i know peoples height by addiction

maio says on 9/Jan/12
6 ft 4 in/193 cm is the right one

Carl says on 6/Jan/12
6ft 4ins, it's stated in his football college records....!

Billy says on 5/Jan/12
6-3.5 was his height and he often wore lifts to make him look even taller than that. People saying below 6-3 or above 6-4 are talking utter nonsense and have not done any thorough research.
As Wayne himself said 'They're just spitting words out, to see where they splatter!'

adam 2 says on 25/Dec/11
No taller than Randy Scott. John Wayne: The Politics Of A Celebrity states six foot three.

Mike says on 20/Dec/11
anyone use height comparisons from movies is dreaming. You can't know what kind of image they wanted to portray. Doorways might not be the normal size. Remember in Blue Lagoon, Brooke Shields walked in trenches any time she was near the male lead who was several inches shorter. But he always looked taller. Official record is at least 6'4". But really, what does it matter. The Duke was great.

Carl says on 1/Dec/11
6ft 4.5ins is simply the truth!

Henrik says on 23/Nov/11
There's not much of a chance that Wayne was ever 6'4.5". He was 6'4" flat AT MOST.

brunobrowne says on 22/Nov/11
TRIPLEHHH says on 22/Nov/11
brunobrowne your living in the land of OZ. Rock H. was 6'5. Wayne was at least 6'3 barefoot.

I'm taking the P out of Ivor, Look at what I said in the last paragraph, at least 6 inches taller than Ron Howard and Wayne was barefoot.

Peak height Wayne = 6' 4.5''
Hudson= 6' 5''

TRIPLEHHH says on 22/Nov/11
brunobrowne your living in the land of OZ. Rock H. was 6'5. Wayne was at least 6'3 barefoot.

brunobrowne says on 21/Nov/11
ivor llewellyn-jones says on 21/Nov/11
Many people refer to John Wayne as being 6ft 4" this is incorrect. In the film "The man who shot Liberty Valence" he stands an inch shorter than James Stewart, who is 6ft 3". In the film "The defeated" he stands 2 inches shorter than Rock Hudson, who is 6ft 4". So J.W. is in fact 6ft 2". Which is still tall. He was also known to wear 2" lifts in his shoes, to ensure he towered over tall actors. Why the preoccupation with height...he was great. Now 2 very tall actors were Clint Walker and James Arness who were both 6ft 7".No one was taller than them.

By your logic Wayne can only have been the bare 6'0''. Add 2'' lift Wayne 1 inch shorter than JS.

1 thing is for sure Ivor, Wayne stood over 6'' taller than Ron Howard in his final film 'The Shootist'. He was barefoot while Howard (5'9'') was wearing boots in a full body shot (very important) of both. This means Wayne was 6'4'' at 68 years of age. No lifts in the feet

Mike says on 21/Nov/11
Hudson was 6'5. He towered over 6'2 Peter Breck in an ep of McMillon and Wife. Breck, himself, told me he was 6'2, many years back.

Henrik says on 21/Nov/11
I thought Wayne looked 6'3" in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He and 6'1.5" (?) Lee Marvin looked to be pretty eye to eye, Wayne being a hair taller without Marvin's camera angle advantage.

ivor llewellyn-jones says on 21/Nov/11
Many people refer to John Wayne as being 6ft 4" this is incorrect. In the film "The man who shot Liberty Valence" he stands an inch shorter than James Stewart, who is 6ft 3". In the film "The defeated" he stands 2 inches shorter than Rock Hudson, who is 6ft 4". So J.W. is in fact 6ft 2". Which is still tall. He was also known to wear 2" lifts in his shoes, to ensure he towered over tall actors. Why the preoccupation with height...he was great. Now 2 very tall actors were Clint Walker and James Arness who were both 6ft 7".No one was taller than them.

Shaun says on 12/Nov/11
JOdie Gelker says on 5/Nov/11
What a bunch of dopes....the Duke was 6'4" and try to remember that the film industry is NOT REALITY.
Richard Widmark and many other smaller actors had "help" In the old days in Hollywood many times there were trenches dug to assure movement of the taller actor with shorties. Meg Ryan will not allow other blonds in a scene for years....so she sparkled (as if she didn't just being herself. I was skiing with twin sons -age 9 at the time_ in Aspen in late 90's...the Governador happened to be skiing down at the same time. I am 5'9" and in ski boots and skis he wasn't a whole lot taller than me. I was shocked! POINT?! FILM IS DECEIVING. ++++ why do people think minimizing our heros makes them larger? Sad!

Exactly, and it would be rare for a star in Hollywood to claim their exact barefoot messurement, especially for an actor who made a living which thrived on his man mountain image. If he was 6 ft 4 barefeet it was morning height I agree with Henrik.

JOdie Gelker says on 5/Nov/11
What a bunch of dopes....the Duke was 6'4" and try to remember that the film industry is NOT REALITY.
Richard Widmark and many other smaller actors had "help" In the old days in Hollywood many times there were trenches dug to assure movement of the taller actor with shorties. Meg Ryan will not allow other blonds in a scene for years....so she sparkled (as if she didn't just being herself. I was skiing with twin sons -age 9 at the time_ in Aspen in late 90's...the Governador happened to be skiing down at the same time. I am 5'9" and in ski boots and skis he wasn't a whole lot taller than me. I was shocked! POINT?! FILM IS DECEIVING. ++++ why do people think minimizing our heros makes them larger? Sad!

Henrik says on 23/Oct/11
6'4" in the morning.
6'3"-6'3.5" in the afternoon/evening.

marcus says on 21/Oct/11
I just saw two pictures with Wayne and Cooper together. The one w/Wayne wearing the cowboy hat. The other looks like Cooper visiting Wayne on a movie set where Wayne is wearing a naval uniform. Cooper was clearly looked taller I know Wayne was definitely 6'4" I am inclined to believe Cooper was taller than 6'3" We are taught in school that Lincoln was 6'4 and Washington was 6'3" but both their heights recorded after death were 6'3 3/4" Some tall people prefer to down play how tall they are. Perhaps this was the case with Cooper.

Shaun says on 17/Oct/11
Darryle Knowles (Aus) says on 13/Oct/11
6'4" my arse. 6'1" at most. In The Alamo standing next to Richard Widmark (Jim Bowie) it is clear he is no more than 3" taller. Shoulder to shoulder - eye to eye. Certainly not 6". Richard Widmark was 5'10" But whatever his height - a terrific actor deserving higher than 13th All Time Film Legends.

Well he could look 6'2" at times. Legit 6'6" Alan Napier had four inches on him in Big Jim McLean and he did not look anywhere nearer a legit 6'4" in The Big Trail. But in an awful amount of movies including his barefoot scenes with that 5;9,5" in shoes guy he certainly looked 6'4" range. I think he had two inches on Marvin though who was not under 6'1.5".

Gonzalo says on 17/Oct/11
Gary Cooper towering over Jean Marais

Click Here

Henrik says on 17/Oct/11
Patrick:

Yes, Americans used to be taller than many European countries. But weren't the older American average heights shorter than modern American average height as well? I read that it was 5'8" in 1960, 5'10" today.

shaky38 says on 16/Oct/11
duke says 6ft 4.5 in the quiet man?? steal and iron michaelen steal and iron!!!!!

Patrick says on 13/Oct/11
I agree with Henrik except with "the average height in fact was lower than today".
Today's average includes people who were so few at the time that they didn’t change a lot the stats.
Caucasian Americans and most of Black people used to be very tall and at least as they are today while Europeans were much shorter, even those who today are tall as Dutch.
Germans were way taller than French or Italian and even more than Spanish.
When you take news films or pictures of the 30ies or 40ies, people look anything but short.
When a French actor like Charles Boyer who was about 5’9 comes to America in the late 30ies, he has to wear huge lifts – it was not a secret – not to look as short as actors - but them known as being short - as James Cagney or E.G Robinson.
Politicians, journalists, gangsters or any celebrity of those “old times” weren’t short.
In France 6’4 Charles De Gaulle looked as a giant, I mean a giant, next to all the other people around him.
Howard Hughes did not even though looking “taller” than many others. The same with Lindbergh who dwarfs everybody when arriving in Paris in 1927!
I remember the first time I saw our star Jean Marais, a tall actor in France and really taller than any other one, just beside Gary Cooper…I just had lost for a while, any feeling of adoration for him; he looked a midget!
As for John Wayne, he was not only tall at 6’4 but the hugest tall man ever if you take into consideration he was so naturally; no bodybuilding even like Clint Walter, a fantastic superman too!

Darryle Knowles (Aus) says on 13/Oct/11
6'4" my arse. 6'1" at most. In The Alamo standing next to Richard Widmark (Jim Bowie) it is clear he is no more than 3" taller. Shoulder to shoulder - eye to eye. Certainly not 6". Richard Widmark was 5'10" But whatever his height - a terrific actor deserving higher than 13th All Time Film Legends.

Henrik says on 8/Oct/11
It is interesting how Hollywood has changed its height ideal from time to time. I'm surprised at how tall the actors back in the day were, when the average height in fact was lower than today. John Wayne 6'4", Clint Eastwood 6'4", Gary Cooper 6'3", Rock Hudson 6'5" and Lee Van Cleef 6'2".

Nowadays, most Hollywood actors seem to be about average height, or even below average. It feels like actors 6'3" and over often get to be typecasted as the "monster characters", bouncers and "dumb henchmen" of the main villains, lol.

ted says on 19/Sep/11
His last driving licence still current when he died says 6'4" and 245 pounds. He was a BIG man.

john says on 18/Sep/11
In 1952 John Wayne played alongside Rober Ryan, who was 6'4",in Flying Leathernecks. When the two of them were facing each other in dialogue their was'nt a hairsbredth between the two actors heights.

Nails says on 10/Sep/11
In the movie McLintock he starred with his son Patrick. Patrick is listed as 6'-2". Marion was 56 years old and clearly stood two inches taller than his son on screen. Dis he were lifts? Was every scene doctored? Assumption is that he is clearly 6'-4" we do not get taller as we age, he was a big amn and comments that he was 6'-1" is ridiculous.

Warthog says on 4/Sep/11
This is somewhat off-topic, but about six months ago I thought it would be cool to get a John Wayne movie from Netflix. I don't recall now whether it was 'Rio Bravo' or another of his movies, but I was disappointed in the movie's 'veracity' in that the movie supposedly was set in the 1860's, perhaps after the Civil War, but the rifles used were 1893 Winchesters, which hadn't been invented at that time. A small thing, I suppose, but noticeable to the average gun nut.

On the original topic, who really gives a rat's a$$ whether John Wayne was 6'-3" or 6'-4 1/2"??? Whatever his height was he was a great actor!

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover says on 4/Sep/11
Somewhere between 6"3-6"4, like 192cm.

Carl says on 31/Aug/11
6ft 4.5ins Fact

Shaun says on 26/Aug/11
Did not look a hair about 6'2" in the Big Trail.

thebad7 says on 26/Aug/11
@AZ Mink: What a joke. This is even better than the nonsense posted on the Eastwood page. I've seen some pretty lame estimates for The Duke, but yours takes the cake for lunacy. 6'1" barefoot? Run along...

The Duke was a big, tall man and he remained so even towards the end of his life. And NO--I don't believe he ever wore lifts. The man stacked up evenly against legit 6'4" actors like Woody Strode and Robert Ryan. Furthermore, I just watched him most recently in 1962's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. He had about an inch on 6'3" Jimmy Stewart, and an inch plus change on 6'2" - 6'2 1/2" Lee Van Cleef. Even in sneakers or dress shoes, the Duke still towered over just about everybody. If anybody was truly larger than life, it was John Wayne.

tb7

Legend says on 25/Aug/11
I might believe AZmink if he had a picture. Even then, ground level can make someone appear much shorter or taller.

AZmink says on 24/Aug/11
We have a picture of John Wayne and my uncle together down in Mexico on a boat fishing in about 1965. He is not taller than 6'1" in his bare feet period. Toe to toe with my uncle.

TRIPLE HHH says on 22/Aug/11
adam 2 you again are a Clown. Wayne was 6'3 Barefoot.

adam 2 says on 20/Aug/11
Wayne looked very tall in his "own" films by which I mean Batjac production and John Ford films. In THE LONGEST DAY which was an all-star film and he was not in charge he looked about 6-2 because he didnt have a change to wear his lifts.

Mon says on 8/Aug/11
Certainly Wayne was far more solidly built than other actors of comparable height, but I think R. Mitchum takes first prize for being broad shouldered.

ALL I'm saying is that by the late sixties he had lost some height. I don't doubt he was 6'4'' in his prime.

Wayne can't have still have stood 6'4 in his sixties. It is just not credible.

Patrick says on 8/Aug/11
I just watched Reap the Wild Wind and as usual, and I would go so far as to say that especially in his “young” days, i.e. his forties, he towered everybody not only in height but in width! It seems that any other actor had “”shoulders next to him. No bodybuilding, no special training; just a “nature” and that’s it.
Let alone his phenomenal presence and the incredible goodness of his look which was his “trademark”.
Just a huge giant in this film, Harry Woods, is able to make him look a bit shorter and less broad shouldered than him!
Yet, tall actors as was Raymond Massey and even Ray Milland (they are not in this site!) seem shorter than Wayne and lightweights.As for cow boy boots…in westerns, even those who wore city costumes used to wear high heel boots at least in the movies. The reality could be different!
So, all the actors got the same “advantage” which as result, put them on equal footing.

guyfrommars says on 6/Aug/11
Of course he wore cowboy boots - because he acted in westerns... And chain-smoking lowers someone's voice. Wayne was a heavy smoker in his whole life.

Mon says on 5/Aug/11
Ryan looks to have a good inch in other scenes of that film (through Ryan may have been over 6'4'') I think the evidence suggests Wayne was no taller than 6'3'' & 1/2 by that time it is quite possible he was a full 6'4'' in his youth.



Cowboy boots have higher heels than other footwear. Virtually ALL actors lower their voices. ( except for Robert Mitchum who had to raise his)

Patrick says on 4/Aug/11
Mon says on 3/Aug/11: "Robert Ryan was at least 1/2 an inch taller in "Flying Leathernecks" the most telling scene shows them full length and outdoors standing together beside a tent." Wrong! He often looks – I mean “looks”, not “is” - shorter by an inch while I definitely think they were about the same height.
In that scene in particular, the ground is obviously uneven as in many movies, as it is in Liberty Valence but it seems that people love downgrade the ones being at the top.
I naively thought until now, it was a French idiosyncrasy but it turns out it’s not!
“Wayne's job was to play his image for all it was worth; he wore cowboy boots to look taller”.
That you minimize his size is a thing but that you “reduce” him as man is just mediocre and mean.
Who are you to say such kind of nasty comment? Because that implies you knew him very well personally which is untrue.
It is not here a question of “opinion”; opinion must is based on facts.
As for his voice…that borders on incredible stupidity! Now John Wayne has “high” voice, as if he were gay or sissy!
I wish I could meet all of those people having the courage of writing such things behind their keyboard and about dead celebrities!

Mon says on 3/Aug/11
His records suggest he was between 6'3 1/2 and 6'4'' in late teens. Saying he stood a full 6'4'' forty years later is really saying he was significantly taller that at one point. (Which is quite possibly true.)

