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“Well, it got so that every piss-ant prairie punk who thought he could shoot a gun would ride into town to try out the Waco Kid. I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille. It got pretty gritty. I started to hear the word “draw” in my sleep. Then one day, I was just walking down the street when I heard a voice behind me say, “Reach for it, mister!” I spun around... and there I was, face to face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away. Little bastard shot me in the ass. So I limped to the nearest saloon, crawled inside a whiskey bottle... and I’ve been there ever since.”

According to Mel Brooks, he, Richard Pryor and the other writers were at the Warner Commissary having lunch and at a nearby table was John Wayne. Wayne asked Brooks about the Western he heard he was making and Brooks said they were making one and wanted him in it, presumably as The Waco Kid. Wayne read the script and said no that it wasn't his kind of picture but he sure would be the first one in line to see it.
Now think of it John Wayne playing The Waco Kid, Brooks actually wanted an older actor for that role and had initially cast Gig Young in the role and then had to replace him at the last minute with Gene Wilder.