THE WESTERN JOHN WAYNE

Raised in: Born in Winterset, Iowa, his family moved when he was a boy to California. At Glendale High he played on the football team. Chances for a scholarship at USC and an athletic career vanished when he suffered a body surfing accident. To pay for his schooling he got work at the studios.

Western Awards: From 1961 to 1964 he received an Oscar nomination, four consecutive Golden Laurel Awards and three Bronze Wranglers for his westerns. These films were The Alamo (1961), The Comancheros (1962), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1963) and McLintock! (1964). It was in True Grit (1969) that he won his first Best Actor Oscar along with a Golden Globe, Golden Laurel Award and a Bronze Wrangler. On Chisum (1970) he received a final Golden Laurel Award. In 1996 and again in 2007 he was awarded The Golden Boot Award.

Interesting Western Fact: Wayne, along with his friend Louis Johnson, owned a purebred Hereford cattle ranch in Arizona that spanned over thirty-nine miles.

My Favorite Western: Big Jake (1971). There are a few aspects to this film that make it a personal favorite. One is the name of the title. Sharing the same name I found my name even more interesting as I watched this when I was young. Another thing I like is the pairing up of Wayne and a couple of his kids. The chemistry is already there.

John Wayne: I want to play a real man in all my films, and I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either.

Before I talk about Wayne as a western movie star, I would like to say something about the collage picture above. As I began the concept of having all his western in one picture, I quickly became overwhelmed. Did you know he made over eighty westerns? Interestingly enough, most of them were prior to 1940. Each of those early films, however, where duplicated in story line, while the only thing changing was his characters name. Anyways, as I gathered all the pictures of my favorite westerns together, the collage program I use would not allow me to have more than thirty pictures. This is my explanation for why a few of the classics may be missing above.

Wayne and the West are inseparable terms. In fact, many try and avoid listing his films as favorites, in order to avoid the cliches. He is not only the definition of a cowboy, he is the definition of a man. Surprisingly enough, he has stated that most of his western mannerisms did not come natural to him. In truth, he actually thought many of them up; such as the squinted eye, waddle walk and even his drawl.

His character was always more of a hero than a saint. He took care of business, though he stepped on a couple toes in the process. He was always breaking the rules but never pushing the envelope. His presence demanded your attention, even if his dialogue didn't. His words were pointed and often witty and these same lines would forever be imitated. His humilty spoke louder than his fists making him one of the most admired men in our age. Wayne was the first American of the western screen. He brought with him the flag, the idea, and the feeling of what it meant to live in this country.

A few scenes and comments from The Alamo (1961).

Here he is winning his first and only Oscar. Try watching this

without tearing up. My favorite part is when you see him holding

his wifes hand, moments before it was announced.