John Wayne: Difference between revisions

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), born Marion Robert Morrison^[1] and later changed to Marion Michael Morrison, popularly known as the "Duke," was an iconic, Academy Award winning, American film actor. He epitomized rugged 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.

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 Scots-Irish descent.

Wayne's family moved to Palmdale, California and then Glendale, California in 1911; it was local firemen at the firehouse that was on his way to school in Glendale who started calling him "Big Duke" because he never went anywhere without his Airedale Terrier dog, Little Duke. ^[2]He preferred "Duke" to "Marion", and the name stuck for the rest of his life.^[3].

As a teen, Wayne worked in an ice cream shop for an individual who shoed horses for local Hollywood studios. He was also active as a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization run by the Freemasons, whom he would also join when he came of age. 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. Athletic department records indicate Wayne had reached a height of 6 feet, 4 inches and a weight of 195 pounds by the time he joined the team as its tallest member^[4]. 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, had to leave school.^[5]

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. During this period, Wayne appeared with his USC teammates as one of the featured football players in Columbia Pictures' Maker of Men (filmed in 1930 and released in 1931), which starred Richard Cromwell and Jack Holt. ^[6]

After two years working as a prop man at the William Fox Studios 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) gave him the stage name "John Wayne", after Revolutionary War general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. His pay was raised to $105 a week.

Wayne continued making westerns, most notably at Monogram Pictures, and serials for Mascot Studios, including a modernized version of The Three Musketeers (1933). He was tutored by stuntmen in riding and other western skills.^[7] 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 costarred 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 costarred 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.

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 ever made that supported Vietnam War.^[8] 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 which 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.

In 1964, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer, and underwent surgery to remove his entire left lung and four ribs. Despite rumors that the cancer was caused by filming The Conqueror in Utah where the US 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. [2]

Wayne was politically a right-wing conservative. 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 was also 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). At the same time, he was capable of enraging conservatives by supporting such supposedly liberal causes as the Panama Canal Treaty ^[9] and the innocence of Patty Hearst^[10].

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 Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968. Wayne vehemently rejected the offer^[11]. However, he greatly admired Wallace and sent him three checks for $10,000 with a note reading, "Sock it to 'em George!"^{[citation needed]}. Nonetheless, Wayne later actively campaigned for Richard Nixon^[12].

Wayne was married three times, always to Spanish-speaking brides; to the late Josephine Alicia Saenz, Esperanza Baur and Pilar Pallete. He had four children with Josephine and three with Pilar, most notably the late producer Michael Wayne and actor Patrick Wayne. Wayne is also the great-uncle of boxing heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1996..

Wayne had several high profile affairs, including one with Marlene Dietrich which lasted for three years.^{[citation needed]}

In the years prior to his death, Wayne was romantically involved with his former secretary Pat Stacy.^[13].She wrote a biography of her life about the Duke, DUKE: A Love Story in 1983. Stacy married Los Angeles businessman, Richard Donahugh in 1981 and died of lung cancer in April,1995, at the age of 53.

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.[3] He requested his tombstone read "Feo, Fuerte y Formal," a Spanish epitaph meaning he was ugly, strong, and had dignity. However, the grave, unmarked for twenty years in case it was destroyed, is now marked with a quotation from his hugely 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."

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[4] 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.

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 older than him 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.

By all accounts, Wayne's failure to serve in the military during World War II was the most painful experience of his life^[14]. Clearly, there were scores of 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."^[15].

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. Wayne selected roles that would not compromise his off-screen image. In his last film The Shootist (1976), Wayne refused to allow his character to shoot a man in the back as was originally scripted. [5]

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.^[16] 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. In Vietnam in 1966 a bullet struck his bicycle but he was far away from it at the time, and the story about Wayne coming under fire from snipers is thus a publicist's myth. By the 1950s, perhaps in large part due to films such as the Sands of Iwo Jima, Flying Tigers, They Were Expendable, The Longest Day, his cavalry trilogy (which was more war than western), and many other films, Wayne had become an icon to the all 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 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.

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 [6][7]. Numerous actors, including Elizabeth Taylor, and politicians testified to Congress of the merit and deservedness of this award, most notably Maureen O'Hara, who 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"." Robert Mitchum notably declined to write a testimony^{[citation needed]}. 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 the public made it a best seller.

• Wayne was approached by Mel Brooks to play the part of Mr. Taggert 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."^[17] The part eventually went to another cowboy actor, Slim Pickens.
• Wayne also refused the role that Lee Marvin played in the Dirty Dozen and chose instead the part in the Green Berets.^[18]

Template:Spoiler

• 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 Bruce Dern's character.
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.

Template:Endspoilers

• Speaking to his young cavalry lieutenants: "Don't ever 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)

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

• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Wayne.

Wikiquote has quotations related to John Wayne.

• John Wayne at IMDb
• John Wayne at the TCM Movie Database
• The Official Website of John Wayne
• 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
• Template:Tvtome person
• John Wayne at TopTenREVIEWS

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