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John WayneAdd to My CelebsAge 72 (passed away Jun. 11th, 1979) Birthday May. 26th, 1907 Born in Winterset, Iowa, USA Height 6' 4" |
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at IMDB
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 (I) for whom, among others, he began doing bit parts, some billed as John Wayne (I). 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).
TRIVIA:
- He had intended to make a trilogy of films featuring the character Rooster Cogburn, but the third film was canceled after _Rooster Cogburn (1975)_ (qv) proved to be only a moderate hit at the box office. The third film was intended to be called "Sometime".
- Increasingly by the early 1960s Wayne used to wear three or four-inch lifts in his shoes, a practice that mystified friends and co-stars like 'Bobby Darin' (qv), 'Capucine' (qv) and 'Robert Mitchum' (qv) because he stood 6'4". It was possibly due to his increasing weight, health problems, and age that he wasn't able to loom as tall without lifts.
- He lost the leading role in _The Gunfighter (1950)_ (qv) to 'Gregory Peck' (qv) because of his refusal to work for Columbia Pictures after Columbia chief 'Harry Cohn (I)' (qv) 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. When the Reno Chamber of Commerce named Peck the top western star for 1950 and presented him with the Silver Spurs award, an angry Wayne said, "Well, who the hell decided that you were the best cowboy of the year?".
- Due to his political activism, in 1968 Wayne was asked to be the segregationist Governor of Alabama 'George Wallace (IV)' (qv)'s running mate in that year's presidential election. Wayne's response made headlines: "Wayne Wallace candidates? Wayne Says 'B------t!'".
- Allegedly gave 'Sammy Davis Jr.' (qv) the first cowboy hat he ever wore in a film.
- 'Maureen O'Hara (I)' (qv) presented him with the People's Choice Award for most popular motion picture actor in 1976.
- Re-mortgaged his house in Hollywood in order to finance _The Alamo (1960)_ (qv). While the movie was a success internationally, it lost him a great deal of money personally. For the next four years he had to made one film after another, including _The Longest Day (1962)_ (qv) for which he was paid $250,000 for four days work. By early 1962 his financial problems were resolved.
- When he was honored with a square at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood the sand used in the cement was brought in from Iwo Jima, in honor of his film _Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)_ (qv).
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