The Duke - ProfilesArchive

About Me

John Wayne (born Marion Morrison) was the son of pharmacist Clyde Morrison and his wife Mary. Clyde developed a lung condition that required him to move his family from Iowa to the warmer climate of southern California, where they tried ranching in the Mojave Desert. Until the ranch failed, Marion and his younger brother Robert E. Morrison swam in an irrigation ditch and rode a horse to school. When the ranch failed, the family moved to Glendale, California, where Marion delivered medicines for his father, sold newspapers and had an Airedale dog named "Duke" (the source of his own nickname). He did well at school both academically and in football. When he narrowly failed admission to Annapolis he went to USC on a football scholarship 1925-7. Tom Mix got him a summer job as a prop man in exchange for football tickets. On the set he became close friends with director John Ford for whom, among others, he began doing bit parts, some billed as John Wayne. His first featured film was Men Without Women (1930). After more than 70 low-budget westerns and adventures, mostly routine, Wayne's career was stuck in a rut until Ford cast him in Stagecoach (1939), the movie that made him a star. He appeared in nearly 250 movies, many of epic proportions. From 1942-43 he was in a radio series, "The Three Sheets to the Wind", and in 1944 he helped found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a right-wing political organization, later becoming its President. His conservative political stance was also reflected in The Alamo (1960), which he produced, directed and starred in. His patriotic stand was enshrined in The Green Berets (1968) which he co-directed and starred in. Over the years Wayne was beset with health problems. In September 1964 he had a cancerous left lung removed; in March 1978 there was heart valve replacement surgery; and in January 1979 his stomach was removed. He received the Best Actor nomination for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and finally got the Oscar for his role as one-eyed Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969). A Congressional Gold Medal was struck in his honor in 1979. He is perhaps best remembered for his parts in Ford's cavalry trilogy - Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and Rio Grande (1950).

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Come see John's birthplace in Winterset,Iowa .

Movies:

The Shootist (1976,John Bernard Books)
Rooster Cogburn (1975,Marshal Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn)
Brannigan (1975,Lt. Jim Brannigan)
McQ (1974,Det. Lt. Lon McQ)
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973,U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill)
The Train Robbers (1973,Lane)
The Cowboys (1972,Will Andersen)
Big Jake (1971,Jacob McCandles)
Rio Lobo (1970,Col. Cord McNally)
Chisum (1970,John Simpson Chisum)
The Undefeated (1969,Col. John Henry Thomas)
True Grit (1969,Marshall Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn)
Hellfighters (1968,Chance Buckman)
The Green Berets (1968,Col. Mike Kirby)
The War Wagon (1967,Taw Jackson)
El Dorado (1966,Cole Thornton)
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966,Gen. Mike Randolph)
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965,John Elder)
In Harm's Way (1965,Capt. Rockwell Torrey)
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965,Centurion at crucifixion)
Circus World (1964,Matt Masters)
McLintock! (1963,George Washington McLintock)
Donovan's Reef (1963,Michael Patrick 'Guns' Donovan)
How the West Was Won (1962,Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman)
The Longest Day (1962,Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort)
Hatari! (1962,Sean Mercer)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962,Tom Doniphon)
The Comancheros (1961,Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter)
North to Alaska (1960,Sam McCord)
The Alamo (1960,Col. Davy Crockett)
The Horse Soldiers (1959,Col. John Marlowe)
Rio Bravo (1959,Sheriff John T. Chance)
The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958,Townsend Harris)
I Married a Woman (1958,uncredited,John Wayne/Leonard)
Legend of the Lost (1957,Joe January)
Jet Pilot (1957,Col. Jim Shannon)
The Wings of Eagles (1957,Frank W. 'Spig' Wead)
The Searchers (1956,Ethan Edwards)
The Conqueror (1956,Temujin, later Genghis Khan)
Blood Alley (1955,Capt. Tom Wilder)
The Sea Chase (1955,Capt. Karl Ehrlich)
The High and the Mighty (1954,Dan Roman)
Hondo (1953,Hondo Lane)
Island in the Sky (1953,Capt. Dooley)
Trouble Along the Way (1953,Steve Aloysius Williams)
Big Jim McLain (1952,Jim McLain)
The Quiet Man (1952,Sean Thornton)
Miracle in Motion (1952,Narrator)
Flying Leathernecks (1951,Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby)
Operation Pacific (1951,Lt Cmdr. Duke E. Gifford)
Rio Grande (1950,Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke)
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949,Sgt. John M. Stryker)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949,Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles)
The Fighting Kentuckian (1949,John Breen)
Wake of the Red Witch (1948,Capt. Ralls)
3 Godfathers (1948,Robert Marmaduke Hightower)
Red River (1948,Thomas Dunson)
Fort Apache (1948,Capt. Kirby York)
Tycoon (1947,Johnny Munroe)
Angel and the Badman (1947,Quirt Evans)
Without Reservations (1946,Rusty Thomas)
Dakota (1945,John Devlin)
They Were Expendable (1945,Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan)
Back to Bataan (1945,Col. Joseph Madden)
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945,Duke Fergus)
Tall in the Saddle (1944,Rocklin)
The Fighting Seabees (1944,Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan)
In Old Oklahoma (1943,Daniel F. Somers)
A Lady Takes a Chance (1943,Duke Hudkins)
Reunion in France (1942,Pat Talbot)
Pittsburgh (1942,Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham/Charles Ellis)
Flying Tigers (1942,Capt. Jim Gordon)
In Old California (1942,Tom Craig)
The Spoilers (1942,Roy Glennister)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942,Captain Jack Stuart)
Lady for a Night (1942,Jackson Morgan)
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941,Young Matt)
Lady from Louisiana (1941,John Reynolds)
A Man Betrayed (1941,Lynn Hollister)
Seven Sinners (1940,Lt. Dan Brent)
The Long Voyage Home (1940,Ole Olsen)
Three Faces West (1940,John Phillips)
Dark Command (1940,Bob Seton)
Allegheny Uprising (1939,James Smith)
New Frontier (1939,Stony Brooke)
Wyoming Outlaw (1939,Stony Brooke)
Three Texas Steers (1939,Stony Brooke)
The Night Riders (1939,Stony Brooke)
Stagecoach (1939,The Ringo Kid)

Television:

TCM , Encore Westerns , & AMC .

My Blog

The Birthplace of John Wayne.

If you are ever in the of Winterset, Iowa... You should visit the birth place of the Duke. They are working on a museum and learning center in honor of John Wayne. Here is a digital design concept o...
Posted by The Duke on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:07:00 PST

The John Wayne Cancer Foundation

The John Wayne Cancer Foundation funds various cancer research grants, including grants at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California. Some of our recent grants include:Nutritional On...
Posted by The Duke on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:00:00 PST