EXCLUSIVE PICTURES ‘I love them all – plump, skinny, tall or short.’ John Wayne’s insatiable love for the ladies, devotion to his seven children and advice to President Nixon revealed in personal letters and photos .
John Wayne is arguably the most iconic name in American film – more than an actor, he was a national treasure. Now the Wayne Family is sharing the star’s personal letters, telegrams, cards and never-before seen photos in Duke: In His Own Words, published by Media Lab Books.
‘The guy you see on the screen isn’t really me,’ said Wayne. I’m Duke Morrison, and I never was and never will be a film personality like John Wayne. I know him well. I’m one of his closest students. I have to be I made a living out of him.‘I’ve found the character the average man wants himself, his brother or his kid to be. It’s the same type of guy the average wife wants for her husband’.
Daily Mail Online was provided these exclusive photos and letters from The John Wayne Archives to share with its readers.Born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa, he was the father of seven children, with an age gap of more than thirty years. He showered his kids with lavish gifts but made sure they knew the value of hard work.
He had three wives, multiple affairs, palled around with Ward Bond and Frank Sinatra – and was never one to shy away from offering up advice to the President of the United States. ‘Duke’, ‘Everlovin’, or just ‘Dad’ to his family and friends was born in the Midwest but soon resettled in southern California with his family to accommodate his own father’s lung condition.
It was the move westward that introduced the rugged 6’4′ man’s – and woman’s – man to the Hollywood movie studios. He had lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California after a body surfing accident. He actually never scored a touchdown.With no funds for school, he left and went on to be a prop boy and extra in movies in the 1920s.
Come 1930, he was given his first starring role in The Big Trail and that’s when the screen name John Wayne came to life. He moved on to star in westerns that eventually translated into box office gold for five decades until his ԁеаtһ on June 11, 1979. Wayne ԁıеԁ of stomach cancer at the age of 72.But he left behind a legacy with his seven kids. Wayne was married three times – all Latina women.
