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Fun facts about John Wayne

Here are some fun facts about iconic man's man, John Wayne, taken mostly from Wikipedia:

Birth name: Marion Robert Morrison

City of birth: Winterset, Iowa

His name was changed to Marion Michael Morrison when his parents decided to name their next son Robert.

His family moved to California when he was four.

Wayne applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted. He instead attended the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in pre-law.

A bodysurfing injury cut his college football career short.

Without his athletic scholarship he had to drop out of school and start working in the prop department of a film studio.

A director and a studio executive came up with his stage name. Wayne wasn't present for the meeting.

After he started acting, stuntmen taught him horseback riding.

Wayne was married and divorced three times.

All three of his wives were hispanic women.

He was exempt from the WWII draft because of his age (34). Many other actors enlisted, and Wayne considered it, but continually postponed it until "after he finished one more film."

Wayne's third wife, Pilar, wrote, "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."

He was a Freemason.

He smoked five packs a day until he got lung cancer and had his lung removed in 1964. He switched to tobacco and cigars after that.

Wayne actively campaigned for Richard Nixon.

In a 1971 interview, Wayne said, "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility."

Wayne had several high-profile affairs.

Wayne was approached by Mel Brooks to play the part of The Waco Kid in the film Blazing Saddles. After reading the script he said, "I can't be in this picture, it's too dirty...but I'll be the first in line to see it."

6 comments

And it's a small World, because I once dated a girl in Walnut Creek, California whose mum worked for John Wayne. She was his publicist.

;)
stk [Visitor] Emailhttp://randsco.com07/08/07 @ 01:02
John Wayne had the Winchester model 1994 D-handled rifle made for the movie Stagecoach in 1939. That rifle, his Colt pistol, and the RRD (Red River D) belt buckle was worn in every Western after that.
glen jonas [Visitor]• 01/24/09 @ 09:21
John Wayne was mi fav acter ever and hes really really really cool

lucas [Visitor]• 04/06/09 @ 10:56
Let it be known that that was not me. I enjoy punctuation and correct spelling.
Lucas [Visitor] • http://www.brendoman.com/wardwords04/06/09 @ 19:15
love wayne ,live where he was born
tiger [Visitor]• 05/13/09 @ 15:02
I consider John Wayne to be one of the most un-American movie stars. This is due to his unwavering support of blacklisting during the 1950's. He personally helped destroy the lives and careers of many honest, loyal, hard-working American citizens. He is the antithesis of what it means to be a true American hero. Real heros stand up for freedom.
truth teller [Visitor]• 06/12/09 @ 10:59

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