Over the years, actors have not always used their real names onscreen. John Wayne happens to fall in that category. So, how did he get his name? After all, Marion Morrison wasn’t going to cut it in Hollywood or in movies. The decision to change that name actually happened through Wayne’s movie studio at the time, Fox Studios.

John Wayne Gets Help On Stage Name Thanks To His Movie Studio At The Time

The story goes that Fox Studios didn’t like his birth name. At first, director Raoul Walsh tossed out the name of a war general named Anthony Wayne. Studio exec Winfield Sheehan said nope, sounds “too Italian.” Then John Wayne gets tossed out there and everyone says yes.

Did they not think about using “Duke”? Not for his movie name. That nickname came from a childhood Airedale Terrier named Duke. People apparently would call Wayne “Big Duke” and his dog “Little Duke.” So, there you go. And yes, Wayne didn’t have any input about his new name. It was going to be that way and, thankfully, he would become a motion picture superstar for decades to come.

Over the years, Wayne played many different types of roles. Westerns, military movies, even a cop sometimes. What roles would he turn down in his career? “Anything mean and petty,” he said according to an article from Express. “I think I’ve established a character on a screen that may be rough, may be cruel, may have a different code than the average person, but it’s never been mean and petty or small.”

Actor Shares Some Of His Favorite Movies From His Career

That’s focusing on the type of role that he would turn down. Back in 1976, Wayne sat down in Chicago for an in-depth interview and questions from audience members with Phil Donahue. He was asked what were some of his favorite movies to appear in at that time.

“Well, you like different pictures for different reasons,” Wayne said. “I loved Stagecoach, naturally because I stepped on that stagecoach and it’s carried me a long way. I like Hatari! which was a picture we made in Africa because I had a three-month safari free. I mean rich men don’t get that, you know. And The Quiet Man because I got to work with all the Abbey Players and some forebears of my own family.”

John Wayne died in 1979 after battling cancer throughout his life. His movie legacy is broad, wide, and about as big as he was in life. The fact that Wayne remains a piece of American entertainment to this very day speaks volumes about the man and his fans.

John Wayne did establish himself as one of the greatest actors ever in Western films. But did you know that he invented a punch? The venerable actor did just that as he changed the narrative, so to speak. Before “The Duke” started duking it out with bad guys, the good guys usually were following the rules of fighting. Not with John Wayne.

John Wayne Always Packs A Punch For His Movie FansIn an interview, he once described how things changed with his mighty fists. “The hero could only knock the villain down politely and then wait until he rose,” Wayne says. “I changed all that. I threw chairs and lamps. (And) I fought hard, and I fought dirty. I fought to win.” He usually would come out on the winning end, too.

What about the punch? If you have seen him in The Searchers or Stagecoach, then you know he would fight to hold his ground. Wayne’s punches were in the form of a big arc or circle-like configuration. Doing so will send the puncher and the intended target off of their feet. They would look wobbly. John Wayne would make sure the moviegoers would see him in action. By doing this, they would get the full punching and fighting experience.

Martin Scorsese Remembers The First Time He Saw ‘The Searchers’Director Martin Scorsese, who has made a few good movies in his career, loves The Searchers. He once called seeing John Wayne in it “the greatest performance of a great American actor.” In an interview with the famed director, he recalled going to see the movie with some friends as a young man. Scorsese remembers seeing Ethan Edwards, Wayne’s character, for the first time.

“And, you sit there, and suddenly this character – this lonely character – comes out of the, out of the desert or something and he’s absolutely terrifying,” he says. “I mean he’s with all – well, he’s filled with – he just literally acts out the racism, the worst aspects of racism of our country, you know, and it’s right there. It’s right there. And you could see the hate. You could see it building. You could also understand how he could go that way. …”

When it comes to other actors loving this movie, put Sam Elliott in there, too. The venerable movie star and most recently cast member of 1883 was asked in an interview what were some of his favorite movies growing up. “Oh God, I’ve got a lot of them,” he said. “The Searchers was probably a favorite as I was growing up, along with Red River. And you know, I don’t just single out those two because John Wayne was in both of them.”

Some of television’s most iconic western stars came together in the 1990s giving fans the best beer commercials ever made. It’s a throwback to some of our favorite western families as The Duke himself, John Wayne, joins forces with the Bonanza team in a marriage of classic television footage; technology; an old-fashioned storyline; and a good, cold Coors Light.

And, the result is an awesome one. The cast of Bonanza and John Wayne weren’t around at the time of the development of the commercial. However, technology inserts the western heroes directly into the storyline.

The hilarious ad begins as two rough-looking men barge into a bar. The decidedly intimidating patrons soon notice a couple of cold bottles of Coors light sitting at the bar. The men decide to make themselves at home and drink up the “free beer.”

The men are surly and certainly have no desire to make friends at the establishment. However, the bartender warns the two that they may be pushing their luck.

“I gotta warn you boys, those seats are taken,” the bartender says. A nice gesture no doubt. But it does little to sway the beer-drinking bullies. Then another bar-goer shows up, telling the men that these are “our beers.”

The two large men don’t seem to care, however. And they soon begin to give the Coors light owner a rough time, finally asking “who do you think you are, John Wayne?”

1990s Coors Ad Has Legendary Cowboy John Wayne Doing What John Wayne Does Best

Now, few who watched this commercial back in the day were likely expecting what came next. However, it seems that in a Coors commercial, if you summon The Duke, The Duke shall appear!

“No,” says a familiar voice off-screen.

“That would be me,” the commenter continues just as we see John Wayne step into view.

However, one of the beer thieves doesn’t see the iconic cowboy just yet and he responds by saying “yeah right, and I’m Ben Cartwright.”

“No, he’s over there,” says the bar-goer whose beers have been stolen. Sure enough, the camera pans to the other end of the bar revealing the familiar faces of the Bonanza cast. That’s right, Ben Cartwright and the rest of the Bonanza clan including Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker are all standing tall. Looking as if they have just stepped off the Ponderosa Ranch.

Well, soon the barroom bullies realize that their ill-tempers have no place when sitting in a bar with John Wayne and the Cartwrights. So, they offer to buy a round of beer for the house. A happy ending for all.