John Wayne, the shy son of a pharmacist who had to make ends meet, was not really like the characters he played – he was not a cocky marshal, a brooding thug, and not inclined to shoot down troublemakers in frontier towns. He didn’t even answer to be called “John.” But the commanding aura with which he mesmerized audiences eventually made his legend indistinguishable from the person beneath the cowboy hat and drawl. Here are eight real-life facts about the larger-than-life actor who set the standard for the lawmakers, judges and men of action he portrayed with unparalleled effect on the big screen.
He was not born as John Wayne
Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa in 1907, the future film star received his long-standing nickname Duke (or “The Duke”) long before he adopted his famous stage name. According to Scott Eymans John Wayne: The Life and the LegendAfter Wayne’s family moved to California, they adopted an Airedale Terrier named Big Duke, prompting local firefighters to nickname the skinny boy who chased the dog “Little Duke.”
More than a decade later, with Duke Morrison’s first leading role in The great way(1930), Fox Studios boss Winfield Sheehan decided to rename the young actor after the headstrong general of the Revolutionary War:“Mad Anthony” WayneThe “John” was more of an afterthought.
He was a good football player
At 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, it’s no surprise that Wayne was an outstanding football player in his younger years. The life and the legendWayne played on a championship-winning Glendale High School football team in the early 1920s before earning a scholarship to the University of Southern California. Although he lost his scholarship in his penultimate year (reportedly after being injured in a bodysurfing accident), Wayne had already spent time working in Fox’s props department through his head coach’s connections and was thus prepared to continue in the film industry after his football prospects fizzled out.
He was one of the first “singing cowboys”
Between his first leading role in The great way and his leap to stardom with Stagecoach (1939), Wayne toiled in dozens of forgettable films in the 1930s. This also included an appearance in sound films – such as Rider of Destiny (1933) and Lawless area (1935) — as singing cowboyan archetype soon made famous by Gene Autry. But while Autry was a real musician, Wayne relied on the “movie magic” of a dubbed voice and guitar playing to play the role. Embarrassed by his inability to perform his characters’ songs in public appearances, Wayne told his bosses that he was retiring from the playback business.
He was criticized as a conscientious objector
Perhaps surprisingly for someone who embodied American robustness in flesh and blood, Wayne never reported for military service during World War II. Even when colleagues such as Clark Gable, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart enlisted, Wayne was initially exempted as the sole breadwinner of his family and later additionally defermented as a movie star who best served the “national interest”. Although Wayne entertained American troops overseas on behalf of the United Services Organization (USO), he was occasionally received rudely by the soldiers who “false macho behaviorhe demonstrated on screen. Later biographers have suggested that Wayne stayed in Hollywood to further his fledgling career, with his guilt over not serving fueling public displays of patriotism.
He enjoyed a good game of chess
Despite his reputation as a real man, Wayne also enjoyed more exciting activities such as chess. His love of the game of kings stretched back to high school, with a teacher remembers the teenager’s “aggressive” style in matches. Wayne, who was often seen hunched over a chessboard on set between takes, is said to have set an undefeated record against industry peers Ed Faulkner and Jimmy Grant. However, he may not have been a particularly gracious loser; he reportedly once made a board and pieces fly through the air after he was severely beaten by fellow actor William Windom.
He converted a warship into a pleasure boat
In his later years, Wayne spent more and more time on board his 136-foot yachtthe Wild Goose. Wayne bought the ship, which was originally built as a US Navy minesweeper in World War I, in the early 1960s and had it renovated to include luxuries such as a saloon, fireplace and bridal suite. Although Wayne valued the most, Family outings He also hosted parties for Hollywood stars on board his yacht and rented it out to friends such as Tom Jones and Dennis Wilson. Like its owner, the Wild Goose even managed to get into the film business, appearing in The President’s Analyst (1967) and Skidoo (1968).
Received a Grammy nomination for a poetry album
A few years after winning his first and only Oscar for his performance in True determination (1969), Wayne almost added to his trophy collection with the release of his well-received 1973 spoken word poetry album, America, why I love it. Written by John Mitchumthe brother of Wayne’s occasional co-star Robert Mitchum, the album’s ten tracks included such contributions as the service-oriented “An American Boy Grows Up” and the anti-protest number “Why Are You Marching, Son?” America, why I love it spent 16 weeks on the Billboard200 charts and received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album in 1973, although Richard Harris ultimately won the award for his interpretation of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Occurred for ten years after lung loss due to cancer
Possibly due to his work near a Nuclear test site on the set of The Conqueror(1956), Wayne had to have a lung (and several ribs) removed in 1964 to treat cancer. Amazingly, he returned to the action-packed roles that had defined his career, in films such as Hell Fighter (1968) and Chisum (1970). Despite his willingness to continue, the veteran actor was evidently suffering from a series of health problems in the mid-1970s. After insurance companies learned of his health problems, he was eventually forced to contribute hearty portion to finance the insurance for his last film, The shooter (1976). He succumbed to stomach cancer in 1979. (His family later founded the John Wayne Cancer Foundation to help others affected.)
