John Wayne

John Wayne tried spending more time with his son Ethan because he knew he wouldn’t see him grow up

Although he knew he was going to die, legendary actor John Wayne bravely fought his cancer. He also tried spending more time with his son Ethan Wayne, knowing he wouldn’t see him grow up.

Real name Marion Robert Morrison, John Wayne was born on May 26, 1907. He was famous for having appeared in many films during the heyday of Hollywood.

The American actor has starred in westerns and war films and has enjoyed a successful career, starring in 179 feature films and television productions. For three decades, John remained one of Hollywood’s best actors.

American actor John Wayne in a scene from « El Dorado » circa 1967. [Gauche] | Photo of John Wayne’s son, Ethan. [Centre] | Actor John Wayne pictured with his son, Ethan. [Droite] | Photo: Getty Images

Thanks to his incredible feats, the American Film Institute selected him as one of the greatest male stars in classic American cinema – a truly deserved honor.

Born in Winterset, Iowa, John grew up in Southern California. He could have become a footballer if a bodysurfing accident hadn’t cost him a football scholarship to the University of Southern California.

Subsequently, he began working for the Fox Film Corporation and appeared in minor roles before landing his first leading role in Raoul Walsh’s western « The Big Trail ». It was in this film that he earned the name John Wayne.

A studio portrait of John Wayne, circa 1955. | Photo: Getty Images

In the 1930s, John Wayne played lead roles in many westerns, but he did not become a big star. However, after his performance in John Ford’s film « Stagecoach » in 1939, he became a real star.

Other westerns John has starred in include “Red River,” “The Searchers,” “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and “True Grit,” which won him the Oscar for Best Actor. He also appeared in « The Quiet Man », « Rio Bravo » and « The Longest Day ».

John’s last on-screen performance was in the 1976 film « The Shootist », where he played an aging gunslinger battling cancer. Her last public appearance was at the Academy Awards on April 9, 1979.

Two months after this appearance, he died at 72 from stomach cancer on June 11. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Nicknamed Duke, John was a dedicated actor, which helped him rise to the top of his career. He showed his passion for his profession during the shooting of the movie « The Sons of Katie Elder », in 1965.

Before John starts shooting the movie, he’s diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite the chilling nature of such a diagnosis, the legendary actor was determined not to let it disrupt his career. He therefore continued to tour while treating his cancer.

Dean Martin was John’s co-star in the film and saw how he coped with the diagnosis while on set. He was inspired by John’s courage and shared his thoughts on that experience.

He said someone else could have felt sorry for him, but John didn’t know how to get sick and he recovered the hard way.

John also trained Ethan well and made sure he never failed to do the housework.

Besides his career, another thing John loved so much was his family. He married three times in his life and had seven children.

His first wife was Josephine Saenz, with whom he was married from 1933 to 1945. A year after their divorce, he married Esperanza Baur, but they divorced in 1954.

John’s third wife is Pilar Pallete, whom he married in 1954. She was an avid tennis player and encouraged him to build the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach, California. The club was then sold and renamed Palisades Tennis Club.

John’s marriage to Pallete was the longest. He separated from her in 1973 and exempted her from his will. In the meantime, his first wife, Saenz, has been bequeathed part of his fortune. John’s children are also beneficiaries of his estate worth $ 6.85 million.

John and Saenz shared three children, Mary Antonia Wayne LaCava, Patrick Wayne and Melinda Wayne Munoz. John did not have children with Baur, but shared three other children, Aissa Wayne, Ethan Wayne and Marisa Wayne, with Pallete.

Some of John’s children followed his path by venturing into the film and television industry. Ethan played the role of John Ethan Wayne in a few movies and starred in the 90s update of the « Adam-12 » television series.

By the way, John’s granddaughter, Jennifer Wayne, Aissa’s daughter, is a member of the country music group « Runaway June ».

John loved spending time with his family and particularly loved the Christmas period. Her family opened up about her love for Christmas in a 2016 interview.

John’s daughter, Marisa, said her father loved Christmas, and that they had a huge living room, which was so filled with gifts during the holiday season that you couldn’t walk through it. In addition, John loved buying gifts for his family and took decorating the tree very seriously.

Although he has been dead for many years, the memory of John continues to live on in the hearts and minds of his family, especially his children, who still remember living in his shadow.

In a 2018 interview with Fox News, Ethan recalled growing up with his father. Ethan is the president of John Wayne Enterprises and the director of the John Wayne Foundation.

