BIO

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907.   The family moved to California where his father began working as a pharmacist near Los Angeles, in 1916.

Wayne tried to enter the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted.   He instead attended the University of Southern California (USC) on a football scholarship.   A surfing accident led to the loss of his athletic scholarship and he was forced to leave school.

He began working as a property boy at the age of 21 for Fox Film.   He appeared in a small part as a football player in his film debut for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that same year.

After several years appearing in bit parts and working in the backlot, Wayne was pulled from obscurity in 1930 to star in a big budget western for Fox Film which flopped at the box office.   Thereafter, he was relegated to a string of low budget westerns, but developed a persona as well as a close working relationship with stuntmen, like Yakima Canutt, developing riding stunts still seen today.

Wayne’s film career finally got a boost when he appeared in director John Ford’s classic Stagecoach (1939).

Well known for his western films, after World War II Wayne also portrayed many war heroes though he never participated in the war himself.   His studio obtained deferments for him and he never actively tried to enlist, even though many of his fellow actors had joined the war effort.   He later admitted to deeply regretting his apathy and would become a flag-waving patriot for the rest of his life.

Wayne also produced and directed more than 25 feature films between 1947 and 1973, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Motion Picture for The Alamo (1960).

Over a 50 year career, he appeared in more than 170 motion pictures.   However, it was not until near the end of his career, in 1970, that he received an Actor Academy Award for True Grit (1969).   He was previously nominated for an Actor Oscar for Sands Of Iwo Jima (1949).

His last film role was in 1976.

Wayne married three times:

1. Josephine Saenz, (m. 1933-1945), four children, divorced.   Their sons Michael Wayne (1934-2003) became a film producer and Patrick Wayne (1939-) an actor.
2. Esperanza Baur (c1924-1961), actress, (m. 1946-1954), divorced;
3. Pilar Palette, (m. 1954-1979), three children.   Their son Ethan Wayne (1962-) also became an actor.

He died of stomach cancer in Los Angeles, in 1979.   Wayne was 72 years old.

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS