A (The?) Great American

June 11th marked the 28th anniversay of the death of John Wayne. In May, had he lived, he would have been 100 years old.

The Duke is my all time favorite hero, and from people I knew that met him personally, he was a great human being.

Here's some little known facts.

In 1979, Duke was awarded a Congressional Medal that simply read "John Wayne.....American"

• In 1979, Duke was awarded a Congerssional Medal that simply read "John Wayne...American"


• Holds the record for the actor with the most leading parts - 142. In all but 11 films he played the leading part.


• His appearance on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968) in 1969 showed he had a sense of humor by agreeing to appear in a pink fluffy bunny suit.


• Most published sources refer to Wayne's birth name as Marion Michael Morrison. His birth certificate, however, gives his original name as Marion Robert Morrison. According to Wayne's own statements, after the birth of his younger brother in 1911, his parents named the newborn Robert Emmett and changed Wayne's name from Marion Robert to Marion Michael. It has also been suggested by several of his biographers that Wayne's parents actually changed his birth name from Marion Robert to Marion Mitchell. In "Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne" (1985), Donald Shepherd and Robert F. Slatzer state that when Wayne's younger brother was born, "the Duke's middle name was changed from Robert to Mitchell. . . . After he gained celebrity, Duke deliberately confused biographers and others by claiming Michael as his middle name, a claim that had no basis in fact."


• Great-uncle of boxer/actor Tommy Morrison, aka "The Duke".


• An entry in the logbook of director John Ford's yacht "Araner", during a voyage along the Baja peninsula, made a reference to one of Wayne's pranks on Ward Bond: "Caught the first mate [Wayne] pissing in [Ward] Bond's flask this morning - must remember to give him a raise."


• He and his drinking buddy, actor Ward Bond, frequently played practical jokes on each other. In one incident, Bond bet Wayne that they could stand on opposite sides of a newspaper and Wayne wouldn't be able to hit him. Bond set a sheet of newspaper down in a doorway, Wayne stood on one end, and Bond slammed the door in his face, shouting "Try and hit me now!" Wayne responded by sending his fist through the door, flooring Bond (and winning the bet).


• The evening before a shoot he was trying to get some sleep in a Las Vegas hotel. The suite directly below his was that of Frank Sinatra (never a good friend of Wayne), who was having a party. The noise kept Wayne awake, and each time he made a complaining phone call it quieted temporarily but each time eventually grew louder. Wayne at last appeared at Sinatra's door and told Frank to stop the noise. A Sinatra bodyguard of Wayne's size approached saying, "Nobody talks to Mr. Sinatra that way." Wayne looked at the man, turned as though to leave, then backhanded the bodyguard, who fell to the floor, where Wayne knocked him out by crashing a chair on top of him. The party noise stopped.


• His spoken word RCA Victor album "America: Why I Love Her" became a suprise best-seller, and Grammy nominee, when it was issued in 1973. Re-issued again, in the wake of September 11, 2001, it became a best-seller all over again.


• He once made a cameo appearance on "Beverly Hillbillies, The" (1964)_ and when asked how he wanted to be paid, replied, "Give me a fifth of bourbon--that'll square it."


• In a May 1971 Playboy magazine interview, on the subject of blacks making strides towards equality in the U.S., he stated that he believed in "white supremacy" until blacks were educated enough to take a more prominent role in American society.


• Despite his association with being solely Irish, he was equal parts Scottish, Irish and English.


• While making The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958), he apparently became so enraged with director John Huston (who was something of a tough guy himself and was nearly as tall as Wayne but not as massive) that he throttled and punched him out. It is unknown what Huston did to earn the beating, but the director was known to have a mean streak.


• Eagerly sought the role of Gen. George S. Patton Jr. in Patton (1970), but was turned down by the producer.


• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Carter in 1980.


• On 11 June 1979, the flame of the Olympic Torch at the Coliseum in Los Angeles was lit to honor his memory. It remained lit until the funeral four days later.


• According to movie industry columnist Jim Bacon, Wayne's producers issued phony press releases when he was hospitalized for cancer surgery in September 1964, claiming the star was being treated for lung congestion. "Those bastards who make pictures only think of the box office," he told Bacon, as recounted in 1979 by the columnist. "They figure Duke Wayne with cancer isn't a good image. I was too doped up at the time to argue with them, but I'm telling you the truth now. You know I never lie." After Bacon broke the story of the Duke's cancer, thousands of cancer victims and their relatives wrote to Wayne saying that his battle against the disease had given them hope.