During the interview, he recalled going to a friend’s house. He observed that his friend’s family’s mailbox contained only three letters, which was so different from his, which was still filled with thousands of letters. From then on, he understood that his father was different.

Ethan explained that although his father was a huge superstar, he lived a normal life. For example, her father did not use security services or bodyguards and answered the door and the phone himself.

John also trained Ethan well and made sure he never forgets to do the housework. Ethan also revealed that his father knew he could die before he was a young man. Therefore, he was determined to be a present father to his children. He said :

« I was homeschooled locally in Mexico because he knew he wouldn’t be there for me when I was older, and that he would probably lose me when I was a young, adolescent. »

Ethan describes his father as a daring, outgoing, lively, constantly moving forward individual, and an excellent rider. He concludes by expressing the hope that people will remember John for the artist he was.

John Wayne

Is ‘Yellowstone’ Star Kevin Costner The Modern Day John Wayne?

Will there ever be another Hollywood cowboy quite like John Wayne? These Yellowstone fans think Kevin Costner is the only to come close.

Right off the bat, this feels an odd comparison to draw for this Outsider. Sure, on the surface it works: both men are incredibly famous for their work in Westerns. Yet as individuals and their roles in Hollywood at large – they could not be more different.

But that’s just one man’s opinion! As a fellow Yellowstone fan, however, I do think it’s fair to say Costner’s John Dutton is having a considerable impact on American pop culture today – much in the same way John Wayne did in his heyday.

Perhaps this, then, is what has led to an active discussion over on Reddit’s Yellowstone board between passionate fans. There, Redditor deepinterwebz jumpstarts the conversation with: “I see Kevin Costner as America’s modern day John Wayne. He embodies America’s true cowboy spirit as Wayne did.”

Which, again, on the surface kind of works. The top comment picks up on some of the same hiccups mentioned earlier, though, as u/hitch_in_my_gitalong replies: “Leaving out their actual personalities, John Wayne generally played good guy roles. John Dutton wants something that’s honorable and good but is crooked in how he goes about it.”

True, yet both were products of their time. In this discussion, fans seem to be whisking all of Wayne’s iconic cowboy roles into one fictional cowboy of a man – which was largely The Duke’s public persona. Wayne always wanted to play good guys, sure (except, you know, that one time he played Genghis Khan in one of the worst missteps in Hollywood history), but many of his characters were just as “crooked” as Costner’s Dutton for their time. Cinema simply wasn’t as breakneck and gory in the golden age. Things were… Much different. Something like Yellowstone would be unfathomable to audiences of the mid-20th century.

‘Yellowstone’ Fans on ‘Hollywood’s Version of a Cowboy’

To this end, Redditor DemenicHand believes “it would probably be better to compare Rock “The Dwayne” Johnson’s persona to John Wayne, instead of [Costner].”

An interesting take! Honestly, Johnson certainly has a much more similar bravado to Wayne about him that Costner. Wayne was “larger than life,” as is Johnson. Costner, however, is far closer to that actual “cowboy spirit” of less showmanship – more action.

Yet Redditor johnnykoxville (not to be confused with the actual Jackass star) disagrees that either could ever be considered the “True cowboy spirit,” saying “It’s so far off in reality.”

Eh… I Disagree. From someone who has two literal cowboys for great uncles, both men remind me a lot of Kevin Costner and a little of John Wayne. So take that for what you will, Yellowstone fans.

As Redditor AnnaNonna says, “John Wayne embodied Hollywood’s version of a cowboy.”

Kevin Costner and his characters – like one John Dutton – however, feel far more true to life.

John Wayne

John Wayne Yelled at One of His Co-Stars on the Set of ‘Chisum’: Here’s Why

We all remember John Wayne for being the honorable, heroic cowboy— yet The Duke was not without a temper. While filming his 1970 Western film, Chisum, Wayne proved to be a lot like the man he played in westerns.

During a 2018 interview, Wayne’s co-star, Chris Mitchum opened up about what it was like to work with the legend. According to the actor, Wayne was much like the character he presented on the screen: just and stern when he felt it necessary.

“He was big enough that he would state when he was wrong,” Mitchum began about working with Wayne on set. “He also was extremely fair. I remember one time when we were doing Chisum, the prop guy asked the cast to check their guns when they left the set as it was unsafe around Durango and he did not want them to be misplaced.”

John Wayne Yelled at an Actor

According to Mitchum, the prop guy went to find Geoff Duel, another actor on set who made a mistake of not keeping a close watch on his guns— which were real firearms.

