John Wayne - Duke | Western Legend & Hero

The name John Wayne is synonymous with tough cowboy, and it shows in the success he had with western films. He holds the record for most leading roles at 142, leaving only 11 films in which he was not the leading man.

Marion Robert Morrison was born to Clyde and Mary Morrison on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa.
His family moved to Palmdale, California and then in 1911 moved to Glendale, California. It seems that Marion never went to school or anywhere else without his huge Airedale dog, Duke.

Tom Mix, a silent western film star, obtained a job for Duke in the prop department at a local film studio in exchange for football tickets. Duke soon made friends with film director John Ford and was cast in bit parts with his USC football team in "Brown of Harvard" in 1926, "The Dropkick" in 1927, and "Salute" in 1929.

Duke was cast in his first starring role in 1930, in the film "The Big Trail". Director Raoul Walsh didn't like the screen name "Duke Morrison" and suggested the name "Anthony Wayne", after a Revolutionary War general. The Fox Studios chief didn't like that name, so Walsh then suggested the name "John Wayne". Everyone agreed and the name was set. Wayne himself was not even present for this discussion.

"The Big Trail" was filmed in two versions, a standard 35mm version and a 70mm version using a widescreen process. The film makers wanted to take full advantage of all the beautiful scenery in the film. Unfortunately most theaters were not equipped to show the film in widescreen and as a result, the film was considered a flop.

Between the years 1930 and 1939, John Wayne appeared in many low-budget films, films he termed "horse operas".

John Wayne's break came with the John Ford classic "Stagecoach" in 1939. Even though John Wayne did not get top billing in this film, the film's huge success made him a star.

John Wayne's final starring western role in

The Shootist.

John Wayne in the western movie classic True Grit.

Between the years 1949 to 1962, John wayne appeared in more than twenty of John Ford's films including, "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon", "The Quiet Man", "The Searchers", "The Wings of Eagles",
"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and others.

During the filming of "Green Berets" in 1968, John Wayne was presented with a brass bracelet by a Vietnamese group who were fierce fighters against communism. He wore the bracelet in this film and in all subsequent films.

John Wayne played the lead role in 142 of the films in which he appeared. He received an Academy Award for Best Actor in "True Grit" in 1969.

John Wayne's last film was "The Shootist" in which he played the role of J. B. Books, a man dying from cancer. Wayne himself died from cancer just three years later.

John Wayne became famous for his distinctive voice, his walk and his stature. According to some records, he stood 6'4". This Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, director and producer epitomized masculinity and John Wayne has become an enduring American icon who symbolized American values and ideals.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named John Wayne the 13th Greatest Male Star of All Time.

John Wayne in the western movie The Searchers.

John Wayne lost his battle with stomach cancer and died on June 11, 1979. Records state that Wayne had requested his tombstone read - "Feo, Fuerte y Formal", which he interpreted as meaning "ugly, strong and dignified". His grave remained unmarked for over twenty years, but is now marked with one of his famous quotations:

"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."