Due to his status as the highest profile Republican star in Hollywood , wealthy Texas Republican Party backers asked Wayne to run for national office in 1968 , as had his friend and fellow actor Senator George Murphy . He declined , joking that he did not believe the public would seriously consider an actor in the White House . Instead , he supported his friend Ronald Reagan 's runs for Governor of California in 1966 and 1970 . He was asked to be the running mate for Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968 , but he rejected the offer and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon ; Wayne addressed the 1968 Republican National Convention on its opening day . For a while , he was also a member of the anti-communist John Birch Society
1968 Republican National Convention
1968 Republican National Convention
John Wayne