John Wayne

For other people named John Wayne, see John Wayne (disambiguation).

John Wayne
File:JohnWayne07.jpg
Born	Marion Robert Morrison
Other names	Marion Michael Morrison; Duke
Height	6'
Website	Wayne Enterprises

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), born Marion Robert Morrison and later changed to Marion Michael Morrison, popularly known as the "Duke," was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. He epitomized ruggedly individualistic masculinity, and has become an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive voice, walk and height.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne thirteenth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. A Harris Poll released in 2007 placed Wayne third among America's favorite film stars, the only deceased star on the list and the only one who has appeared on the poll every year.

His career began in silent movies in the 1920s and he was a major star from the 1940s to the 1970s. He is closely associated with Westerns and World War II epics, but he also made a wide range of films from various genres, biographies, romantic comedies, police dramas, and more.

Early life

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, but his name was changed to Marion Michael Morrison when his parents decided to name their next son Robert. His family was Presbyterian; father Clyde Leonard Morrison was of Irish and Scottish descent and the son of an American Civil War veteran, while mother Mary Alberta Brown was of Irish descent.

Wayne's family moved to Palmdale, California, and then Glendale, California, in 1911, where his father worked as a pharmacist in a drug store. It was local firemen at the firehouse that was on his route to school in Glendale who started calling him "Little Duke," because he never went anywhere without his huge Airedale Terrier dog, Duke. He preferred "Duke" to "Marion," and the name stuck for the rest of his life.

John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset

As a teen, Wayne worked in an ice cream shop for a person who shoed horses for local Hollywood studios. He was also active as a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization associated with the Freemasons, that he joined when he came of age. He attended Wilson Middle School in Glendale. He played football for the 1924 champion Glendale High School team.

Wayne applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted. He instead attended the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in pre-law. He was a member of the Trojan Knights and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. Wayne also played on the USC football team under legendary coach Howard Jones. An injury curtailed his athletic career; Wayne would later note he was too terrified of Jones' reaction to reveal the actual cause of his injury, which was bodysurfing at the infamous “Wedge” off Balboa Pier in Newport Beach. He lost his athletic scholarship and without funds he had to leave school.

While at the university, Wayne began working at the local film studios. Western star Tom Mix got him a summer job in the prop department in exchange for football tickets, and Wayne soon moved on to bit parts, establishing a long friendship with director John Ford, who provided most of those bit parts. Early in this period, Wayne appeared with his USC teammates playing on-screen football in The Dropkick and Brown of Harvard, and was one of the featured football players in Columbia Pictures' Maker of Men (filmed in 1930 and released in 1931).

Acting career

After two years working as a prop man at the Fox Film Corporation for $75 a week, his first starring role was in the 1930 movie The Big Trail. The first western epic sound motion picture established his screen credentials, although it was a commercial failure. The director Raoul Walsh, who "discovered" Wayne, suggested giving him the stage name "Anthony Wayne," after Revolutionary War general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Fox Studios chief Winfield Sheehan rejected "Anthony Wayne" as sounding "too Italian." Walsh then suggested "John Wayne." Sheehan agreed and the name was set. Wayne himself was not even present for the discussion. His pay was raised to $105 a week.

Wayne continued making westerns, most notably at Monogram Pictures, and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation, including The Three Musketeers (1933), a French Foreign Legion tale with no resemblance to the novel which inspired its title. He was tutored by stuntmen in riding and other western skills. He and famed stuntman Yakima Canutt developed and perfected stunts still used today.

Beginning in 1928 and extending over the next 35 years, Wayne appeared in more than twenty of John Ford's films, including Stagecoach (1939), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), The Wings of Eagles (1957), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). His performance in Stagecoach made him a star.

His first color film was Shepherd of the Hills (1941), in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. The following year he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Wind, in which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values.

In 1949, director Robert Rossen offered the starring role of All the King's Men to Wayne. Wayne refused, believing the script to be un-American in many ways. Broderick Crawford, who eventually got the role, won the 1949 Oscar for best male actor, ironically beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for Sands of Iwo Jima.

He lost the leading role in The Gunfighter to Gregory Peck because of his refusal to work for Columbia Pictures after Columbia chief Harry Cohn had mistreated him years before as a young contract player. Cohn had bought the project for Wayne, but Wayne's grudge was too deep, and Cohn sold the script to Twentieth Century Fox, which cast Peck in the role Wayne badly wanted but refused to bend for.

