John Wayne

At 72 years old, John Wayne has this physical status:

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison, 1907-1907 – June 11, 1979), known as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor, writer, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award.

Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but he grew up in Southern California. He was one of the top box office draws for three decades.

He missed a football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing crash and began working with Fox Film Corporation.

He appeared in small parts, but his first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's Western The Big Trail (1930), an early widescreen film epic that was a box-office disappointment.

Several B movies of the 1930s followed leading roles, most of which were Westerns, without being recognized as a major name.

It was John Ford's Stagecoach (1939) who made him a mainstream celebrity, and he starred in 142 motion pictures in total.

"John Wayne was responsible for millions of Americans' frontier history," one biographer said. "Wayne's other roles in Westerns include a cattleman driving his herd on the Chisholm Trail (1948), a Civil War veteran whose niece is kidnapped by a tribe of Comanches (1956), and a cantankerous one-eyed marshal in True Grit (1969), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor."

He is also remembered for his appearances in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962).

In his last film appearance, he portrayed an aging gunfighter fighting cancer. (1976)

He appeared with many leading Hollywood celebrities of his day and made his last public appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.

Early life

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa, on May 26, 1907, at 224 South Second Street. Wayne weighed 13 lb (roughly 6 kg) at birth, according to the local paper, Winterset Madisonian. When his parents decided to name their next son Robert, Wayne's middle name was soon changed from Robert to Michael, but extensive investigation revealed no such law change. Marion Robert Morrison was his name for the remainder of his life.

Clyde Leonard Morrison (1884-1937), Wayne's father, was the son of American Civil War veteran Marion Mitchell Morrison (1845-1915). The late Mary "Molly" Alberta Brown (1885-1970), Wayne's mother, was from Lancaster County, Nebraska. Wayne had ancestry from Scotland, Scotch-Irish, English, and Irish peoples. Robert Morrison (b. ), his great-grandfather Robert Morrison (b.). 1782) left County Antrim, Ireland, with his mother who arrived in New York in 1799 and settling in Adams County, Ohio. The Morrisons were born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. He was born as a Presbyterian.

Wayne's family migrated to Palmdale, California, and then to Glendale, where his father worked as a pharmacist, on 404 Isabel Street in 1916. He attended Glendale Union High School, where he excelled in both sports and academics. Wayne was a member of his high school's football team and its debating team. He served as the president of the Latin Society and was also a contributor to the school's newspaper sports column.

Because he never went anywhere without his huge Airedale Terrier, Duke, a local fireman on his route to school in Glendale began calling him "Little Duke" because he never went anywhere without him. He preferred "Duke" to "Marion," and the nickname stuck. Wayne Wilson Middle School in Glendale attended Wilson Middle School. He worked in an ice cream store for a man who shod horses for Hollywood studios as a youth. He served as a member of the Order of DeMolay. He played football for the Glendale High School team in 1924.

Wayne came from the United States. The Naval Academy was admitted, but not because of poor results. Rather, he attended the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in pre-law. He was a member of the Trojan Knights and Sigma Chi fraternities. 30 Wayne, who was 6 foot 4+12 inches (1.94 meters), also served on the USC football team under coach Howard Jones. Wayne later stated that he was too afraid of Jones' reaction to reveal the true cause of his injury, a bodysurfing crash. He lost his athletic scholarship and had to leave the university due to a lack of funding.

Personal life

Wayne was married three times and divorced twice. Josephine Saenz, a Spanish American immigrant, and two from Latin America, Esperanza Baur, and Pilar Pallete were among his three wives. Michael Wayne, Josephine (November 23, 1934 – April 2, 2003), Mary Antonia "Toni" Wayne LaCava (February 25, 1936 – December 6, 2000), Patrick Wayne (born July 15, 1939), and Melinda Wayne Munoz (born December 3, 1940). Aissa Wayne (born March 31, 1956), John Ethan Wayne (born February 22, 1962), and Marisa Wayne (born February 22, 1966).

Several of Wayne's children have joined the film and television industry. Son Ethan Wayne appeared in a few films and was one of the main characters in the Adam-12 television series in the 1990s. Ethan has also appeared on the History Channel to help authenticate products that are reportedly connected to his father's work. Jennifer Wayne, the daughter of Aissa, is a founding member of the country music group Runaway June.

