Guest Author - Lisa Shea

The actress Susan Hayward died from lung cancer that had metastatized to her brain. Even more sad is that she, John Wayne and other fellow actors all got their cancer on a radioactive movie shoot.

The movie was 'The Conqueror', shot in 1955 in Utah. It was all about Genghis Khan, that famous warlord. John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorhead and other actors were led by director Dick Powell through their paces for about 13 weeks.

The issue was the location in Utah. It was downwind from where the army had tested multiple atomic bombs. The landscape they tromped over was seeped in radio active dust. The actors knew about it and even joked about it - but back in 1955 they really weren't aware of the dangers.

The dangers became clear very quickly. Out of 220 people who worked on the film, People magazine did a study in 1980. At least 91 of those had died from cancer. This includes the 3 main actors and the director as well. I can't find any studies done AFTER 1980 to know how many more died from cancer as well. Included in the death tolls are a few kids - some of the crew brought their kids to the set to hang out, and even some of those children got cancer.

A very sad commentary on just how dangerous radiation is, and how seriously we should take it.

Susan Hayward died on March 14, 1975.