Marion Robert Morrison, known as John Wayne, was an American actor and filmmaker. He became a popular icon through his starring roles in Western films. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. He lost a football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing accident.
About John Wayne in brief
Marion Robert Morrison, known as John Wayne, was an American actor and filmmaker. He became a popular icon through his starring roles in Western films. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. He lost a football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing accident, and began working for the Fox Film Corporation. His career spanned from the silent era of the 1920s, through the Golden Age of Hollywood and eventually American New Wave, appearing in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was among the top box office draws for three decades, and appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era. In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist. He made his last public appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979 before succumbing to stomach cancer later that year. Wayne claimed his middle name was soon changed from Robert to Michael when his parents decided to name their next son Robert, but extensive research has found no such legal change. Wayne’s legal name remained Marion Robert Morrison his entire life. He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man, Rio Bravo with Dean Martin, and The Longest Day. Wayne had Scottish, English and Irish ancestry. His great-great grandfather Robert Morrison left County Antrim, Ireland with his mother arriving in New York in 1799 eventually settling in Adams County, Ohio.
The Morrisons were originally from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Wayne attended Glendale Union High School where he performed well in both sports and academics. He played football for the 1924 league champion Glendale High School team. He also played on the USC football team under coach Tom Mix. Wayne also was a member of the Order of DeMolay and the Sigma Chi fraternities and sororities. He had a huge Airedale Terrier, Duke. A local fireman at the station on his route to school in Glendale started calling him \”Little Duke\” because he never went anywhere without his huge AIREDale Terriers, Duke, He preferred \”Duke\” to \”Marion\”, and the nickname stuck. Wayne went on to play for the Naval Academy, but was not accepted, instead applying to the S.C. Naval Academy. He later played for the USC Trojan Knights, a major major college football team, and was a pre-law member of Sigma Chi and Sigma Chi Fraternities. His last film role was in The Searchers, a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman’s hand in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and a cantankerous one-eyed marshal in True Grit, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor. Wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979, at the age of 80. He left behind a wife and four children. He died in a nursing home in Los Angeles.
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