Robert Ryan was at least 1/2 an inch taller in "Flying Leathernecks" the most telling scene shows them full length and outdoors standing together beside a tent.

Wayne's job was to play his image for all it was worth, he wore cowboy boots to look taller. In the early B-movies his voice is surprisingly high, someone obviously advised him to lower it.

Jack says on 3/Aug/11
medical records say 6-4, college records say 6-4, he himself says 6-4,
end of.

BlueSky says on 2/Aug/11
A quick question? Precisely how many opinions does it take to change the actual recorded height of a human being?

Patrick says on 2/Aug/11
thebad7, I agree with you and consider that Lee Van Cleef yet a strapping tall man, looked definitely way weaker than the Duke in Liberty Valence, fabulously intelligent and Fordian western.
As for Jimmy Stewart, apart from a couple of scenes, he looks and appears as such, one inch shorter than Wayne in the same movie.
I froze the picture a few days ago at multiple occasions and that no one tell me that Stewart stands taller! In front of the Tom Doniphon’s house – the gun-paint scene – the land is visibly very sloping.
John Wayne didn’t look anything but a mountain even beside a giant man as the late James -Matt Dillon- Arness.
The latter did not “tower” him but was simply taller as 6’è are related to 6’4!
3 inches, it’s not nothing! BTW, Wayne never, ever, even there, tries to look taller than he was. He is always swaying, lowering aside his head, his torso, bending a leg as in many movies, casually akimbo.

thebad7 says on 28/Jul/11
I had to laugh at some of the posters claiming The Duke being 6'2" or less. I hope they're kidding. Marion Morrison--a.k.a., John Wayne--was a big guy, as a young man and as an old man. 6'4" for his peak is spot on, and he didn't look to me like he lost height, even by his final film, 1976's THE SHOOTIST.

I always like to cite 1962's THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE whenever the issue of Duke's height arises. It's a film loaded with tall stars. A breakdown:

Jimmy Stewart: strong 6'3", weak 6'4".
John Wayne: approximately 6'4"
Lee Marvin: strong 6'1", weak 6'2".
Lee Van Cleef: 6'2" - 6'2 1/2".

In all instances, Wayne looked very close to Stewart in height, with a slight advantage to Wayne. Likewise, both Stewart and Wayne had a noticeable 1" and a bit of change on legit 6'2" Lee Van Cleef.

I don't think, by the end of his life, that Wayne was any shorter than 6'3 1/2" or at the most, 6'3".

tb7

adam 2 says on 26/Jul/11
There is a book about Wayne in which there is a quote.

"Wayne often gave an impression of great size but the endlessly reported figure of 6`4 is false. Wayne stood around six foot three."

Then later in the same book he is being described as a "beefy six foot three".

JD, I believe you.

JD says on 24/Jul/11
John Wayne has always been one of my favorite actors. But, I can tell you this fact. Just a few months before he passed away, I saw him in a grocery store in Los Angeles. Many people were buzzing about him being there. As I left the store, I passed by him no more than eight feet away, as he was speaking to another person with his very recognizable voice. It was undeniably him. I am 6'5" and he was obviously shorter than me; in fact, I was surprised at his height, which was considerably less than I expected. That is all that I can add that I can swear is true.

Boydie says on 21/Jul/11
Watch the movie "Big Jim McClain". James Arness at 6'7 towers over John Wayne.
Wayne was about 6 feet in real life. Watch him walk - then wear boots and add 3 inch lift. Then film yourself walking.

Sam says on 19/Jul/11
In the first scene of The Quiet Man he's asked his height and states "six foot four and a half"

Carl says on 15/Jul/11
John Wayne 'The Duke', given stated height was 6ft.4.5ins. FACT!

Carl says on 15/Jul/11
John Wayne 'The Duke', given stated height was 6ft.4.5ins. FACT!

Jack says on 15/Jul/11
I have no doubt that John Waynes stood 6-4 in his prime, their is far too much evidence to suggest otherwise, medical records , college records for example, later in life like many people he probably did lose some height,
in many films that Wayne appeared in he rarely stood straight, I have just watched the film Donovans reef where he towered over the 6-1 Lee Marvin,
and was wearing flat shoes,

Mr. Kaplan says on 14/Jul/11
Arness didn't have four inches on Hudson.

Carl says on 14/Jul/11
Allan 100% true; finally somebody with common sense and who strangely enough excepts 'FACTS'. Does everybody on this sight have to be so rude to one another in difference of opinion and what is very amusing to me most of the time is I strongely suspect that most people on here either wan't their celebraties to be giants and then if they are judged on their height and are not 12feet hight as they appear on the movie screen when we see them in the flesh, we automatically assume they must all be below average height. What I would love to see on this height is a debate with two people talking about their hero being taller than they expected. Everybody judges very harshly on this site which can get little bit too rude and border on insulting and bad behaviour. I suspect the real issues are not with the celebrity they are debating in height but their own low esteem, whatever the case may be, over the last four years of being an observe of comments here of this site I can truly and honestly say that there is no need to be rude and insult one another over a person they admire in the public domain. Let's stick with reality and decency and respect to one another, it costs nothing to demonstrate and show maturity whilst having a debate in a subject. Thankyou and I ask Rob the owner and editor of this site to post this comment without judgement perhaps on all forums. Carl B

Allan says on 12/Jul/11
The Duke - - 6'4"
Jim Arness - 6'8"
Rock Hudson - 6'4"

brunobrowne says on 12/Jul/11
Wayne stood in excess of 6'4'' peak, was one huge man 100% all American

TRIPLE HHH says on 11/Jul/11
Richard your a clown. Wayne did not wear lifts. There was only a 3 inch difference. I think Rock Hudson's walk made you crazy.

Mon says on 9/Jul/11
I think some are forgetting he was born in 1907. As any sane person would have to acknowledge, Wayne was a good 6'3 in late middle age. Hence the PEAK height must have been very close to 6'4, it's quite possible he was over 6'4'' in his youth.

Tony G. says on 9/Jul/11
Richard... are you trying to say that John Wayne was only 3 inches taller than 5'9" Ron Howard? Now that's funny!

Shaun says on 9/Jul/11
Richard says on 8/Jul/11
See the movie "Big Jim McLain" and you will see James Arness (6'7") towers over John Wayne. That tells me that John Wayne was about 6 feet tall. Since Wayne wore western cowboy boots which normally gives you 2 1/2 inches in height and with lifts he could get another 2 inches. Where do you think he got that famous John Wayne walk or gait? That much lift makes your gait/walk unstable and shakes your behind. Ask or watch any woman with pumps? Wayne's walk must have driven Rock Hudson crazy.


7 inches difference are you crazy? 3 inches max. However legit 6'6" Alan Napier did look about 4 inches taller than Wayne.

Richard says on 8/Jul/11
See the movie "Big Jim McLain" and you will see James Arness (6'7") towers over John Wayne. That tells me that John Wayne was about 6 feet tall. Since Wayne wore western cowboy boots which normally gives you 2 1/2 inches in height and with lifts he could get another 2 inches. Where do you think he got that famous John Wayne walk or gait? That much lift makes your gait/walk unstable and shakes your behind. Ask or watch any woman with pumps? Wayne's walk must have driven Rock Hudson crazy.

TRIPLE HHH says on 8/Jul/11
Watched Big Jim Mclain the other day. He was asked in the Movie how tall he was. He said 6'4. 6'6 Arness had Wayne by three inches which puts wayne at 6'3. Anything below 6'3 for Wayne is Laughable.

