Half the Cast and Crew Developed Cancer After Filming The Conqueror
The Conqueror was filmed right next to a nuclear weapons testing site in the Utah desert. Although the government claimed the area was safe to film, the 220 cast and crew members were exposed to copious amounts of radiation. Almost half of them developed cancer within the next twenty years, and 46 of them died, including John Wayne. It didn’t exactly help that 60 tons of dirt were shipped to Hollywood for reshoots.