On this day, May 26, 1907, John Wayne, the iconic actor known for personifying the American West, was born in Winterset, Iowa.
Wayne, named Marion Robert Morrison, moved with his family to Glendale, California, at age six, according to History.com.
As a teenager, he delivered newspapers in the mornings, while after school he played soccer and made deliveries for local stores.
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It was while living in Glendale that he acquired the nickname Duke, says the official John Wayne site.
The Duke family dog, an Airedale, was their constant companion. Local firefighters knew the dog's name and began calling the young man “Duke” as well.
The name stuck, says the same source.
John Wayne holding a rifle in a publicity photo for the film “Shepherd of the Hills.” He was born on May 26, 1907. (Getty Images)
Upon graduating high school, Wayne hoped to attend the United States Naval Academy, but when that school rejected him, he accepted a full scholarship to play football at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, History.com notes.
In the summer of 1926, Wayne's football coach got him a job as a prop assistant on the set of a movie directed by John Ford, the same source relates.
“Ford began using Wayne as an extra and eventually began casting him in some larger roles. In 1930, Ford recommended Wayne for Fox's epic western, 'The Big Trail.' Wayne won the role, but the film fared poorly. wrong and Fox let his contract lapse,” according to History.com.
John Wayne and Marie Windsor on the set of “Cahill US Marshal” directed by Andrew V. McLaglen on November 29, 1972 in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
Over the next eight years, he starred in more than 60 low-budget films, mostly in roles as cowboys, soldiers and other tough men of adventure, says Britannica.
Wayne achieved true “star stature” when Ford cast him as “Ringo Kid” in the western classic “Stagecoach” in 1939, the same source notes.
“After that film, his place in American cinema was consolidated and grew year after year,” says Britannica.
“In all of these films, The Duke embodies the simple, and perhaps simplistic, cowboy values of decency, honesty and integrity.”
With the release of the film “Stagecoach,” Wayne's career expanded.
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Among the dozens of westerns in which he appeared (many of them directed by Ford) were such memorable classics as “Tall in the Saddle” (1944), “Red River” (1948), “Fort Apache” (1948), “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” (1949), “Rio Bravo” (1959) and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” (1962), says History.com.
American actor John Wayne (1907-1979) with two of his children, son John Ethan and daughter Aissa Wayne, photographed at an unspecified restaurant, 1967. Wayne was disguised in this photo (as Cole Thornton) for his role in “The Golden”. ” (directed by Howard Hawks). (Silver Screen Collection)
“In all of these films, The Duke, as he was known, embodied the simple, and perhaps simplistic, cowboy values of decency, honesty and integrity,” indicates the same source.
In the late 1960s, Wayne had successes and failures, notes Biography.com.
She co-starred with Robert Mitchum in “El Dorado” (1967), which was well received.
Wayne won his first – and only – Academy Award for Best Actor for “True Grit” (1969).
The following year, Wayne met mixed reactions with the pro-Vietnam War film “The Green Berets” (1968), as Wayne directed, produced and starred in the film.
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“Considered by many as a piece of propaganda, the film still did well at the box office,” reports Biography.com.
Things changed in a positive direction when Wayne won his first – and only – Academy Award for Best Actor for “True Grit” (1969).
American actors John Wayne and Constance Towers on the set of “The Horse Soldiers,” directed by John Ford. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
His last film was “The Shootist” (1976).
Wayne was married three times to Josephine Alicia Saenz, Esperanza Baur and Pilar Palette, says New World Encyclopedia.
He had seven children from his marriage, the first two of whom ended in divorce.
He also had more than 15 grandchildren, the site says.
He won the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in film from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Wayne has been honored by the US Marine Corps with the Iron Mike Award, the highest honor given to a civilian; the Veterans of Foreign Wars with the Americanism Award; and the American Legion with another Americanism Award, the National Football Foundation says.
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He also won the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in cinematography from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the same source indicated.
Wayne died on June 11, 1979, at age 72, in Los Angeles, California, from stomach cancer, says Britannica.
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Many public places have been named in memory of John Wayne.
They include John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, where his life-size statue graces the entrance; John Wayne Elementary School (PS 380) in Brooklyn, New York, which features a 38-foot mosaic mural commissioned by New York artist Knox Martin titled “John Wayne and the American Frontier”; and a 100-plus mile trail called the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in Washington's Iron Horse State Park, says New World Encyclopedia.
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