London: John Wayne’s iconic cowboy hat is up for sale for a starting price of £17,000. The Oscar winning star had donned the cowboy hat in five major 1960’s Westerns films namely ‘The Comancheros’, ‘McLintock’, ‘The Sons Of Katie Elder’, ‘El Dorado’ and ‘The Undefeated’.
The actor, who died in 1979, had given the hat to stunt double Chuck Roberson, with whom he worked for over 30 years. When Roberson died in 1988, his collection was sold and now the owner has decided to auction it in Los Angeles.
The auction manager at Nate D Sanders, Laura Yntema, said the hat has personal value as Wayne was known for his generosity and closeness to the people he worked with. The hat’s sweatband is marked with the actor’s name in black pen, and has the film’s name ‘Comencheros’ spelt wrong.