Wayne was encouraged by Pilar, a keen tennis player, to establish the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach, California, in 1973. Ken Stuart, the club's former general manager, was sold to Palisades Tennis Club in 1995. Wayne tells Michaeleen "ge" Flynn (portrayed by Barry Fitzgerald) that he is six foot "four and a half" (194 cm), a belief that is corroborated by Pilar's book "My Life with the Duke."

Esperanza Baur, a Mexican former actor, was a tumultuous divorce. Wayne and co-star Gail Russell were having an affair, according to a theory that both Wayne and Russell denied. The night the film Angel and the Badman (1947) ended, the usual party for cast and crew was held, but Wayne returned home very late. By the time he arrived, Esperanza was in a heightened state of inebriation, and she threatened to kill him as he passed through the front door.

Wayne had many high-profile cases, including one with Merle Oberon that spanned 1938 to 1947. Wayne became romantically involved and lived with his former secretary Pat Stacy (1941-1995) until his death in 1979. In 1983, Stacy published Duke: A Love Story, a memoir about her relationship with him.

Wayne's hair began to fade in the 1940s, and by the decade's end, he had begun wearing a hairpiece. He was only seen in public without a hairpiece (such as at Gary Cooper's funeral, according to Life). "Is it true that your toupée is real hair?" a student asked Wayne during a Harvard University appearance. "Well sir, that's real hair," he replied. Not mine, but real hair."

"Duke's personality and sense of humour were very close to what the general public saw on the big screen," a close friend, California congressman Alphonzo E. Bell Jr. wrote about Wayne: "Duke's personality and sense of humor were very close to what the general public saw on the big screen." It is perhaps best represented in these words engraved on a plaque: "Each of us is a blend of many desirable and not so good attributes." When it comes to one's companion, it's important to remember the good things. We should avoid making decisions just because a fella happens to be a gritty, rotten S.O.B.'

Wayne was a fan of literature, his favorites being Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie. David Copperfield and Conan Doyle's historical books The White Company and Sir Nigel were two of his favorite books.

In several of the Westerns in which he appeared, he carried the same 1873 Colt Single Action Army revolver.

Michael Munn, a Wayne biographer, chronicled Wayne's drinking habits. "I was a mean drunk" before noon, according to Sam O'Steen's book Cut to the Chase, studio producers knew to shoot Wayne's scenes before noon because by afternoon, he "was a mean drunk." Since early childhood, he had been a chain smoker of cigarettes, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1964. He underwent successful surgery to remove his entire left lung and two ribs. Wayne confessed to having cancer and asked for preventive examinations despite attempts by his company associates' efforts to discourage him from going public with his illness for fear of going public with his illness. Wayne was declared cancer-free five years ago. Wayne has been credited with coining the word "the Big C" as a euphemism for cancer.

In Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 1, he was a Freemason, a Master Mason. In Tucson, Arizona, 56 F&AM. He became a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and later joined the Al Malaikah Shrine Temple in Los Angeles. He became a member of the York Rite. During the early 1960s, Wayne travelled frequently to Panama, purchasing the island of Taborcillo off the coast of Mexico. At his death, his estate sold it.

Wayne's Wild Goose was one of his favorite possessions. He moored it in Newport Beach, and it was on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

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Career

Wayne was hired as a prop boy and extra as a favor to coach Jones, who had sold silent Western film star Tom Mix tickets to USC games. Wayne later attributed his walk, talk, and persona to Wyatt Earp, who was good friends with Tom Mix. Wayne soon moved to bits, building a long-time friendship with John Ford, the director who supervised the majority of those roles. In the 1926 film Bardelys the Magnificent, he had a minor, uncredited part as a guard. In Brown of Harvard (1926), The Dropkick (1927), Salute (1929), and Columbia's Maker of Men (filmed in 1930), Wayne was seen with his USC teammates in Brown of Harvard (1926), and Salute (1929) and Columbia's Maker of Men (filmed in 1930).

