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John Wayne: Early John Wayne
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John Wayne (born Marion Morrison, May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979) is such an iconic American legend that his name has become synonymous with courage, integrity, heroism, America, and standing up for what is right. Born in Winterset Iowa in 1907, he moved to California at an early age with his family. After graduating high school he attended the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship, playing football until a surfing injury caused his retirement from athletics and subsequently lost him his scholarship. However, while still attending college he had begun working at local film studios, where he was able to begin picking up bit parts in various movies.
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Born in Iowa, Marion Morrison, who would become better known as John Wayne, defined the myth of the Old West from the silver screen for five decades. This new book examines his early life and his first roles in Hollywood, uncovering the true stories behind the screen legend's highly publicized and sometimes controversial public life. Includes previously unpublished family photos.
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The early John Wayne western vehicle "The Dawn Rider" features the Duke as a young man out to catch the bank robbers who killed his father. With Marion Burns. Next, convicted of a murder he didn't commit, cowpoke John Wayne escapes and hides out with a gang of real outlaws while looking for the true killer in "Sagebrush Trail," featuring Wally Wales and stunt master Yakima Canutt. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
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In this "Lone Star" Western, a rodeo performer, John Wayne, and his friend are framed for robbery and murder. Wayne and his sidekick must avoid the law while chasing down the real bandits to clear their name. John Wayne's easy going charm comes to the forefront in one of his best early performances.
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During the early 1960s John Wayne traveled extensively to Panama. During this time, the actor reportedly purchased the island of Taborcillo off the main coast of Panama. It was sold by his estate at his death and changed hands many times before being opened as a tourist attraction.
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For four years, Wayne worked as a stage hand, extra, and stuntman at several studios. While working at Fox in early 1930, director Raoul Walsh spotted Wayne moving furniture and gave him the starring role in the big-budget epic western The Big Trail (1930; with Marguerite Churchill). Under different circumstances, the film might have succeeded, yet it flopped at the box office due in part to its high production costs, long running time, and its depths-of-the-Depression release date. However, Fox cast Wayne in several more films, including the romantic comedy Girls Demand Excitement (1931; with Virginia Cherrill and Marguerite Churchill) and the melodrama Three Girls Lost (1931; with Loretta Young) before cutting the young actor loose. Wayne headed to Columbia, then a poverty-row studio, where he was cast in the westerns Range Feud (1931; with Buck Jones) and Texas Cyclone (1932; with Tim McCoy) before heading to Mascot. He subsequently made three serials for poverty-row Mascot: the crime dramas Shadow of the Eagle (1932; with Dorothy Gulliver) and The Hurricane Express (1932; with Tully Marshall), and the western The Three Musketeers (1933; with Raymond Hatton and Lon Chaney Jr.).
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Early John Wayne