Patrick says on 7/Jul/11
Doreen,it's easy to claim anything even stupidities. Why not 6 inches or more!
where the heck did you ever dig that up? I already had the opportunity to say heere how quite impossible it is to know from outside whteher you wear lifts or not and even more to walk and run with such lifts. Proofs, evidence: here what we all need. This is a serious site; don't waste it.

Curtboy says on 7/Jul/11
His granddaughter is a friend of my family, he was 6'4

Kaye says on 7/Jul/11
Look at John Wayne sitting next to Jim Hutton in Hellfighters almost the same. I'm sure he didn't have lifts in his britches so that's the end of the height question. I'll watch anything with John Wayne in it!

Mr. Kaplan says on 5/Jul/11
Wayne liked acting alongside tall actors like him. That's why he requested Rock for the part.

Doreen says on 27/Jun/11
He wore 4 inch lifts in his shoes...

Carl B says on 26/Jun/11
The Duke 6ft4.5ins.

TRIPLE HHH says on 24/Jun/11
Arness 6'6 Hudson 6'5, Blocker 6'3, Wayne 6'3.

Carl B says on 24/Jun/11
The Duke was and always will be larger than life period! 6ft 4.5ins was the given fact! Too much evidence to dispute otherwise.

Billy G says on 22/Jun/11
John Wayne liked Hudson, getting him a job in "The Undefeated", helping him when he was down in his career.

Shaun says on 19/Jun/11
Hudson didn't like Wayne because he was the straightest man that ever lived LOL. I read somewhere Wayne teased him for being a nancy.. Hudson was 6'5", Wayne weak 6'4".

Tony1kenobe says on 17/Jun/11
In "Big Jim McLain" Veda Ann Borg asks Wayne how big he is. His reply was "6-4". This happens at about the 3:02 in this clip: Click Here Of course, he IS an actor and could be reading his lines, but I suspect he was stating a fact. It was more in his character.

Patrick says on 14/Jun/11
TonyG. yes and in the movie in question, he was very ill and not that young though actually still very "young". And BTW, 8 size is just ridiculous! I saw some of his shoes and boots a few years ago at WB studios...Not "big" but at least 11 as it seems in many pictures he appears in boat-shoes or so. In the Longest Day, his broken ankle shows a very strong calf, ankle and solidly thick foot but not an especially small one.

adam 2 says on 14/Jun/11
Duke Wayne was 6-3 260 pounds in the mid-sixties. He was a big fat, slow-moving man. Reminds me of Seagal in The Glimmer Man.

Mr. Kaplan says on 13/Jun/11
6'2" is five inches over average height.

Tony G. says on 11/Jun/11
Patrick, true it is hard to judge John Wayne's height when he was wearing shoes. But there are a few instances when he wasn't. That scene in "The Shootist," for instance.

Windmill, he was definitely taller than 6'2 1/2" and he wore size 11 shoes.

Patrick says on 10/Jun/11
You know what: I wear - as previously said here - lifts for medical reasons and nobody, I mean NOBODY knows it or even suspects it; I know that because everyone I talked about was surprised. I am 5’7 and looks much taller and that’s why I have to “justify” my relative shortness.
Why saying that? Because it is just IMPOSSIBLE to know whether someone is wearing lifts unless being Superman with his X ray-vision!
All the more so people like stars have the ways and means to use invisible lifts, which is definitely not my case and I am gaining about two inches as easy as pie.
So, could anyone tell me the hell could others know what the Duke was or not wearing?
If as a star, I were wearing lifts, either I wouldn’t care (why doing it then?) and I would have confessed it for long or, I wouldn’t give any way to anyone to guess I wear them!
How? Jut in not showing myself putting them in my boots which is very, very easy!
I don’t think Bob Mitchum, renowned joker if any, nor even Capucine – I never heard about that by the way – or Rock Hudson had ever invaded Wayne’s privacy to see what “he” wore inside his shoes!
Besides, J. Wayne’s body proportion do not show any loss of balance between his legs and his torso as for Steven Seagal for example.
Sorry Triple HHH but Rock Hudson didn’t like the Duke, he just LOVED him and that even more after having been – according to his own words – literally saved by him who chose and imposed him in The Undefeated.
I forget more about Wayne and notably accounts given by co-stars or people having met him whatever circumstances and I can affirm that.
If there is amongst those who are reading this page who could confirm what I say, I would appreciate.
Adam2, the pictures with Cooper are not decisive and in the Longest Day, he weirdly looks shorter than Steve Forrest – who looks even much taller than Tom Tryon a legit – for me – 6’3 and shorter than Wayne in turn (!!!) – only in the first scene.
After that, he looks as tall as R. Ryan and then taller than Forrest!
As used to say my friend Gonzalo “height is a mystery”!
Thanks a lot for your compliment Adam2; I am very touched.
One thing is sure: I never, ever lie by fundamental principle and though French, I just love Americans and America – the reason I watched the Longest Day as I do it every year the 6th of July!

Windmill says on 10/Jun/11
6' - 2 1/2 " But If You Notice Size 8 Shoes .

adam 2 says on 9/Jun/11
When did Mitchum say that? THEY were? Yeah right...

TRIPLE HHH says on 9/Jun/11
Adam: You are a clown. Robert Mitchum said they were joking about Wayne wearing lifts. And as for Hudson, he did not like Wayne. I think Wayne was a solid 6'3 in his socks. Hudson was 6'5.

adam2 says on 8/Jun/11
In the Cooper pics we can see their feet and judge their postures - Wayne doesnt look taller.

In Longest day Wayne looks 6-2. In Big Trail Wayne doesnt look 6-4.

I would also liked to remind the quotes of various people who claim Wayne wore lifts: Rock Hudson, Capucine and Robert Mitchum. It would be very interesting to know who claimed that first!

Theres also Michael Munns biography where Waynes height is stated as 6-3.

I remember that those quotes were slammed here. What for? They lied? I remember someone talking about Capucine being a mani depressive - I wonder what does that have to do with lifts! Maybe they were all in the same plot.

Granted, Wayne does look 6-4 in many many films. He was a big man and could pull of looking very tall and very large all by himself and exacerbated with Hollywood gigs.

Id like to remind folks, that one can look taller or shorter than ones frame via posture, build etc. Im again 6-2 and many people comment on my height, yet Im supposedly only 2-3 inches taller than an average fellow.


Patrick, I love reading your posts. Lot of info, lot of heart. Keep on posting.

Patrick says on 7/Jun/11
Adam2 : I know other pictures of the same kind and always with the great Gary. I cannot say anything else about them. He even looked a stall as the giant Clint Walker.
I have no more explanation than in the Longest Day for the first scene he appears in.
All what I know is that in other cases, he looks much taller. Angles? Rob explained us very accurately how they could be deceptive but anyway, I don’t discard those pics which show us two of the most important American people and actors of all time!
I am just sure he was far above 6’2 anyway.
Jess.k: thanks for the story and, yes, the Duke seemed wearing gloves when just bare hands!
Sam, even if I agree with you, I couldn’t take into consideration those pics as for most of them. Angles, distance, uneven soil…
Gonzalo, dear friend, I couldn’t open it but I know many of those pictures and guess what…I agree with you!
Rampage, you are free to believe what you want for sure! I don’t “believe” or think he was 6’4: that’s what I can see from all the films he starred in as says Lucio about Hellfighters.
Rampage, if John Wayne had so badly wanted to “look” taller than he really was, why would have he been swaying his body and hips all the time, the best way to look shorter, above all because he always did so before legit super tall actor as Robert Ryan.
So did he in the longest day while Steve Forrest – for me taller than claimed 6’3 – stands right up.
I often said that the Duke looked most often as mounted on ball-bearings, his head nodding, and the neck rarely up.
When younger he stands a bit stiffer and looks a tad less cool and relax than he became in Rio Bravo for example.
That is just even the contrary Rampage; “others” around him either wanted not to look too short or “were asked” to stand so that not being that small.
If never slouching, John Wayne was most often resting on his right leg, his head gently leaning with a smile and looking benevolently.
You barely see Gary Cooper doing this but Cary Grant, yes.
James Stewart was often slouching but finally less than the Duke was leaning his body.
A man who is attached to look tall and above all, taller than he is never acts that way, never, ever. That is just contradictory.