Wayne was granted on-screen credit as "Duke Morrison" only once in Words and Music (1929), while filming for Fox Film Corporation in bit roles. In his first starring role in The Big Trail (1930), director Raoul Walsh saw him moving studio furniture when working as a prop boy and casting him in his first starring role. Walsh suggested "Anthony Wayne" after Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who had no screen name. Winfield Sheehan, the head of Fox Studios, has dismissed it as "too Italian." "John Wayne" was then suggested by Walsh. Sheehan agreed, and the name was chosen. Wayne was not even present for the discussion. His salary was increased to $105 a week.

The Big Trail was to be the first big-budget outdoor spectacle of the sound era, costing more than $2 million (over $32.8 million equivalent in 2021), with hundreds of extras and wide vistas of the American Southwest, which were largely unpopulated at the time. It was shot in two versions, a standard 35 mm version and another in the new Grandeur film process, using an advanced camera and lenses, to capture the stunning scenery. Many in the audience cheered, but only a handful of theaters were able to screen the film in its widescreen format, and the initiative was largely wasted at the time. At the time, the film was considered a big box-office flop, but modern critics began to regard it favorably.

Wayne was relegated to small roles in A photographs, including Columbia's The Deceiver (1931), in which he appeared as a corpse in The Big Trail's commercial failure. He appeared in the film The Three Musketeers (1933), an updated version of the Alexandre Dumas book in which the protagonists were soldiers in the French Foreign Legion in then-contemporary North Africa. In several low-budget Poverty Row Westerns, mainly at Monogram Pictures and serials for Mascot Pictures Corporation, he was the lead with his name over the title. He appeared in about 80% of these horse operas from 1930 to 1939, according to Wayne's own account. He became one of the first singing cowboys of film in Riders of Destiny (1933), but not via dubbing. Wayne appeared in several of the Three Mesoeers Westerns, whose name was also based on the Dumas classic. He was taught by stuntmen in riding and other Western skills. Stuntman Yakima Canutt and Wayne invented and perfected stunts and onscreen fisticuffs applications that are still in use. The good guys will win as convincingly as the bad guys in these early Poverty Row Westerns, without ever forcing them to fight clean. Wayne is one of Wayne's most credited inventions. "Before I came along, it was common practice" that the hero must always fight clean," Wayne said. With a chair, the hero was able to smash the hero in the head, throw a kerosene lamp at him, or kick him in the stomach, but the hero was only allowed to knock the villain down politely and then wait until he rose. I changed all that. I threw chairs and lamps out of the room. I fought hard, but I also fought dirty. I fought to win."

Wayne's second breakthrough role came with John Ford's Stagecoach (1939). Ford had trouble getting financing for what was supposed to be an A-budget film due to Wayne's B-movie fame and track record in low-budget Westerns during the 1930s. Ford found an agreement with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor, a much bigger celebrity at the time, received top billing after being rejected by all major studios. Stagecoach was a huge critical and financial success, and Wayne became a well-known celebrity. Louise Platt praised Ford for saying that Wayne would be the most popular actor ever because of his appeal as the archetypal "everyman" at the time.

The entry of America into World War II brought a slew of support for the war effort from all sides of society, and Hollywood was no exception. Wayne was refused service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status (classified as 3-A – family deferment). Wayne repeatedly wrote to John Ford, saying he wanted to enlist and asked if he could join Ford's military service on one occasion. Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but Republic Studios was adamantly opposed to losing him, since he was the only A-list actor under contract. If Herbert J. Yates, the president of the United States, threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his position, he's been barred from his job, and Republic Pictures intervened in the Selective Service process, demanding Wayne's further delay.

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According to several, his decision to serve in the military later became the most difficult period of his life. "He'll be a'superpatriot' for the remainder of his life if staying home," his widow predicted later.

Shepherd of the Hills (1941), Wayne's first color film, in which he co-starred with his longtime friend Harry Carey. Cecil B. DeMille's last film, Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he co-starred Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard, was one of the few occasions he played a character with questionable values.