One of Wayne's most popular roles was in The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William Wellman and based on a novel by Ernest K. Gann. His portrayal of a heroic airman won widespread acclaim.

Wayne in The Searchers

The Searchers continues to be widely regarded as perhaps Wayne's finest and most complex performance. In 2006 Premiere Magazine ran an industry poll in which his portrayal of Ethan Edwards was rated the 87th greatest performance in film history. He named his youngest son Ethan after the character.

John Wayne won a Best Actor Oscar for True Grit (1969). Wayne was also nominated as the producer of Best Picture for The Alamo, one of two films he directed. The other was The Green Berets (1968), the only major film made during the Vietnam War to support the war. During the filming of Green Berets, the Degar or Montagnard people of Vietnam's Central Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and all subsequent films.

According to the Internet Movie Database, Wayne played the lead in 142 of his film appearances.

Batjac, the production company co-founded by Wayne, was named after the fictional shipping company Batjak in Wake of the Red Witch. (A spelling error by Wayne's secretary was allowed to stand, accounting for the variation.) Batjac (and its predecessor, Wayne-Fellows Productions) was the arm through which Wayne produced many films for himself and other stars. Its best-known non-Wayne production was the highly-acclaimed Seven Men From Now, which started the classic collaboration between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott.

1964 Illness

In 1964, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer, and underwent successful surgery to remove his entire left lung and four ribs. Despite efforts by his business associates to prevent him from going public with his illness (for fear it would cost him work), Wayne announced he had cancer and called on the public to get preventive examinations. Five years later, Wayne was declared cancer-free.

Despite rumors that the cancer was caused by filming The Conqueror in Utah where the U.S. government had tested nuclear weapons (following which a surprising percentage of the cast and crew developed cancer), Wayne himself believed his five-pack-a-day cigarette habit was the cause. After his operation he chewed tobacco and began smoking cigars.

Politics

Wayne was politically a right-wing conservative Republican. He took part in creating the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in 1943 , and was elected president of that organization in 1947 . He was an ardent anti-communist, and vocal supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee. In 1951 , he made Big Jim McLain to show his support for the anti-communist cause. He also claimed to have been instrumental in having Carl Foreman blacklisted from Hollywood after the release of the anti-McCarthyism western High Noon, and later teamed up with Howard Hawks to make Rio Bravo as a right-wing response. Wayne used his iconic status to support conservative causes, including rallying support for the Vietnam War by producing, co-directing, and starring in the critically panned The Green Berets (1968). In 1978 however, he enraged conservatives by supporting liberal causes such as the Panama Canal Treaty and the innocence of Patty Hearst.

Due to his enormous popularity, and his status as the most famous Republican star in Hollywood, wealthy Texas Republican Party backers asked Wayne to run for national office in 1968, as had his friend and fellow actor, Senator George Murphy. He declined, joking that he did not believe the public would seriously consider an actor in the White House. However, he did support his friend Ronald Reagan's runs for Governor of California in 1966 and 1970. He was also asked to be the running mate for Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968. Wayne vehemently rejected the offer. Wayne actively campaigned for Richard Nixon, and addressed the Republican National Convention on its opening day in August 1968.

Wayne's strong anti-communist politics led to a particularly unnerving situation. Information from Soviet archives, reported in 2003, indicates that Joseph Stalin ordered Wayne's assassination, but died before the killing could be accomplished. His successor, Krushchev, reportedly told Wayne during a 1958 visit to the United States that he had personally rescinded the order.

In an interview with Playboy magazine in May 1971, Wayne made infamous remarks. One disclaimed a personal sense of guilt for the historical treatment of Native Americans, the second claimed that African-Americans had been denied educational opportunities and resented that fact, "possibly rightfully so." He went on to say that did not justify turning over the country "to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.""

Personal life

Wayne was married and divorced three times. His wives, all of them Hispanic women, were Josephine Alicia Saenz, Esperanza Baur, and Pilar Pallete. He had four children with Josephine and three with Pilar, including the producer Michael Wayne and actor Patrick Wayne. Wayne is also the great-uncle of boxing heavyweight Tommy Morrison.

Wayne had several high-profile affairs, including one with Marlene Dietrich that lasted for three years.

In the years prior to his death, Wayne was romantically involved with his former secretary Pat Stacy (1941-1995). She wrote a biography of her life with him, DUKE: A Love Story (1983).