Gonzalo says on 7/Jun/11
I have found this video of Desi Arnaz next to another very tall man, Rock Hudson. Arnaz doesn´t look like a midget next to Hudson. And Hudson is not barefoot. So, we have a very good proof that Wayne barefoot was not shorter than 1`90.

It´s funny, John Wayne has appeared barefoot in many movies: The searchers, the Quiet man, The Shootist, Hatari, Donovan´s reef. Funny for someone who is supposed to wear lifts.

Click Here

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover says on 6/Jun/11
I think was barely over 6ft3 and wore boots to look close to 6ft5

Gonzalo says on 6/Jun/11
John Wayne barefoot next to Desi Arnaz. Arnaz is listed here 1`77 and is wearing suspicious shoes. Check it around 2:40. Wayne looks much taller than Arnaz.

Click Here

slope says on 4/Jun/11
I read in one of the biographies of John Wayne that there was some question of his height, the debate being between 6'3" or 6'4". The clincher for me is that the biography stated that the USC football team listed him at 6'4" . Since this listing was long before Wayne became a movie star (he was still known as Morrison) and nobody at that time could have known he would become so famous, I'm inclined to believe the USC football stat. It was also the height Wayne said of himself.

Sam says on 1/Jun/11
Good comparison shots with William Holden and Rock Hudson where the Duke looks about 6'4":
Click Here
Click Here

brunobrowne says on 31/May/11
6'2'', 6'3''. 6'4'' make your bloody mind up Adam2 or just go away

Jess K. says on 30/May/11
I met John Wayne approx. 1 1/2 years before he passed away. I am 6'2" and he was 2-3 inches taller than I was. He was wearing medium heel height cowboy boots. My best guess is he was 6'4" without his boots. What I thought was most amazing about him was the size of his hands. When I shook his hand, they swallowed up my hands like an adult would with a child. What a MAN!!

Lucio says on 28/May/11
Look at him in the movie "Hellfighters". He looks nothing less than 6'4" next to legit 6'5" (1.96 m) Jim Hutton. During throughout the film, he looks consistently 6'4", just 1 inch max difference shorter than Jim Hutton.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover says on 27/May/11
Rob is 6ft4.5 possible?

adam 2 says on 27/May/11
Patrick, have you seen those pictures with Gary Cooper? If you havent, type in their names to google and see. Wayne looks a tad shorter.

Wayne was a big-boned 6-2 man who wore big suits and big shoes. He was no Marlon Brando but I like him anyway.

Patrick says on 27/May/11
Sorry Mr. Kaplan but that precisely is the type of stereotype I am fed up with: “the” good actor is the one who can play anything or different types and also “John Wayne played himself only” etc. He said that himself but he just did what any actor worthy of that name could do: drawing from deep down in himself the facet of his personality, even hidden, matching the best his character.
Marlon Brando was ALWAYS Marlon Brando, how talented and charismatic he could be.
So Red River’ Thomas Dunson-John Wayne has nothing, but nothing to do with Sean Thornton or the aging Nathan Brittles, the hating Ethan Edwards, the casual Hondo or J. T Chance and Tom Doniphon.
Those “people” were characters proved to be very hard to make credible and without having to underline them in overacting as do so many so-called brilliant genius actors.
The real personality of Mr. Wayne was not really visible in those very, very different characters, to name just those ones.
Brando did Brando as DeNiro did and so many others. But it is said that “them” are great and others are just capable of paying themselves.
Robert Mitchum with his colossal talent was also recognizable though capable of playing a large diversity of roles – watch him in the night of the hunter and tell me who would have done the same as in cape fear where he’s so much more ambiguous and satanically attractive than DeNiro, caricatural even grotesque.
Brando hated his job and despised it; he considered Humphrey Bogart, a natural born great actor and personality as bad one and while Wayne said the best about him (Brando) that one laugh at the fact the Duke died from a cancer caused by what Wayne allegedly supported so badly: the atomic bomb tests effects!
Ralph Richardson considered Wayne as the best actor for being the most natural ever and I would add the most impressive human personality.
John Wayne as perfectly able to act as a comedian Cary Grant type too.
As I used to say it, he was always funny without getting the trouble to overdo. Clint is another one capable of that which is very rare.
Who knows that he invented and created from scratch different types of personalities all along his career including for John T. Chance in Rio Bravo, a real cool character.
Christian Bale tries today to make forgive from a movie to the next what he was in the last and as result, I don’t know who he is and I am less and less interested in him though I consider him as real good and interesting actor.
John Wayne was a 6’4 great actor in every meaning of the term.

Patrick says on 26/May/11
Very well posted Mark. If you've read my last comment, you won't doubt it!
6'4 and perhaps 6'3 at the end, if that...
I agree with Andy too; the hardwearing Quiet Man is one of those movie where the Duke's height is just indubitable!

Mr. Kaplan says on 26/May/11
A good actor can play many different roles. Brando could do it. Wayne played.. himself. All the time. He was good at it, but couldn't play any part - he probably knew it himself.

Andy says on 25/May/11
Watch the film The Quiet Man, Victor Mclaglen was 6ft3 and Wayne looked a good inch taller and was wearing flat shoes, he well may have lost some height in his later years,but at his peak he was a tall man,

Mark says on 24/May/11
Mr Kaplan...
Not that I search for semi-derogatory comments about Wayne's acting, so I can defend him, but what IS good acting? If a guy's believable in a role, and doesn't appear to be reciting lines he memorized, then he's a good actor. Especially in his later films, I found Wayne totally believable in his roles, even if it was a similar persona. I guess I get sick of the "can't act" label stuck to actors who are not in Turner Classic Movie's elite crowd. Just to satisfy the height subject, 6'4 peak, 6'3 by age 72.

Patrick says on 24/May/11
My pleasure Richard! I agree with you.
Mr Kaplan, John Wayne was as good actor as Spencer was Tracy and I love I just LOVE Spencer Tracy!
I know it is here a very subjective topic and I won’t try to influence anyone but that is what I think and feel.
Both were very “human” and deeply realistic, true in their way of tackling any role.
I think the Duke was not necessarily interested in playing any role but I am just sure he could have done it.
For sure, The Duke gave the best of himself once very well directed by someone he utterly trusted as Ford, Hawks, Hathaway, what Spencer didn’t need. He always gave the best and so, was the best.
But you know, at such a level of men, we do not speak of actors but certainly of personalities and even “beyond”.
John Wayne was just terrific in many roles as for sure the Tom Doniphon (Liberty Valence) or Ethan Edwards (the Searchers), one of the most powerful role ever and yet so ambiguous until the terrible – for him – end.
He was just excellent in many others whose the last one was definitely not the least.
For all that, whatever part he embodied, he was true, real, credible so any man could recognize himself in him about his own flaws as well as, in the same time – here is what’s incredible – what he would have dreamt of being, becoming.
The part of Myth, of dream he carried in any of his appearances has no match for me however great and talented were “the others” and God knows how many they were then.
Both Spencer Tracy and he had in common to be in the same time tough and funny without ever having to play as a comedian.
Sometimes as in Rio Bravo – the scene he says just “Good evening” or so to the bad guy in the street while doing his watch with Dean Martin. He doesn’t do anything but looking at “him” in his back making the latter very uncomfortable and finally leaving.
I can assure that only Wayne could give that dual impression of strength, tranquility, threat and…fun because that scene is as fun as the one he tells “I said I’d arrest you” to Angie Dickinson.
Think to it very thoroughly and you’ll see how impossible to anyone including the best as Jeff Bridges to give us that “dual” feeling, with no purposely effort dedicated to “make us laugh”.
The last and only one having been able to almost the same was Clint Eastwood.
I hope there are “amateurs” in this very nice site capable of understanding what I mean; actually, I am sure of that!