Wayne appeared on radio shows including: The Hedda Hopper Exhibition and The Louella Parsons Exhibition, as well as other Hollywood celebrities of his time. On such programs as Screen Directors Playhouse and Lux Radio Theatre, he made a number of appearances in dramatic roles, mainly recreations for radio of his own film roles. Wayne appeared in his own radio adventure series Three Sheets to the Wind, directed by Tay Garnett, for six months in 1942. Wayne played Dan O'Brien, a detective who used alcoholism as a mask for his investigative missions, in the series, an international spy/detective film. Garnett intended the show to be a sort of preview for a film version, but no motion picture came to fruition. No episodes of Wayne's series appear to have survived, though a demonstration episode starring Brian Donlevy does exist. On NBC, Wayne, not Donlevy, appeared throughout the series.

In some ways, director Robert Rossen suggested that Wayne have the starring role in All the King's Men (1949) but he turned down, citing the script as unAmerican. Broderick Crawford, who was later cast in the role, won the 1949 Oscar for best male actor, beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).

Jimmy Ringo in The Gunfighter (1950) to Gregory Peck due to his decision not to work for Columbia Pictures because the company's boss, Harry Cohn, had mistreated him years before when he first appeared as a young contract actor. Cohn had bought the Wayne project, but Wayne's anise was too deep, and Cohn sold the script to Twentieth Century Fox, which starred Peck in the role Wayne desperately needed, but for which he refused to bend.

Batjac, a production company co-founded by Wayne in 1952, was named after the fictional shipping company Batjak in Wake of the Red Witch (1948), a film based on Garland Roark's book. (A spelling mistake by Wayne's secretary was allowed to stand because of the change.) Batjac (and its predecessor, Wayne-Fellows Productions) was the arm through which Wayne made many films for himself and other actors. Seven Men From Now (1956), which began the legendary collaboration between director Budd Boetticher and actor Randolph Scott, as well as Gun the Man Down (1956) with contract actor James Arness as an outlaw, were two of the best-known non-Wayne films.

In The High and the Mighty (1954), directed by William Wellman and based on Ernest K. Gann's novel, one of Wayne's most famous roles was The High and the Mighty (1954). His portrayal of a heroic copilot earned him acclaim. In Flying Tigers (1942), Flying Leathernecks (1951), Island in the Sky (1953), The Wings of Eagles (1957), and Jet Pilot (1957).

Over twenty years, he appeared in nearly two dozen of John Ford's films, including She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Wings of Eagles (1957), and others. The first film in which Wayne called someone "Pilgrim" (1956), The Searchers (1956), is often considered to have Wayne's finest and most complex performance.

Hal Kanter's I Married a Woman starring George Gobel and Diana Dors opened in Los Angeles on May 14, 1958. Wayne had a cameo as himself in it. The Barbarian and the Geisha, John Huston's production in which Wayne took the lead and debated with his director every step of the way, opened in New York on October 2.

On March 18, 1959, Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo debuted. Wayne leads a supporting cast including Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, and Ward Bond. On June 18, John Ford's The Horse Soldiers had its world premiere in Shreveport, Louisiana. Wayne takes the lead with William Holden during the Civil War.

In The Conqueror (1956), Wayne infamously portrayed Genghis Khan, which was sluggish by critics.

Wayne directed and produced The Alamo in 1960, starring Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, a tribute to Davy Crockett. In the Best Picture category, Wayne was nominated for an Academy Award. Wayne was also a leader in Henry Hathaway's North to Alaska, which also starred Stewart Granger and Ernie Kovacs. In 1961, Wayne took the lead with Stuart Whitman in Michael Curtiz's The Comancheros.

Wayne appeared in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with James Stewart on May 23, 1962. The premiere of Howard Hawks' Hatari!, shot on location in Africa with Wayne taking the lead of wild animals from trucks' beds; all of the scenes with animals in the film are true. The Longest Day Company's production debut on October 4, with Wayne memorably appearing with an ensemble cast. Wayne was paid only $10,000 each to appear in their roles, making the all-star cast possible for the budget.

Wayne appeared in a segment of How the West Was Won directed by John Ford on February 20, 1963. Wayne was the lead in his last John Ford film, Donovan's Reef, co-starring Lee Marvin on June 12. Wayne premiered Andrew V. McLaglen's McLintock, starring Maurice O'Hara on November 13, when he starred Maurice O'Hara.