“Duke waited until everybody was seated having lunch. Duke stood up and ripped Geoff apart for not checking his gun. He hollered, ‘Everybody on the set has a job to do, and we help everybody do their job. We work as a single unit here. You were asked to check your gun. Do it and don’t make him come running!’” Mitchum continued.

Even though Wayne was known for being a bit hot-headed at times, he only acted that way when he saw someone not being treated fairly.

“The next day there was an actor standing and Duke said, ‘Why don’t you go sit down? It’s hot.’ This actor replied, ‘Well Duke, I don’t have a chair.’ Duke had gotten his start as a prop man for Fox in the late 1920s. He called the prop guy over and just ripped him a new one for not having a chair there. Duke gave it out to everybody who was out of line,” Mitchum said of John Wayne.

Mitchum also described Wayne as being “more of a mentor and a father to me in the business than my own father was.” He also added that “Duke did nothing but give me support. He took me from a two or three-line role to costarring with him. He basically made my career.”

Throughout his career, Mitchum would star alongside Wayne in films such as Chisum, Rio Lobo, and the legendary Big Jake.

John Wayne

John Wayne: Get to Know The Duke’s 7 Children

Actor John Wayne, known as The Duke by many dads and cowboy movie lovers, was a Hollywood and American icon. His western movies, such as The Searchers, Stagecoach, and Rio Grande, often overseen by director John Ford, are still iconic pieces of Hollywood western lore.

But the man who starred in The Quiet Man and Sands of Iwo Jima and as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (his only Academy Award win) was far more than just an actor. He was a family man as well. John Wayne had seven children in total from two marriages (another marriage resulted in no children).

Get to know all of John Wane’s kids below.

1. Michael Wayne (November 23, 1934 – April 2, 2003)

The John Wayne Foundation’s former president and chairman of the board is John Wayne’s first child. He started his film career as a production assistant on The Quiet Man and worked for his father’s production company, Batjac Productions. Michael also served as a producer on several of his famous dad’s movies, including The Green Berets, Cahill U.S. Marshal, McLintock! and The Alamo.

2. Mary Antonia “Toni” Wayne LaCava (February 25, 1936 – December 6, 2000)

Born in Los Angeles, California, Toni was the Oscar winner’s first daughter. Like her older brother, she appeared in The Quiet Man in a cameo role. Toni also had an uncredited role in The Alamo.

In 1956 she married Donald La Cava. The couple would go on to have eight children: Anita, Mark, Brigid, Kevin, Christopher, Peter, David and Brendan. She spent the rest of her life privately, as a mother and wife.

3. Patrick Wayne (born July 15, 1939)

Patrick John Morrison, or as he’s known on the screen, Patrick Wayne, is the legendary American actor’s second son. Patrick has had a prolific acting career, including in films like Mister Roberts and The Searchers, which starred his father as well. Patrick also had a great career in sci-fi, starring in films like Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and The People That Time Forgot. Patrick also screen-tested for the role of Superman.

4. Melinda Wayne Munoz (born December 3, 1940)

John Wayne’s second daughter also had multiple appearances in his films as a child, but did not go into acting long term. Currently, Melinda lives in Newport Beach in Orange County, California, on Balboa, Island. She married Gregory Robert Munoz in 1964. The couple had five children together before divorcing in 1985.

5. Aissa Wayne (born March 31, 1956)

Aissa Wayne, like the rest of her siblings, had cameos in her dad’s movies as a kid, but she grew up to be a high-powered attorney.

According to her website, “Ms. Wayne is an experienced trial attorney having been trained as a criminal prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles. Our associate attorneys, Of Counsel and paralegals are qualified and experienced in the area of Family Law.”

6. John Ethan Wayne (born February 22, 1962)

The current director of John Wayne Enterprises and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, which was founded after John Wayne died of stomach cancer, Ethan Wayne very much followed in dad’s footsteps. The actor has appeared in the NBC TV movie The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory, the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, and the television series Adam-12.

7. Marisa Wayne (born February 22, 1966)

The daughter of John Wayne and his third wife, Pilar Pallete Wayne, was born on February 22, 1966, in Burbank, California. Marisa, like her other siblings, had cameos in a couple of her dad’s movies. She did not, however, pursue acting. She married Tony Ditteaux on May 4, 2005, and the pair have had two children.

Granddaughter Jennifer Wayne

The granddaughter of John Wayne and Pilar Wayne and the daughter of Aissa Wayne has followed in granddad’s footsteps, in a sense. No, she’s not an actress, but she is a performer. The country music singer and songwriter performs in the band Runaway June, who have hit songs including “Buy My Own Drinks” and “Head Over Heels.”