During the early 1960s John Wayne traveled extensively to Panama. During this time, the actor reportedly purchased the island of Taborcillo off the main coast of Panama. It was sold by his estate at his death and changed many hands before being opened as a tourist attraction.

Picture of Isla Taborcillo a.k.a. John Wayne Island, off the coast of Panama

Roadside sign on the way to John Wayne Island

Death

John Wayne died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979 and was interred in the Pacific View Memorial Park cemetery in Corona del Mar. According to his son Patrick, he converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before his death. He requested his tombstone read "Feo, Fuerte y Formal," a Spanish epitaph meaning "ugly, strong and dignified". However, the grave, unmarked for twenty years, is now marked with a quotation from his highly controversial 1971 Playboy interview: "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday."

Military service controversy

The outbreak of World War II saw a deluge of support for America's war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no different. Established stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (USN, Silver Star), Henry Fonda (USN, Bronze Star), and Clark Gable (USAAC) as well as emerging actors like Eddie Albert (USN, Bronze Star) and Tyrone Power (USMC) rushed to sign up for military service. As the majority of male leads left Hollywood to serve overseas, John Wayne saw an opportunity to vault into stardom. Despite enormous pressure from his inner circle of friends, he resisted. Wayne's fans have proffered a number of erroneous excuses over the years to explain away his lack of military service, but the facts are clear. The physical problems under football injury or damaged hearing were non-existent; Wayne himself never mentioned them. Others claim that Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34) and family status. It is true that at the outbreak of World War II, Wayne was classified as 3-A (family deferment), but many of his contemporaries that signed up (like Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, and Ronald Reagan) were around his age, and married with families of their own. Gene Autry, who was also Wayne's age, gave an interview in 1942 that chastised Wayne for his refusal to enlist and provide an example for younger actors in Hollywood: "I think the He-men in the movies belong in the Army, Marine, Navy or Air Corps. All of these He-men in the movies realize that right now is the time to get into the service. Every movie cowboy ought to devote time to the Army winning, or to helping win, until the war is over - the same as any other American citizen. The Army needs all the young men it can get, and if I can set a good example for the young men I'll be mighty proud." As the war dragged on and Wayne's affair with Esperanza Baur alienated him from his family, Wayne's family deferment status appeared to be the first of many attempts to stave off the overwhelming pressure to enlist. During the early years of the war, his excuses ranged from mundane to ridiculous: he once claimed that Herbert J. Yates (the head of Republic) threatened him with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract, despite the fact that no such thing ever happened to any actor, director, or cameraman throughout the entire war. In 1944, Wayne was reclassified as 1-A (draft eligible), but his lawyers convinced the draft board to change his status to 2-A (deferred for reasons national interest). He remained 2-A until the war's end.

The foregoing facts clearly influenced the direction of Wayne's later life. By all accounts, Wayne's failure to serve in the military during World War II was the most painful experience of his life. Clearly, there were some other stars who, for various reasons, did not enlist. But Wayne, by virtue of becoming a celluloid war hero in scores of patriotic war films, became the focus of particular disdain from both himself and certain portions of the public, particularly in later years. The rampant patriotism with which he was so identified in the decades to come sprang, it appears, not from hypocrisy but from guilt. Wayne's third wife, Pilar, wrote, "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."

American icon

John Wayne rose beyond the typical recognition for a famous actor to that of an enduring icon who symbolized and communicated American values and ideals. By the middle of his career, Wayne had developed a larger-than-life image, and as his career progressed, he selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. By the time of his last film The Shootist (1976), Wayne refused to allow his character to shoot a man in the back as was originally scripted.

Wayne's rise to being the quintessential movie war hero began to take shape four years after World War II when Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) was released. His footprints at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood were laid in cement that contained sand from Iwo Jima. His status grew so large and legendary that when Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited the United States in 1975, he asked to meet John Wayne, the symbolic representation of his country's former enemy.

Wayne was a popular visitor to the war zones in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. By the 1950s, perhaps in large part due to the military aspect of films such as the Sands of Iwo Jima, Flying Tigers, They Were Expendable, and the Ford cavalry trilogy, Wayne had become an icon to all the branches of the U.S. Military, even in light of his actual lack of military service. Many veterans have said their reason for serving was in some part related to watching Wayne's movies. His name is attached to various pieces of gear, such as the P-38 "John Wayne" can-opener, so named because "it can do anything", paper towels known as "John Wayne Toilet Paper" because "it's rough and it's tough and don't take shit off no one," and C-Ration crackers are called "John Wayne crackers" because presumably only someone as tough as Wayne could eat them.