Wayne appeared in Henry Hathaway's Circus World in 1964 with Claudia Cardinale and Rita Hayworth.

Wayne appeared in George Stevens' book The Greatest Story Ever Told on February 15, 1965. Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal appeared on screen in In Harm's Way, Otto Preminger's In Harm's Way on April 6, on April 6. He appeared in Henry Hathaway's The Sons of Katie Elder with Dean Martin on June 13, 13 to 19.

Wayne appeared in a cameo role for Melville Shavelson's Cast a Giant Shadow starring Kirk Douglas in 1966.

Wayne took the lead in Burt Kennedy's The War Wagon on May 24, 1967, with Kirk Douglas as the second lead. Howard Hawks' El Dorado, Howard Hawks' second film of the year, premiered on June 7, with Robert Mitchum playing Dean Martin's original role.

Wayne co-directed with Ray Kellogg The Green Berets was released in 1968. The only major film made during the Vietnam War to promote the war. Because Hollywood had no interest in making movies about the Vietnam War at the time, Wayne wanted to make this film. The Green Berets, Degar or Montagnard people of Vietnam's Central Highlands, who were staunch activists against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet, which he wore in the film and all subsequent films. Wayne was also a pilot in Andrew V. McLaglen's Hellfighters, a film about the crews who put out oil rig fires. Katharine Ross played a supporting role.

Henry Hathaway's True Grit premiered on June 13, 1969. Wayne received the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards for his role as Rooster Cogburn. Wayne's In November of this year, Andrew V. McLaglen's The Undefeated with Rock Hudson was released, the first film starring Wayne.

Andrew V. McLaglen's Chisum opened in cinemas on June 24, 1970. Wayne assumed the role of the owner of a cattle ranch, but it turns out that a businessman is attempting to buy neighboring property illegally. Howard Hawks' Rio Lobo premiered on September 16, according to him. Wayne played Col. Cord McNally, who confronts Confederate soldiers who took a shipment of gold at the end of the Civil War. This was another remake of Rio Bravo, but without a second lead from Dean Martin or Robert Mitchum's box office calibre.

George Sherman's Big Jake made its debut in June 1971. Wayne played the part of an estranged father who must track down a gang that kidnapped his grandson. The film was a critically acclaimed hit.

Wayne appeared in Mark Rydell's The Cowboys in 1972. "Wayne is, of course, indestructible, and he has made a remarkable father figure," Vincent Canby of The New York Times, who did not particularly care for the film. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the last round of the NFL Draft for his previous football experience, but league officials disallowed his pick because he was 64 years old at the time.

The Train Robbers opened in Burt Kennedy's 1973; Wayne appeared alongside Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, and Ben Johnson. Cahill U.S.'s Andrew V. McLaglen's Cahill U.S. appeared on June 27. The first two marsals were unsuccessful, with Wayne, George Kennedy, and Gary Grimes.

Wayne took on the role of the eponymous detective in John Sturges' crime drama McQ in 1974.

Douglas Hickox's Brannigan premiered on March 25, 1975. In it, Wayne portrayed Jim Brannigan, a Chicago police lieutenant who was looking for an organized crime chief. Rooster Cogburn began his theatrical career on October 17; Wayne reprised his role as the United States president. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn has strong elements of The African Queen's plot, as well as Katharine Hepburn as his leading lady.

Wayne appeared in Don Siegel's The Shootist in 1976, in addition to Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, and James Stewart. It was Wayne's last cinematic role, with J. Reilly, his main character. B. To which Wayne himself succumbed three years later, books were dying of cancer. It has numerous plot similarities to the Gunfighter of nearly 30 years ago, a job that Wayne had aspired to but ultimately decided against. Its domestically, it grossed $13,406,138.138. As a result of US theatrical rents, approximately $6 million was earned. The film received favorable feedback. The National Board of Review selected it as one of the Top Ten Best Films of 1976. On his list of the top films of 1976, film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times ranked The Shootist No. 10 on his list of the ten best films of 1976. The film was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA film award, and a Writers Guild of America honor.

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