John Wayne: biography, personal life, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

John Wayne is a Hollywood actor, best known for his roles in westerns and nicknamed the king of this genre. Winner of "Oscar" and "Golden Globe" for Best Actor. Biography of John Wayne, his career and personal life - later in this article.

Early years

Marion Robert Morrison, better known as John Wayne, was born on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa, USA. In 1916, the Morrison family moved to California. Even in elementary school, Marion began to introduce himself by the name Duke, because his real name seemed to him female, and Duke was the name of his beloved dog. He grew up as a very capable boy, showing success both in school and in sports. In high school, he played for the school football team, participated in the debate club, was president of the Latin Society, and wrote a sports column in the school newspaper.

After graduating from high school, Duke wanted to study at the US Naval Academy, but he was not accepted. Then he entered the University of Southern California, where he studied law. Unable to pay tuition, the young man continuedplay football for the university team and received a scholarship for this. However, a collarbone injury sustained in his sophomore year left Duke unable to continue his studies.

Career start

The first film credits in John Wayne's filmography were the roles of unnamed football players in Harvard Brown (1926), Flying Kick (1927), Fireworks (1929) and many others.

In the credits of the first pictures, he was only once indicated as "Duke Morrison". The aspiring actor was not even present at the choice of his pseudonym - the Fox film studio bosses simply decided that the name John Wayne suited him, and since then they have indicated him in the credits that way.

From 1930 to 1939, Wayne appeared in more than 80 films, playing supporting roles in extras or tiny episodes. The first success came to him in 1939, when John Ford invited him to play the lead role in his film Stagecoach. The film received rave reviews from critics and viewers alike, was a huge commercial success, and John Wayne became an overnight star as Baby Ringo.

In 1941, Wayne avoided the mandatory call to the front because of his age (34), but wanted to sign up as a volunteer. The studio kept him with a contract and threat of litigation, seriously fearing losing their rising star.

Success

King of the Westerns John Wayne's first color film was Cowboy of the Hills (1941),in which he played with his longtime extras friend Harry Carey. The following year, Wein starred in Reap the Storm with Ray Milland and Paulette Godard. The role in this movie was a rare occasion where an actor played a character with questionable values.

One of Wayne's most popular films was "The Great and Mighty" in 1954. His portrayal of the heroic co-pilot Dan Roman was highly praised and widely acclaimed. The actor also turned to the image of a pilot in the films "Flying Tigers" (1942), "Burning Flight" (1951), "Sky Island" (1951), "Wings of Eagles" (1957) and "Jet Pilot" (1957).

One of the most successful and difficult roles of John Wayne is Ethan Edwards in the 1956 western The Searchers. The director of this film was John Ford, who at one time "discovered" Wayne's star, and then shot him in more than 20 of his films, including the very popular "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949), "The Quiet Man" (1952) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Velance" (1962).

For the film "Real Courage" (1969), Wayne received an Oscar in the nomination "Best Actor". He played Reuben Cogburn, a one-eyed marshal nicknamed "The Badass" who helped an orphan girl track down her father's killer. True Courage, 1969, is a classic western, and a must-see at the very beginning of your acquaintance.with Wayne's work. A trailer for this painting can be seen below.

Late creativity

In the 70s, John Wayne continued to actively act in films, being already a real legend - films with his participation were doomed to success. One of the most popular films of the late period is the 1974 detective thriller McCue, in which the actor played the role of detective Lon McCue, his classic character - courageous, courageous, merciless to the "bad" and fairly good-natured to the "good". The last film in Wayne's filmography was the 1976 western "The Most Accurate", which tells about a shooter with cancer, whose past deeds do not allow him to die in peace and quiet.

Radio work

Like most Hollywood stars of the 30s and 40s, John Wayne was a frequent guest on various radio stations, where he mainly acted as an actor in the radio versions of his films. For six months, Wayne was the reader for the dramatic role of Detective Dan O'Brien on the spy radio series Three Leaves in the Wind. This character pretended to be an alcoholic in order to solve crimes under this mask. "Three Leaves in the Wind" was supposed to be released in a film version soon, but filming was never completed.

Private life

In 1933, John Wayne married his co-star Josephine Alicia Saenz. In this marriage, the actor had four children - son Michael was born in 1934, daughter Maria Antonia in1936, son Patrick in 1939 and daughter Melinda in 1940. During this marriage, Wayne was romantically involved with actresses Marlene Dietrich and Merle Oberon for three years.

After his divorce from Josephine in 1942, the actor continued to date Merle. In 1946, without ending this relationship, he married the Mexican actress Esperanza Baur. There was a serious quarrel between them in 1947, when the wife, having learned about Merle Oberon, tried to shoot her husband. Thereafter, Vane broke off the extramarital affair and lived with Esperanza until 1954. The third and last wife of the actor was the actress Pilar Pallet. In this marriage, John Wayne had three more children. Daughter Aissa was born in 1956, son John Ethan in 1962 and daughter Marisa in 1966. John Wayne and his third wife, Pilar Pallet, are pictured below.

Despite the fact that Pilar Pallet remained the official wife of the actor until his death, in 1973 they began to live separately from each other. Wayne's last lover was his former secretary Pat Stacey, who was 34 years younger than him. Having lived with Pat for five years, John Wayne wanted to divorce Pilar and marry her, but alas, death prevented him from doing this, and Pilar remained the official widow of the actor.

Personal portrait

Vayne was an avid drinker, and could not go a single day without alcohol. The studio managers always arranged for his shooting day to end by noon - because in the afternoon he would instantly get drunk to the point of unconsciousness. Wayne also smoked a lot - hisThe norm was six packs of cigarettes a day. Because of this, he developed lung cancer in 1964. The actor successfully underwent surgery to remove a lung and several ribs. John Wayne's business partners urged him to keep his medical history secret, but he did not listen to them and openly announced his cancer, urging everyone to be examined.

One of the actor's hobbies was riding on his own yacht, which was called "Wild Goose". He also loved to read - Vane's favorite authors were Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

Political views

For most of his life, John Wayne was an ardent conservative and supporter of the Republican Party, supporting anti-communist positions. In 1936, he voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt and was admired by his successor, Harry Truman. Vane was involved in founding the Conservative Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in February 1944 and was elected president of that organization in 1949. Wayne also supported the Vietnam War - the most striking example of this is the 1968 patriotic film The Green Berets, in which, in addition to acting, he co-directed and produced.

Despite the widespread support of the Republicans, Wayne was not their blind follower. Thus, in the mid-1970s, he came out in support of the Panama Canal Treaty. The Conservatives wanted the US to have full control of the canal, but Wayneleft the right to the Panamanians and in this matter adhered to the position of the democrats. On this basis, the actor for the first time in his life received several bags of angry letters.

Death

The Western King died on June 11, 1979 of stomach cancer. He was 72 years old.