Various public locations have been named in memory of John Wayne. They include John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, where his life-size statue graces the entrance; the John Wayne Marina near Sequim, Washington; John Wayne Elementary School (P.S. 380) in Brooklyn, NY, which boasts a 38 foot mosaic mural commission by New York artist Knox Martin entitled "John Wayne and the American Frontier"; and a 100-plus mile trail named the "John Wayne Pioneer Trail" in Washington state's Iron Horse State Park. A larger than life-size bronze statue of Wayne was erected at the corner of La Cienega Blvd. and Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills, California at the offices of the Great Western Savings & Loan Corporation, for whom Wayne had done a number of commercials. (The building now houses Larry Flynt Enterprises.)

Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom

John Wayne's enduring status as an iconic American was formally recognized by the United States Congress on May 26, 1979 when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Hollywood figures and American leaders from across the political spectrum, including Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Mike Frankovich, Katharine Hepburn, General and Mrs. Omar Bradley, Gregory Peck, Robert Stack, James Arness, and Kirk Douglas, testified to Congress of the merit and deservedness of this award, most notably Robert Aldrich, then president of the Directors Guild of America, who stated, "It is important for you to know that I am a registered Democrat and, to my knowledge, share none of the political views espoused by Duke. However, whether he is ill-disposed or healthy, John Wayne is far beyond the normal political sharp-shooting in this community. Because of his courage, his dignity, his integrity, and because of his talents as an actor, his strength as a leader, his warmth as a human being throughout his illustrious career, he is entitled to a unique spot in our hearts and minds. In this industry, we often judge people, sometimes unfairly, by asking whether they have paid their dues. John Wayne has paid his dues over and over, and I'm proud to consider him a friend, and am very much in favor of my Government recognizing in some important fashion the contribution that Mr. Wayne has made." Maureen O'Hara, Wayne's close friend, initiated the petition for the medal and requested the words that would be placed onto the medal: "It is my great honor to be here. I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the President to strike it. And I feel that the medal should say just one thing, 'John Wayne, American.'" The medal crafted by the United States Mint has on one side John Wayne riding on horseback and the other side has a portrait of Wayne with the words, "John Wayne, American." This Congressional Gold Medal was presented to the family of John Wayne in a ceremony held on March 6, 1980 at the United States Capitol. This medal is now at the John Wayne Museum in Winterset, Iowa. Copies were made and sold in large numbers to the public.

On June 9, 1980, Wayne was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter (at whose inaugural ball Wayne had appeared "as a member of the loyal opposition," as Wayne described it in his speech to the gathering). Thus Wayne received the two highest civilian decorations awarded by the United States government.

Celebrations and landmarks

Several celebrations took place on May 26, 2007, John Wayne's 100th birthday.

In his birthtown of Winterset, Iowa, the John Wayne Birthday Centennial Celebration was held on May 25-27, 2007. The celebration included chuckwagon suppers, concerts by Michael Martin Murphey and Riders in the Sky, a Wild West Revue in the style of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, symposiums with John Wayne co-stars, cavalry and trick horse demonstrations as well as many of John Wayne's films. This event also included the groundbreaking for the John Wayne Museum and Learning Center at his birthplace house.

Filmography

For details see:

• John Wayne filmography (1926-1940)
• John Wayne filmography (1941-1960)
• John Wayne filmography (1961-1976)

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Missed roles

• An urban legend has it that John Wayne was offered the leading role of Matt Dillon in the longtime favorite television show Gunsmoke, but he turned it down, recommending instead James Arness for the role. The only part of this story that is true is that Wayne did indeed recommend Arness for the part. Wayne introduced Arness in a prologue to the first episode of Gunsmoke.
• Wayne was approached by Mel Brooks to play the part of The Waco Kid in the film Blazing Saddles. After reading the script he said, "I can't be in this picture, it's too dirty...but I'll be the first in line to see it."
• Wayne reportedly turned down the role of "Dirty Harry," first offered to Frank Sinatra.
• Wayne reportedly refused the role that Lee Marvin played in the Dirty Dozen and chose instead the part in the The Green Berets.

