This May 26 marks the 109th anniversary of the birth of John Wayne, the most famous cowboy in cinema and John Ford's fetish actor, with whom he filmed a handful of mythical westerns, including Centaurs of the Desert or Stagecoach. Wayne was one of the great movie stars of the 20th century, with fifty years of professional career behind him, a resume of 181 titles, and several awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor in 1969 for True Grit. He started out in silent movies and ended up as a Hollywood tough guy, a national legend. Like other actors, the charismatic interpreter has a biography that hides a few curiosities.
NICKNAME
He was born into a Presbyterian family of Irish and Scottish descent. John Wayne was just his stage name. His parents named him Marion Robert Morrison, a name, Marion's, which sounded very feminine and which he was not passionate about at all. His neighbors in Glendale, California, began calling him Big Duke as a child because he was always with his Airedale Terrier dog, who was named Little Duke. In this way, he kept his nickname for the rest of his life.
PHYSICAL PRESENCE AND LOVES
Wayne was one of the tallest actors of his generation. At 1.93 meters tall, he filled the screen with an overwhelming physical presence and a very characteristic way of walking.
He was married three times and had seven children. Several romances were known to him, the most notorious being the one he had with Marlene Dietrich.
APPLIED STUDENT
He was a popular and dedicated student who loved literature and in his high school days, he was very involved in academic life. He excelled as a football player and was president of the Latin club. He also worked as an editor in the school newspaper, in which he wrote about sports.
CHEAT AND SUPERSTITIOUS
He was passionate about chess and played with other actors even during breaks from filming. However, some colleagues accused him of cheating, including Robert Mitchum. Also, Wayne was reputed to be a very superstitious man. One of the things that irritated him the most was someone leaving his hat on top of the bed. You couldn't spill salt directly during a meal either.
DRINKER
As a good cowboy, he was a big whiskey drinker. One of his best-known phrases was: "I never trust a man who doesn't drink." His son Ethan marketed a bourbon with the actor's image and nickname (Duke).
FORD-WAYNE TANDEM
He was the favorite actor of director John Ford, with whom he worked in 19 films. After a thirteen-year career, Stagecoach would definitely make him a star. The success of the film made the Ford-Wayne tandem a recognized brand throughout the world. However, they did not always get along. During the filming of Centaurs of the Desert, Ford assured that the actor was as clumsy walking as a hippopotamus and on one occasion called him a "poached egg" due to his lack of expressiveness.
THE QUIET MAN
Among the films Ford and Wayne made together, The Quiet Man (1952), in which he shared the lead with Maureen O'Hara, marked a change in the public's conception of the American actor. His restrained portrayal of a retired boxer dismantled the cliché of a tough, unsympathetic henchman that fell upon him.
INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS
The actor always maintained a conservative position and supported the anti-communist policies of the 1950s. He gave his support to the witch hunt of Senator Joseph McCarthy. He was a fervent supporter of Richard Nixon, even after the Watergate case, and the two maintained a friendship that lasted until the actor's death. When Wayne passed away, Nixon declared that "the roles he played and the life he lived will inspire Americans for generations." Wayne liked to debate politics with Paul Newman, who sent him pieces from progressive writers. Also, he clashed with Jane Fonda over her anti-Vietnam War speech.
VICTIM OF SEVERAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS
John Wayne was the victim of several assassination attempts, and not just in his movies. As British writer and actor Michael Munn reveals in his biography of John Wayne, titled The man behind the Myth, Stalin was maddened by the actor's fierce anti-communism, so he planned to kill him.
The first attempt was carried out by two Soviets disguised as FBI agents, who tried to end the life of the actor in his office at Warner Bros. in Hollywood. They were discovered and captured. During the filming of Hondo, he also suffered a frustrating attack by members of American communist groups, and in 1966 he was targeted by a sniper during his visit to US troops in Vietnam. He also escaped unscathed.
CONTROVERSIAL DEATH
Wayne passed away on June 11, 1979, at the age of 72 from cancer. The illness was attributed to the radiation he was exposed to in 1956 during the filming of the Hollywood mega-production The Conqueror of Mongolia, directed by Dick Powell and shot near a nuclear test range in Utah. Of the total of 220 members participating in the film, 91 had developed some type of cancer by 1981. The White House denied it.