RICHARD says on 22/May/11
Thanks everyone that agrees with me.My boss is a fair and truthful guy so he wouldn't lie about the Duke.

Mr. Kaplan says on 22/May/11
Seagal couldn't act to save his life. Wayne was no Spencer Tracy, that's for sure, but he was clearly a better actor than Seagal.

Patrick says on 22/May/11
Ash, with all doe respect...even a father can be wrong; sorry but in such a case it is just obvious. Why people want to downgrade some guys and never others, that is just a mystery for me.

TRIPLE HHH says on 20/May/11
There is no way Wayne was below 6'2. Wayne was 6'3 in his socks.

Ash says on 19/May/11
My father in law saw John Wayne in the officers club in Saigon during the war. My father in law is 6'2" and said that John Wayne was shorter. Very broad but shorter.

Patrick says on 16/May/11
Sorry adam2: Seagal is a very interesting guy and i do like him but he is not an icon. Being an icon needs to have a dimension going far beyond celebrity or even actor talent. It requires to be "universal".
What John Wayne stands for is something which cannot age and that’s why anyone can find tons of DVDs, books about him today and perhaps, more than ever because “we” all need true people as he was and still is.
People can disagree about his political or other opinions but there is here nothing to do with that.
He represents a man, a “human being” and from the US to China, anyone recognizes it. Toshiro Mifune once talked about him saying “he” Toshiro, was NO what the Duke was and he was sincere while being an icon in Japan and far beyond.
Steven Seagal, as fascinating he really is, doesn’t have that, that dimension.
No one has it and certainly not today’s actors!
John Wayne today would not be recognized and very presumably wouldn’t act.
Even Steven Seagal doesn’t do what he used to no matter how old he was and is now.
Even very talented and fabulous actors have been almost forgotten at least by most of the people.
John Wayne is more known today than even James Dean was; just Marylyn Monroe and Elvis can claim such iconic notoriety.
Take politicians and you will find only a handful of them as acknowledged: Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt (both) and Churchill.
In France, it is Charles de Gaulle and that is not related to what he really did…
Do you know what I mean?
That’s why so many people want to reduce him without ever succeeding in doing it.
Others try to minimize his height and belittle him for that.

adam2 says on 15/May/11
Seagal is an icon too. And they were both a bit paunchy.

Patrick says on 13/May/11
Comparing the acting abilities of Seagal - that I like anyway - and the Duke just proves having no abilities in knowing what an actor really is and what cinema is made of. John Wayne was not only an icon, a living symbol but also a fantastic actor. Probably the most natural actor ever which is now just a "new" actors dream. He was capable of being always (but as Tom Doniphon even that...) funny without playing as a comedian (Clint Eastwood was somewhat likewise) and a very tough and always so relaxed man.
He was stately in his way of walking and turning on himself as if he were a dancer!
John Wayne, surprisingly, was always underestimated as an actor just because he “was what he was”.
People forget that there only one John Wayne and that nobody had his presence.
James Cagney was perhaps the most notable presence though being short and Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston and Cary Grant too.
Despite the enormous talent and impact of Robert Mitchum and even Bogart or Fonda, they have “not” what Wayne had.
All of those who worked with him, who met or lived with him, whether it is once or hundred of times, whether they were democrat or not acknowledged that.
I love James Stewart but even him could not “be” a film in himself; watch any of the after his 1965 movies and you will have confirmation of that.
In his last film the Duke is just deeply moving and so “right”.
The best from-the-back-acting man ever too.
Being an actor doesn’t mean being capable of play everything.
Even the great James Mason couldn’t play everything.
As for Robert de Niro…I am sorry but…if one reproaches the Duke to always play the same character, which is wrong, what to say about De Niro who plays tens of them, all different, but exactly with the same expression, gestures and…”funny-face”.
But “it said that De Niro (or Hofflman, Pacino and Hopkins) AND the semi God Brando CAN play”…
Brando could have been great IF he had had the tenth of what Wayne had: a balanced mind.
The colossus Duke was someone we won’t see gain; the same with those I quoted above.
Derek Jacobi or Laurence Oliver were great actors as Sanders and Mason but they never would have been able to embody what the Duke used to do.
The fragility of strength, inherent in human nature. Watch Tom Doniphon, Ethan Edwards played by him and if you don’t know what I mean, too bad, really too bad.
You know what? America and as result, the world, suffer from the disappearance of such actors, the last one being Clint but now not an actor anymore due to his age.
Now young or not so young, ageless actors as the insipid Pitt or the so affected Cruise, the empty Clooney, the ridiculous Depp or worse, the Fast and Furious or Bad Trip “stars” took over and that is really sad.
As for those who deserve doing it, they play only on TV shows Lost, Law and Order (ended) or even Monk.
By the way, the Duke was obviously 6’4!

Tony G. says on 12/May/11
Thanks for the info Richard. I also believe what your boss told you.

adam2 says on 12/May/11
About the same height as Steven Seagal. Their acting skills are equal as well.

Patrick says on 10/May/11
I doubt not your veracity JMac11 but the fact in itself: I saw many Duke's hats notably at Warner Brothers Studios and that really didn't look small at all. I am more than that and way shorter without any disproportion in my whole body...I don't buy it.

JMac11 says on 8/May/11
Hat Size... Antiques Roadshow had someone bring in a Stetson from a prophouse, Marked as John Wayne's, with supporting provenance..... Hat was a 7 1/4. Surprising to say the least

Patrick says on 3/May/11
Thanks Richard. I buy it 100% too.

RICHARD says on 30/Apr/11
My boss told me he was 11 when he met The Duke in '75 in Arizona,and he said he was a BIG guy.He took a pic with him and the rest of the crew and Wayne was a head taller;he said he came up to Wayne's leg and that Wayne was 6'4 solid.He didn't wear boots,either.I believe him 100%.

Patrick says on 19/Apr/11
He did not wear lifts. What are "lifts"...kind of thin soles or so and the Duke "was" gigantic. Look any of his 40ies movies and tell me he's not very tall; even beside the real gigantic James Arness, he looks very tal even though shorter, just "shorter".
The duke was tall and didn't care about looking tall or more tall. A guy wishing appearing taller than he is stands up, straight and doesn't sway his head, body as Wayne did all the time. He often looks a tad shorter than people supposedly smaller than him. I love Chuck Heston but he NEVER did the same though tall himself. That John Wayne was wearing lifts AFTER his terrible surgery which forced him to wear a corset (missing ribs), that is possible, and...so what! He looked so tall and massive, with thicky fleshy hands, arms and neck and a still very wide torso and powerful legs depsite his lethal and degenaritve illness that finally "got him" away. Watch Him...carefully, as the man he was...because he was "the" man not as a macho but as Human being...peer at him and you won't wonder who he really was and why those stories about height or lifts are superfluous.

thomas says on 19/Apr/11
john wayne was the best damb actor ever so suck on that

rafa says on 13/Apr/11
John Wayne was 6'4" but if he wore lifts, maybe it was because he wanted to appear gigantic on the screen

Patrick says on 5/Apr/11
I sustain your point of view Mike. By the way, do you, jerseyguy60, think that American soldiers, and above all officers would have chosen the Duke to stand for them as a patriotic symbol as they did in particular with Iwo Jima which has been (and maybe still is) the movie Marines watch when inducted.
A “coward” as you suggest the Duke finally was, would never have been admitted if only to be associated with any US Army corps whose many vets said they served for having watched War Wayne's movies
He officially repeatedly despised his failure of being enlisted and tried to atone for staying home during WWII, considering he had not done all what he could to by-pass his family deferment status, classified as 3-A forbidding him to serve as 34 year old four children father.
It sounds that as for his height people have a grudge, a personal score to settle with the Duke.
Many just do NOT want him 6’4 or really as brave as he reportedly was, according to even his political adversaries as Kirk Douglas, Robert Aldrich, Mark Rydell etc.
I personally despise disdain; it’s mean and very, very small.

