Almost a comical headline, no?

John Wayne and Frodo Baggins, in the same sentence? How silly. The man’s man of 20th century American film … and the furry-footed hobbit invented by the English author J.R.R. Tolkien.

But in a new biography of The Duke, author Scott Eyman writes that Wayne was more than just a hard-drinking, swaggering soldier/cowboy, he was also a book lover who could quote Shakespeare and Dickens and “had a surprising taste for Tolkien”.

Wha-at?

I find myself thinking of the “John Wayne voice” that every impersonator could do, and which about 25 percent of the American public could do, too, 40 years ago.

The Duke, explaining some of the plot issues of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to his third wife, Pilar. “And the trouble all comes from … a wicked fella, name-a’ … Sauron.”

Three other thoughts.

1. I never again will feel slightly goofy for being an enormous fan of Tolkien, whose LOTR I have read at least 20 times. Make-believe world, with dwarves and elves and 3-foot hobbits, and a ring of power, and wizards. John Wayne read that, OK? So saddle up and ride on out of town.

2. Given No. 1, above, I feel no compunction about reminding everyone that the downfall of Sauron came on March 25 … and this is the anniversary of that event, which I usually mark inside my head and, if anyone is around, give voice to that unwelcome bit of Middle Earth trivia.

3. Had the Duke been around when the LOTR trilogy was made into movies, would he have wanted to be cast in it? I’m thinking “no” because as a true fan of Tolkien he would have been appalled at what Peter Jackson did to the books. But I’m thinking “yes” because he would love to be part of the visualization of the book.

What character would he play?

He has the chops to play Gandalf, the wizard, but the beard and the staff … might be something he would not be keen on. He could, however, have done Elrond, the Half-Elven. Imagine the Duke, summing up the issues at the Council of Elrond. “What we need is … to take this ring-a’ power and … throw it right down in that … crack-a’ doom.” Though I think The Duke might have asked the director if he could dump the pointed ears.

John Wayne, Tolkien fan. I love it.