John Wayne

Born: 26 May 1907
Died: June 11th, 1979
Where: Winterset, Iowa, USA

Not far after the turn of last century, Marion Micheal was born to Mary and Clyde Morrison. Growing up in California, with a pharmacist father, Young Duke had a pretty unremarkable childhood.

To say that he was popular at school would be an understatement. He was top of every class, president of the Latin Society, head boy and a member of a championship football team.

His dream was to go to Anapolis Naval Academy, but when his application was refused, he went to the University of Southern California on a football scholarship. A sporting injury stopped him from playing, and, unlucky in all of his ambitions so far, he turned to acting. In 1927 he had actually appeared in a University film, as part of the football team.

He decided the best way into the business was to get behind the scenes. And so the career of one of Hollywood's greatest legends of all time began in the prop room.

One day every prop boy's dream came true and he was 'discovered' by John Ford.

Walk-On parts and stunt jobs soon led to his first major film, The Big Trail. Unfortunately his 'big break' was a flop, but John Wayne, as he was now known, was enjoying playing Western roles and started to work on B-Movies. In fact, he appeared in over fifty of them!

In 1933 he married Josie Saenz and soon had a family to support. He was earning a decent wage but his career had not taken off the way he had hoped.

One day, in 1939, John Ford, who had originally facilitated John's way into showbiz, came up with Stagecoach, and the role of The Ringo Kid.

The role propelled Wayne into the top ranks of box-office stars and during the 1940s his legend began to take shape. John Wayne became, and still is, a household name.

As soon as success came his way he divorced Josie and married another Latino woman, Esperanza Baur in the same year. He saw his three children regularly although they lived with their mother.

In 1947 he produced as well as acted in Angel and the Badman, which led him to form the Batjac Film Production Co, as he enjoyed working behind the camera so much too.

His films in the 40s were some of his best known. Red River, Fort Apache and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, all helped to establish John as Hollywood's Western hero.

In 1954 he divorced Esperanza and was married to Pilar Pillate only days after the separation was made legal. Another two children and several years of marriage later, he divorced Pilar too.

John had always wanted to direct, and the opportunity came along in 1963 when he helmed and also starred in The Alamo, which also starred Frankie Avalon.

In 1969 he received his only Oscar. It was awarded to him for his role in True Grit, which was directed by Henry Hathaway.

On June 11th 1979, after open heart surgery and the eventual removal of his stomach, John Wayne died of cancer, aged 79. The disease had haunted him for years and had only beaten him after a strong fight.

At the end of the 1970s, at the end of his life, John's support for the Panama Canal Treaty belatedly made him a hero for the American left. He finished his life honored by the film community, the United States Congress, and the American people as no actor before or since.

His son Michael Wayne, a film producer who worked with his father extensively towards the end of his life, survives him. His other son Patrick is also an actor and appeared in many high profile movies such as Young Guns, Her Alibi and Chill Factor.