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.

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.https://www.youtube.com/embed/iwdcsPqS1x0

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.

From 1928’s Noah’s Ark to 1976’s The Shootist, we compiled every film in which a character portrayed by Hollywood legend John Wayne met their end . Nicknamed “Duke,” John Wayne is one of Hollywood’s enduring icons. With a filmography that spanned five decades, he is preeminent known for his work in Westerns and epics such as The Searchers, Stagecoach, and The Alamo.

John Wayne even won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in the original True Grit.While many of the characters that John Wayne played were often the white-hat hero who saved the day and rode off into the sunset, there were a handful of films in his extensive acting career in which his character did not survive to the end credits.

While there are nine films in which John Wayne’s character is confirmed to have died on screen, there are five films in which his character dies in the background, off-screen, or his fate is left ambiguous.

In Noah’s Ark (1928), he is an uncredited stuntman that dies during the flood sequence. In the movie Hangman’s House (1928), he plays two characters, one of which is possibly seen being executed by hanging. In The Deceiver (1931), John Wayne plays the dead body of a character that was played by a different actor while he was alive. In Sea Chase (1955), his character’s fate is left ambiguous. Finally, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962) begins at his character’s funeral and then launches into a flashback, but his death is never shown.

Central Airport centers around pilot Jim Blaine, who, after crashing a commercial plane during a flight, becomes a stuntman and falls in love. After his love interest marries his brother, he leaves and becomes a mercenary pilot for communist rebels in China and Chile before eventually returning to save his brother from a plane wreck in the Gulf of Mexico.

In an uncredited role, John Wayne plays a pilot who drowns while trying to save a drunk passenger from drowning during one of the play crash scenes.

In West of the Divide, Ted Hayden is in search of his missing brother and trying to learn the truth about who murdered his father. When Ted Hayden discovers that he bears a striking resemblance to attempted deceased murder Gat Ganns, he seizes the opportunity to assume his identity in an to get the answers he seeks.

In this film, John Wayne plays the roles of both Ted Hayden and Gat Ganns to make their resemble uncanny. As Gat Ganns, John Wayne dies by drinking from a poisoned waterhole.

Directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille, Reap the Wild Wind is set in 1840 and follows ship salvagers who take in the captain of a wrecked ship, played by John Wayne, which leads to a complex series of shifting allegiances, love triangles, betrayals , and ultimately tragedy.

Towards the end of the film, John Wayne’s character, Jack, and another lead character named Steve, go diving in the wreckage of a ship to see if there was a stowaway on board when the ship sank. However, they are attacked by a giant squid, and Jack dies in the struggle against the beast.Released during World War II, The Fighting Seabees tells the fictionalized account of the Navy’s decision to form Construction Battalions or CBs, which were then nicknamed Seabees, so that US forces could advance the war effort in the Pacific even during the threat of attack from Japan.