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John Wayne [The Convert] (1907-1979)
McNamara's Blog ^ | Thursday, May 26, 2011 | Pat McNamara

Posted on 05/27/2011 5:52:35 AM PDT by GonzoII

John Wayne (1907-1979)


Today marks the 104th birthday of my favorite movie star (and Catholic convert), John Wayne (1907-1979). Born Marion Michael Morrison in Iowa, he grew up in California and attended the University of Southern California, where he played football. A surfing accident ended his football career and he got into the movie business as a prop boy. From there he found leading roles, mainly in B-Westerns, until his 1939 breakthrough role in Stagecoach. His work with director John Ford resulted in some of the greatest Westerns ever made: Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He won an Oscar in 1969 for his role in True Grit. From 1949 to 1974, he was on the top ten box office list every year but one, a record still unequaled.

Wayne was raised a Presbyterian, but all three of his wives were Catholic, and all his children were raised Catholic, attending Catholic schools. Several attended what is now Loyola-Marymount University. The Wayne family numbered many priests, religious and bishops among their friends. Toward the very end of his life, John Wayne was received into the Roman Catholic Church. His funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Manning of Los Angeles.

Happy Birthday, Duke!


TOPICS: Catholic; History
KEYWORDS: catholic; conversions; johnwayne; theduke
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To: Huskrrrr

One of my favorite lines (probably paraphrased): “Life’s hard. It’s harder when you’re stupid.”

Colonel, USAFR


21 posted on 05/27/2011 7:52:41 AM PDT by jagusafr ("We hold these truths to be self-evident...")
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To: jagusafr

Ditto on that SIR!


22 posted on 05/27/2011 8:14:10 AM PDT by 70th Division (I love my country but fear my government!)
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To: GonzoII; netmilsmom; thefrankbaum; Tax-chick; GregB; saradippity; Berlin_Freeper; Litany; ...
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list


23 posted on 05/27/2011 8:27:04 AM PDT by NYer ("Be kind to every person you meet. For every person is fighting a great battle." St. Ephraim)
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To: All

“The Searchers” is great, but my Duke faves are “The Quiet Man” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”....


24 posted on 05/27/2011 8:28:20 AM PDT by Maverick68
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
***I’d vote for “the Searchers” as JW’s best film.***

And his John Ford films! Great! Unfortunatly in the late 1960s and ‘70s Wayne began to play parodies of himself. Every movie was the same character with a different name and a faded red or blue shirt.

THE SHOOTIST was a perfect ending to his career and is a great film.

I've got a preference for Randolph Scott and Joel McRea films.

25 posted on 05/27/2011 9:09:05 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Click my name. See my home page, if you dare!)
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To: GonzoII

I must through in McClintock! “Well, at least we saved your hat.” I laugh straight through that movie every time.


26 posted on 05/27/2011 9:17:28 AM PDT by Desdemona ( If trusting the men in the clergy was a requirement for Faith, there would be no one in the pews.)
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To: GonzoII
One time, John Wayne brought the house down, when appearing on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, he wore a giant pink bunny suit. Walking out on stage, with a deadpan expression, to the already laughing and clapping audience, he said, "Anybody who laughs gets a broken face."


27 posted on 05/27/2011 9:26:18 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: jagusafr

One of my favorites too.


28 posted on 05/27/2011 10:17:40 AM PDT by Huskrrrr
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To: Hotlanta Mike
he went bodysurfing one day near the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, and was injured.

If you're going to get injured body surfing, that's a good place to do it. The Wedge produces some big unpredictable waves. Also, the sand drops off quickly at Newport Beach and the waves can break in just a couple feet of water. If you go over the falls you could end up a quadriplegic. I learned to body surf in Newport Beach when I was 11 years old. There was a storm in the South Pacific and the lifeguards had the red flags out, but of course those are exactly the conditions surfers wait for. It was all I could do to get through the surf line, but there I was, a skinny little kid riding 10 foot waves and dodging the board surfers.

29 posted on 05/27/2011 12:14:40 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (Just once I'd like someone to call me 'Sir' without adding 'You're making a scene.' - Homer Simpson)
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To: Slicksadick
Two really great scenes.
One is when he picks up the kidnapped girl and the hate in his face dissolves and he says, “Lets go home.”
The second is the close, when he turns and walks out on the porch and the door closes.

Powerful.

30 posted on 05/27/2011 1:22:39 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks (Eh ?)
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To: Huskrrrr

My favorite is The Quiet Man. I think it’s underrated. He and Maureen O’Hara were a great team with good chemistry. They make me cry every time I watch it. The complicated human relationships in the movie, and the outside influences on those relationships that affect them, ring so true.


31 posted on 05/27/2011 5:47:33 PM PDT by Melian ( You are beautiful and irreplaceable. Know it!)
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To: Melian

Yes! I’ve seen that movie maybe a dozen times.


32 posted on 05/27/2011 5:49:15 PM PDT by Huskrrrr
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To: GonzoII

Lest we forget another famous cowboy was born on May 26, 1923, Happy belated birthday to James Arness, AKA Matt Dillon. He turned 88!


33 posted on 05/27/2011 7:27:51 PM PDT by longhorn too
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To: GonzoII

¨Island In The Sky¨

The religious undertone is very stirring.


34 posted on 05/28/2011 7:49:17 AM PDT by onedoug (If)
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