MaguirePhD says on 4/Apr/11
Tall people do shrink with age and noriceably. My father was 6'5" but was about 6'3" when he died.

I was 6'8" and am now, at 61, am a hair under 6'7".

Tony G. says on 24/Mar/11
jerseyguy, at the time of WWII, John Wayne was married and had children.

Mike... says on 23/Mar/11
...I'm all for praising those in military, except when it's claimed that you can not be "all American", unless you actually served. I'm no more a fan of Wayne than any other actor. I could care less whether he served in WWII, as I've read up on the reasons. Did you fight for us in WWII, Jerseyguy60? Did you fight in any war and, if so, did you volunteer or were you drafted? Did you talk to Wayne about your concerns that he didn't fight in WWII? What, exactly, were his reasons, according to "him"? All rhetorical questions, as I really don't care what your answers are. 6'4 for Wayne, and as all American as you can get.

jerseyguy60 says on 23/Mar/11
John Wayne might have been 6'4 or whatever,but when it came time for All-american/country loving"the. Duke"to defend his country during ww2....he came up very very short,he let James Sewart,Tyrone Power fight for him...all american my ass!

Patrick says on 15/Mar/11
Anonymous said on 3/Feb/11 :
Ted Cassidy 6'9" James Arness 6'7" Clint Walker 6'6" Rock Hudson 6'5" Fess Parker 6'5" Chuck Connors 6'5" Ed Gwynne 6'5" Clint Eastwood 6'4" George Kennedy 6'4" Vincent Price 6'4" Randolph Scott 6'4" Forrest Tucker 6'4" Gary Cooper 6'3" Dan Blocker 6'3" Gregory Peck 6'3" Peter Graves 6'3" James Stewart 6'3" Lee Marvin 6'2" AND JOHN WAYNE!!! (THE DUKE) 6'4". Who said all the old time actors are short? And there are any more."
Such are my own estimates too and also how I see "old time stars". Bravo!

Alan says on 14/Mar/11
Hello I am 6'2 and wear size 10 shoes depending on the make sometimes 9 or 9 1/2

Big El says on 12/Mar/11
The Duke was large as a mountain in spirit and his love for our USA. Nothing more needs to be said.........

DMan says on 5/Mar/11
Hard to tell with Wayne, frequent sloucher and always seemed to be wearing lifts, cowboy boots. Strong 6'3 seems correct, he never exactly towered over people like you'd expect a 6'4 guy with cowboy boots to do so.

anony says on 4/Mar/11
I also have small feet for my height 6'3. Size 12. It's strange because both my dad and grandfather have size 14 feet. They also have bigger hands than me while I have smaller hands.

TallTexan says on 2/Mar/11
I'm 6'-4" and wear anywhere between size 11 and 12 shoes/boots depending on brand and style. I also happen to have large palms but short-ish (for my height) fingers. I have a 6'-6" arm span and long torso with shorter, relatively speaking, legs for someone my height. The point being that hands, feet, arm length and leg length are not absolute indicators of height. A person can look tall and still be short and vice versa. The only way to know height is by true measurement.

upshot says on 1/Mar/11
all i am going to say is... "Nope".

Matt says on 1/Mar/11
I am watching the big trail now. Wayne wears flat shoes, not boots and is still taller than everyone else. Also, his feet sure as hell don't look small.

Newbie says on 13/Feb/11
On the foot size issue, when it was snowing a while back I was walking around in the snow wearing a pair of boot shoes not dissimilar in shape to cowboy boots. Thinking about some of the stuff on here about how small his footprints are I had a look at the prints I left by just standing there. Interesting thing was a good bit of the toe end of the boot was missing from the imprints I left. Now I don't know if that's how Wayne did his, stand on, step back off, but it's quite possible if you're wearing those kind of boots to leave a much smaller print because the end part of the boot lifts up and you have to walk forwards to leave a print with it.

Brad says on 5/Feb/11
You hit every height dead on correct. This A needs to get a prize.

Anonymous says on 3/Feb/11
Ted Cassidy 6'9" James Arness 6'7" Clint Walker 6'6" Rock Hudson 6'5" Fess Parker 6'5" Chuck Connors 6'5" Ed Gwynne 6'5" Clint Eastwood 6'4" George Kennedy 6'4" Vincent Price 6'4" Randolph Scott 6'4" Forrest Tucker 6'4" Gary Cooper 6'3" Dan Blocker 6'3" Gregory Peck 6'3" Peter Graves 6'3" James Stewart 6'3" Lee Marvin 6'2" AND JOHN WAYNE!!! (THE DUKE) 6'4". Who said all the old time actors are short? And there are any more.

Anonymous says on 3/Feb/11
In the movie THE QUIET MAN
John Wayne is asked how tall he is and he answers 6ft 4 and 1 half

Kim says on 30/Jan/11
Has anyone seen the boots john wayne was wearing when he made his foot prints in the cement? I know that cowboy boots have a few different heels on them if his boots had a riding heel its a 2 1/2 heel and it slants in about 2 inches that would make his foot print look smaller.

Patrick says on 21/Jan/11
About losing height with age, it depends on people. Some do and other don't!
Some tall people shrink while others don't and also short ones get even shorter.
It is here an issue due to genes and as result, quality of tissues.
Some degenerate and others don't.
Some athletic people, living a healthy life have their cells degenerating while some not healthy don't. So, i find useless to fight about "I am such age and i don't shrink" or the contrary because there is no rule determinimg how it will happen for you along your life.

Anonymous says on 3/Jan/11
I've been a police officer for about six years now and I'll be damned I can't tell how tall a person is just by watching video footage of some dirt bag robbing a store. Please in lighten me on how you do that so I can catch these dirt wads quicker and get them off the streets. Here we have people still alive that met or knew John Wayne and state that he was truly six foot four inchs tall, and then we got someone who looks at a picture or watches a movie and never met him can tell that Wayne was shorter, and all who knew him are wrong. Now isn't that something or what?

Shaun says on 1/Jan/11
Looked 6'2" tops in The Big Trail.

Mon says on 17/Dec/10
OK Anonymous of 16/Dec/10, you haven't lost ,but my point was that very tall men do lose height I'm certain Wayne lost some ( maybe only a fraction of an inch) by time he was fifty. You say he was a full 6'4'' in 1973, OK growth often continues into a persons early twenties. If he really was 6'4'' in the 1973 it I think it likely John Wayne's peak height was 6'5''.

Wayne was not just tall ( like James Stewart or Gregory Peck) he was overwhelmingly BIG which no doubt accounts for the number of people who met him and are saying he could not have been under 6'4'' .
Sorry, but unless you are Rob and are consciously assessing height there is no way to know what he was barefoot from meeting him, the heel of a pair of shoes could easily give him one inch.

