The king of the Western

John Wayne: 10 facts about 'The Duke'

John Wayne is one of the great names of the Western genre and American Cinema in general. With a career spanning five decades and nearly 200 films, "The Duke" became an American icon and set the standard for many actors who followed. Let’s take a look at 10 facts about his life!

Marion

We know him as John Wayne, but he was born Marion Robert Morrison. His early minor roles were credited under the name "Duke Morrison," but he adopted a stage name for his first starring role in The Big Trail. The film’s director suggested "Anthony Wayne," after a general from the Revolutionary War, but the studio thought it sounded too Italian, so it was changed to "John Wayne."

The Duke

John Wayne’s nickname came from his childhood pet terrier, Duke. The two were inseparable, so people started calling him "Little Duke." He preferred the nickname over his given name and even used it for his first film roles. The name resurfaced years later when director John Ford began calling him "Duke" again. By then, Wayne was already a popular actor, and he welcomed the old name with open arms.

The footballer who wasn’t

Did you know we almost had "Duke Morrison, footballer" instead of "John Wayne, actor"? After failing to get into the US Naval Academy, Wayne enrolled at the University of Southern California on a football scholarship. But an injury from a bodysurfing accident cut his athletic career short, and he eventually had to leave college.

Not all was lost, though: silent film star Tom Mix, who received football tickets in exchange for giving summer jobs to USC players, helped Wayne land a gig as an extra and prop boy.

The first big role and breakthrough

Raoul Walsh’s The Big Trail was one of the first Western superproductions of the sound era. Walsh wanted to cast an unknown actor in the leading role and chose Wayne after spotting him moving furniture around the studio.

The film was a box office failure, and Wayne spent much of the 1930s acting in low-budget Westerns. His big break came with Stagecoach, directed by the legendary John Ford, which finally put him in the spotlight.

Attempts to enlist

When World War II broke out, Wayne was not drafted due to his age and family situation. Despite this, he made several attempts to enlist and even tried to convince John Ford to bring him into his military unit. Ultimately, he gave up after his studio threatened him with a lawsuit for breaching his contract. It’s said that he carried the guilt of staying behind for the rest of his life.

John Ford

John Ford’s Stagecoach established John Wayne as a leading actor and began his long collaboration with the director. The two worked together on more than 20 films, many of which are considered Western classics, including Fort Apache, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Grande, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Awards

Wayne received several nominations and awards throughout his career, both as an actor and a director. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Sands of Iwo Jima and for Best Picture for The Alamo, which he also directed. He finally won the Oscar for his role as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. He was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the airport in Orange County, California, is named after him.

International popularity (or not)

Wayne’s films made him an American icon and a celebrity both in the US and abroad. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito reportedly asked to meet him during a visit to the United States, impressed by his performance in Sands of Iwo Jima, and so did Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

According to some biographers, the FBI allegedly thwarted an assassination attempt ordered by Joseph Stalin, who viewed Wayne as a symbol of anti-communist ideals. While this story remains unverified, it has become part of Wayne’s larger-than-life legend.

Wayne vs Sinatra

John Wayne was known to have feuded with several celebrities due to his strong personality and political views. One of the most prominent was his disdain for Frank Sinatra, whom he believed had communist sympathies. Their animosity escalated when Wayne reportedly filed a noise complaint against Sinatra at a hotel and allegedly got into a fistfight with one of Sinatra’s bodyguards. Despite their differences, the Duke and Ol’ Blue Eyes eventually made peace years later.

The Duke’s death

John Wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979, a disease many have linked to his filming of The Conqueror in the Escalante Desert, Nevada, near a nuclear testing facility. It is reported that about half of the film’s cast and crew developed cancer, and nearly half of those cases were fatal.

Wayne’s family stated that he converted to Catholicism and received baptism in his final days. He reportedly requested that his grave bear the inscription "Feo, fuerte y formal" (Spanish for "ugly, strong, and dignified," in Wayne’s own words). However, his grave remained unmarked for 20 years after his death.

Image: Aubrey Odom