There's a mistake in the article where Ethan Wayne says they're going to keep his Congressional Medal of Honor, I believe it should read the Congressional Gold Medal.
Posted on 09/06/2011 5:55:59 PM PDT by jazusamo
Ethan Wayne, the youngest son of Hollywood legend John Wayne, hates to have anything in his pockets because as a young boy he couldn't go out of the house with his dad without a stack of business cards that read, "Good Luck, John Wayne" on one side and the Duke's name typed on the other side stuffed in his pockets.
"He would always take care of the fans no matter how busy he got," said Wayne, 49, who is named after his father's character in John Ford's influential 1956 western "The Searchers."
"If he couldn't sign [an autograph] or talk to them, they at least got a card," said Wayne. "I would say to him, 'Dad, why do we have to talk to this guy?' He'd say, 'Son, because these are the people who allow me to do what I do.' Because they watched his films he was allowed to do what he did and live a certain lifestyle and take care of his family way until his late 60s. He was always astonished [by his success]."
Since 2003, Ethan Wayne has headed John Wayne Enterprises in Newport Beach, which is owned by the Duke's children and grandchildren and whose primary mission is to preserve and protect the name, likeness and image of the larger-than-life movie star. He also has such a large collection of his father's movie memorabilia that he has opened his archives for auction.
"We get phone calls here, not daily anymore, but certainly weekly from fans saying, 'How can I get one of your dad's vests from this film or these films?'" said Wayne, sitting in a conference room at his office. "People have been calling for 32 years. His films affected people and they have a personal relationship with the guy and they want that...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
There's a mistake in the article where Ethan Wayne says they're going to keep his Congressional Medal of Honor, I believe it should read the Congressional Gold Medal.
John Wayne was a great American.
A man’s man.
He wasn’t perfect, no one is, but he was close enough.
His kids turned out well too, unlike some Fonda we know.
Well said. John Wayne had decent life long friends throughout his career and his family reflects the same.
My friends father used to play poker with him in FL.....always thought that was cool......Duke was cool
The Duke CONSUMED the screen in a way today’s modern Hollywood dung-heaps only dream of...
He played one role: John Wayne. And as to his being a great man, not in my book. Not someone who was pleased to be in the situations where all that was fired were blanks, but not in a situation where real bullets were fired. I have reference to the stories of how he avoided service in WWII.
Perhaps you would like to tell that I'm full of it and he really wanted to serve but couldn't.
He was just starting out in film when WW II broke out and he did take the opportunity to duck enlistment.
He did, however, serve in many other ways, raising morale like few others could. Not every man can be a Jimmy Stewart or Clark Gable (both served in uniform.)
Damn right he ducked enlistment. And Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable were twice the man this macho pretender was.
And that argument about alternate service swings no weight with me.
That should be good enough for anyone.
I’m not saying he wasn’t an entertainer. I’m saying that if he took off his shirt and turned around one might well see a large yellow stripe.
You see, I just think the man was the epitome of hypocrisy: he played tough, brave men but it was a lie.
Not good enough for me.
Great pics, Thanks!
You’ve made your point and everyone is entitled to his opinion.
Yeah, too bad that you worship a false idol.
Your opinion and a buck will buy you a cup of coffee, and you can take that false idol worship crap and stick it up your backside. Have a lousy evening, friend.
I have two close family members who served in the Corps.
I was wondering what branch you served in?
I read several of the letters from Jimmy Carter to John Wayne at the Heritage Auction site. Pretty sleazy. You can tell Carter was really ticked off at Wayne for his lack of support on draft dodger amnesty, the Panama Canal giveaway, the defense budget cuts, and other issues.
Thanks for the heads up, I’m going to spend some time there and look things over.
Right on brother!
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