Anonymous says on 16/Dec/10
I am 59 years old I am 5'11" tall, at 18 years old I was 5'11" tall I dod not lose any height in 41 years not every body looses height when they get old. Back in the 60s and 70s I wock for NBC and I wired John Wayne for his mic for an interview and he was 6'4". I talked to this man for about 45 minutes about a lot of things and he was just a nice man no B.S to him. In 1973 John Wayne was 6'4" I know this as a facT I seen it with my own eyes. I can't help some of you uot there who think he was shorter and did not meet he like I did but the FACT is he was 6 foot 4 inches tall in 1973 making him 66 years old at that time.

Mon says on 15/Dec/10
I've reconsidered as result of meeting a 50 year old athlete who'd lost at least a couple of inches from his peak of 6'6'' which he'd reached by 17.

At eighteen John Wayne was 6'4'' barefoot and probably a fraction of an inch over that.

Anonymous says on 15/Dec/10
I read an interview with Robert Mitchum saying the Lifts thing was a joke. Wayne never wore lifts. My Aunt met Robert Mitchum years ago. She asked him how tall Wayne was. He told her a little over 6'3 barefoot.

addie says on 14/Dec/10
Robert Mitchum---
“John Wayne had four-inch lifts in his shoes. He had the overheads on his boat accommodated to fit him. He had a special roof put in his station wagon. The son of a b* * *h, they probably buried him in his goddamn lifts.”

I have heard that before, about the 4in lifts. Why would someone over 6ft, wear 4in lifts? Criminy.

Anonymous says on 14/Dec/10
Hudson 6'5, Connors 6'5, Wayne 6'3.

Jimbo says on 12/Dec/10
I have to agree that Jimmy Stewart did look slightly taller than John Wayne in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. John was in his fifties when he made this film and may have lost some height. I would say in the movies that I have seen John Wayne in that his peak height was 190.5- 191cm 6'3 barefoot he was a tall man and built like a Kenworth.

Tony G. says on 12/Dec/10
Norma, I am a John Wayne fan and admit he was not the tallest guy to ever be on a screen. Rock Hudson, James Arness, Chuck Connors and Chad Everett were all taller.

And Jimmy Stewart was not taller than John Wayne (I am also a Jimmy Stewart fan.)

Norma says on 11/Dec/10
john wayne fans don't want to amit he was not the tallest guy to ever be on a screen. just got through watching the man who shot liberty valance with a friend. he and i had discussed this matter before. he shared with me how he heard ricky nelson say that john wayne rode a much taller horse than everyone else. they had to look up to him. this, of course, was to make him look much taller than everyone else. james stewart did not have really good posture (such a great actor and likable guy). john wayne also wore a tall white had while jimmy wore none. when the proper angle was used, it was pretty obvious jimmy was taller. woody strode was 6'4". lee marvin was pretty tall. robert ryan was a definite 6'4". look at him beside john when you get the opportunity. i've never been a john wayne fan, but what does it matter exactly how tall he was. he was a nice height. i did notice his feet were on the small size for his height. he had healty legs and feet. that's what matters. (you'll never convince me spencer tracy was 5'8"). he looked about 5'6". look how tiny he was compared to everyone else in bad day at black rock.

Tony G. says on 5/Dec/10
Mr. R, I don't have to come to Hollywood; I already live in the Los Angeles area.

His feet look quite large in this photo:
Click Here

Mr. R says on 30/Nov/10
Tony G., I am telling you what I saw. I have been to The Chinese Theater in Hwood many times, and his may be the smallest of any of the men. I still believe he is over 6-3, but as someone said, there are times when height does not correlate to foot size.

Tony G. says on 29/Nov/10
Mr. R, you can't go by a bootprint. Did you see the photo of him (barefoot) with Ron Howard? If not I will gladly post it again.

KaRRL says on 29/Nov/10
Look i don't know what you guys are talking about...my husband is 6'4" and he wears a size 10 US...his father that is 6'2" wears a 13...so I guess if you are thinking shoe size equates somehow to height you may be mislead.

Anonymous says on 29/Nov/10
Hay Guy's I don't know where any of you live but if someone lives in Hollywood or in the area, maybe someone and use a ruler put it next to Waynes foot print take some pictures a put them on this site. That way we can see how big or small his feet are for real. Just thinking!

Mr. R says on 27/Nov/10
Tony G, you are wrong. Come to Hwood and I will prove it. I have stood at his cement bootprints many times, and tourists are always talking about how small his feet are. They look like girl's feet.

Shaun says on 26/Nov/10
If Gordon Ramsay's height matched his shoe size he'd be 6'10"-7'..

Shaun says on 26/Nov/10
There are exceptions to the rule but generally growth hormone spreads throughout the body so taller guys naturally have bigger feet. But 5'11.5" David Beckham wears a US 9 and 6'1.5" Gordon Ramsay a US 16 so there is a lot of variation.

Shaun says on 26/Nov/10
Rubbish. Wayne wore a Size 11 US. Which yes is more usual for a 6"-6'2" guy. Most genine 6'4" guys would wear a Size 12-13 US, Size 13 would be average for a 6'4" I'd say.

Tony G. says on 25/Nov/10
Mr. R, his shoe size was 11. Look at the photo of him barefoot with Ron Howard. Claiming that his size was 7 is beyond ridiculous!

Anonymous, you are correct. Earlier this year George Kennedy was at an autograph show. I asked him if John Wayne was really 6'4" tall. He said, "Yes."

Mr. R says on 25/Nov/10
If yall ever come to Hollywood, and I hope that you do, you will have to come to Grauman's Chinese Theater, where the celebs put their feet and hands in cement. The Duke may have been one of the tallest actors in movies, but he also had some of the smallest feet. At best he may be a size 7 US. People always remark how small his bootprints are.

Shaun says on 25/Nov/10
Wayne looked 6'2" tops in the Big Trail in mocassins.

Anonymous says on 24/Nov/10
Ron Howard said in an interview that John Wayne and James Stewart was the tallest actors he worked with and that he was 6 feet 4 inchs tall. Remember there are still people out there alive that knew Wayne and all say he was 6'4".

Anonymous says on 22/Nov/10
Ron Howard was in 2" healed boots in the Shootist whitch would have made him about 5'11" and still 4 or 5 inchs shorter then bare foot Wayne. Wayne was defintely 6'4" tall.

Shaun says on 18/Nov/10
I agree with those below. A legit 6'4" barefoot John Wayne who was known to wear big lifts in his later years to appear "larger than life" would have appeared 6'6"-6'7". He NEVER looked anywhere near 6'7". Sorry. He was also somehow about four inches shorter than legit 6'6" Alan Napier. Quite right. Something doesn't add up. Wayne never in his life looked anything about 6'5" even in his biggest boots. Sorry. The best evidence we do have though as Clooney's mother says is that barefoot in the Shootist he did look a legit 6'3"-6'4" barefoot and he was quite old then as well. But it doesn;t add up. The boots should have given him loads of height, you would think he would be 6'6"-6'7" in the boots but most of the time he looked about 6'4" IN boots.

georgeclooneysmum says on 7/Nov/10
I think the shootist movie is the best source. Where you have a bare foot duke with Ron Howard in shoes. the top of ron's head is about an inch below the dukes eyeline may be more. Ron Howard is listed 5'9 here and was 21 at the time. I get 5 1/2 to 6 inches plus ron's shoes. that is 6'3 1/2 to 6'4 at 76 assuming Ron has 1 inch shoes.

Anonymous says on 26/Oct/10
In the picture of Wayne and Cooper, Wayne has a hat on, Cooper is looking down, Wayne is turned to the left, the picture was taken for there left from a lower level and you can really tell there height just by that picture. NOW! Your good.

Mr. Kaplan says on 22/Oct/10
The pictures with Cooper make me wonder if he was really 6'4".