A Tribute to the man of all men. The Duke. John Wayne. Born Marion Michael Morrison, the duke changed his name to John Wayne in Hollywood. Noted for his distinctive height, deep voice, and classic walk, he changed the way America percieved its cowboy and soldier heroes on TV.He epitomized rugged individualistic masculinity, and has become an enduring American icon. No man comes close to John Wayne's masculine personality, he makes Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a puppy dog without a home.
History of the Legend
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. He preferred "Duke" to "Marion", and the name stuck for the rest of his life..
John Wayne's birthplace in WintersetAs 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.
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. He lost his athletic scholarship and without funds, 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. 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. In the film, Wayne was billed with his given name of Marion Morrison.
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.Wayne had several high profile affairs, including one with Marlene Dietrich which lasted for three years.In the years prior to his death, Wayne was romantically involved with his former secretary Pat Stacy. Stacy died of lung cancer in 1995, at the age of 57.
In 1964, Wayne was diagnosed with lung cancer, and underwent surgery to remove his entire left lung and two 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. He died June 11th of 1979 of stomach cancer.
Source: Wikipedia.org
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