Character deaths

• Contrary to popular belief, Wayne's character did die in seven of his films. His death is seen in the following films:

1. The Shootist — After winning a seemingly hopeless gunfight with three opponents simultaneously, he is shot in the back by the bartender, played by Charles G. Martin, and is then avenged by Ron Howard's character.
2. The Cowboys — He is killed by being shot in the back by Bruce Dern's character. The boys avenge him afterward.
3. The Alamo — Playing Davy Crockett, he's stabbed with a lance, then staggers into the ammunition room with a lit torch and blows it up.
4. Sands of Iwo Jima — He is killed at the end of the film by a bullet fired by a Japanese sniper.
5. Wake of the Red Witch — He drowns when the sunken ship he is trying to salvage shifts and drops further into the ocean, carrying him with it.
6. The Fighting Seabees — He is shot by a sniper as he attempts to dismount from a bulldozer loaded with TNT aimed at a fuel depot.
7. Reap the Wild Wind — He is trapped inside the wreck of a sunken ship after a fight with a giant squid and drowns.

• His character death is not shown in the following:

1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance — His character is dead at the beginning of the film and the story is told in flashback by James Stewart, who is attending his funeral.
2. The Sea Chase — Lana Turner and Wayne are on a ship when it sinks, but the possibility that the characters survived is left open.
3. The Deceiver — Ian Keith's character died, but the corpse was played by John Wayne.
4. Central Airport — John Wayne has a very minor role as the co-pilot of an aircraft that crashes into the ocean.

Famous movie quotes

• Speaking to his young cavalry lieutenants: "Don't apologize—it's a sign of weakness." (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
• "Fill your hand, you sonofabitch!"(True Grit)
• "That'll be the day!" (The Searchers)
• "I won't be wronged; I won't be insulted and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them." (The Shootist)
• "I've broke my back once, and my hip twice. And on my worst day I could still beat the hell out of you." (The Cowboys)

See also

• Other notable figures in Western films
• List of film collaborations

References

Further reading

• Roberts, Randy, and James S. Olson. John Wayne: American. New York: Free Press, 1995 ISBN 978-0029238370
• Campbell, James T. "Print the Legend: John Wayne and Postwar American Culture". Reviews in American History, Volume 28, Number 3, September 2000, pp. 465-477
• Shepherd, Donald, and Robert Slatzer, with Dave Grayson. Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne. New York: Doubleday, 1985 ISBN 0-385-17893-X
• Carey, Harry Jr. A Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1994 ISBN 0-8108-2865-0
• Clark, Donald & Christopher Anderson. John Wayne's The Alamo: The Making of the Epic Film. New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1995 ISBN 0-8065-1625-9 (pbk.)
• Eyman, Scott. Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999 ISBN 0-684-81161-8
• McCarthy, Todd. Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood. New York: Grove Press, 1997 ISBN 0-8021-1598-5
• Maurice Zolotow., Shooting Star: A Biography of John Wayne. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974 ISBN 0671829696
• Jim Beaver, "John Wayne". Films in Review, Volume 28, Number 5, May 1977, pp. 265-284.
• McGivern, Carolyn. John Wayne: A Giant Shadow. Bracknell, England: Sammon, 2000 ISBN 0-9540031-0-1
• Munn, Michael. John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth. London: Robson Books, 2003 ISBN 0-451-21244-4

External links

• The Official Website of John Wayne
• Official Licensee-John Wayne Six Guns-Red River D Classic Movie Gun
• John Wayne at IMDb
• John Wayne at the TCM Movie Database
• The Un-Official Website of John Wayne
• The Birthplace of John Wayne Official Website
• JWMB - DukeWayne.com - Largest Online Fan Community
• Find A Grave Entry
• John Wayne Cancer Foundation
• John Wayne Cancer Institute
• When Legend Becomes Fact: John Wayne and the American Identity
• Wayne Enterprises, the sole and exclusive licensor of the John Wayne name, image, and likeness
• Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set? (from The Straight Dope)
• The Religious Affiliation of John Wayne
• John Wayne Celebrity Soundboards
• John Wayne Profile at USC Legends
• John Wayne's Narration on America
• An Interview with Fr. Matthew Munoz - the Grandson of Actor John Wayne by Tim Drake
• Who shares his name
• Template:Tvtome person
• John Wayne at TopTenREVIEWS
• The Shelf: Top Ten John Wayne Westerns

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