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I hadn't yet taken in all the treasures the room held when Pat returned. "He'll do it," she said, "but no one is to speak to him. You'll take the picture and leave as quickly as possible. Now if you can wait by the pool, he'll be out in a moment." She could not have been nicer. I thanked her and hurried to ready the group. No sooner did I get everyone in place (the spot by the pool where Wayne had suggested we take the photo) when the curtain opened one last time and Wayne approached for take two. To say the air was thick with tension would be an understatement. True to my agreement with Pat Stacy, not a word was spoken. When the photo was shot, Wayne looked at the racquetball racquet in his hand and said, "What the hell is this?" "It's a gift for your grandchildren," I volunteered quickly. Just then, a representative from the Heart Association arrived poolside. "Who the hell are you?" Wayne asked. "I'm from the American Heart Association," came the reply. Wayne looked at the woman who had obviously come directly from her hairdresser and said, "well here's your goddamn check, and take this too," handing her the racquetball racquet. With that he turned and sashayed off into the sunset. That night, as I put my key into the lock to open my front door, the phone started ringing. It was dad. "Did you go John Wayne's house?" he asked. "Sure did," I replied.
"How was he?" I took a short beat and gave the only answer there was.
"Pop," I said, "He was the best."
"I knew he would be," dad said. "He's John Wayne." Frank Pace has produced nearly 500 episodes of network television, including Murphy Brown and Suddenly Susan. He is currently the Producer of the ABC Series George Lopez. He can be reached at
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AMERICA'S FAVORITE MOVIE STAR HARRIS POLL 1994 - 2006 (released January 2007) | | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | | Denzel Washington | * | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | * | =7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | * | 1 | | Tom Hanks | 5 | 6 | 7 | * | * | =5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | | John Wayne | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | =3 | 3 | | Clint Eastwood | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | =4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | | Will Smith | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | =5 | | Julia Roberts | * | * | * | * | * | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | =5 | | Johnny Depp | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 10 | 4 | 2 | =7 | | Mel Gibson | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | =7 | | George Clooney | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 10 | 8 | 9 | | Harrison Ford | 4 | * | * | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | =5 | 5 | =3 | 10 | | *Not in top 10. |
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