The Duke

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My dad was a huge John Wayne fan. I’m talking life-sized stand ups in his puzzle room fan. Back in the early 2000s I asked him if he wanted to accompany me on a trip to Winterset, Iowa to see John Wayne’s birthplace. He said that he couldn’t stand the long ride (and that was a good 15 years before he died!). So I came by myself, but not alone. I carried the memory of my dad with me as I toured the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum. Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907. He weighed thirteen pounds at birth. Remarkably, his mother survived that AND had another child. An interesting thing: when Wayne’s brother was born he was named Robert Morrison, and the Duke’s middle name was changed to Michael. I don’t know how or why or if it was official (and neither did the tour guide at the house he was born in). By the time he was a teenager the Morrison family had moved to California, where the father, a pharmacist, was living to help his breathing problems. The older Morrison sibling got the nickname “Duke” because his dog, named Duke, would always follow him to school, so they became known as “Big Duke” and “Little Duke.” From there, the legend was born. His stage name, John Wayne, appeared in his first movie in 1930. His early career was a series of two-reel movies. His first big success came with Stagecoach in 1939. The museum is expanding, so there’s no telling what it’ll look like in a couple of years. Right now, it’s rather small. Wayne’s customized car, with a raised roof added to accommodate his height (he was 6’4”), is on display. Many costumes from various films (ranging from The Shootist, his final film, to the saddle he used in Stagecoach) are on display, as are some costumes from his dear friend Maureen O’Hara. She made five movies with him, and she told her grandchildren to ensure that the John Wayne Museum got costumes from her films with him once she passed away. They did exactly what she requested, so the shawl she wore in The Quiet Man sits next to the wagon used in the film. The one thing that is very conspicuous by its absence is Wayne’s Academy Award, for True Grit in 1969. His speech is on You Tube (where he talked about how witty he might be when picking up an award for a friend, but how he was nothing but humbled now that HE was the recipient), but for some reason his trophy is not in the museum. It may be in the possession of one of his children, or it may be waiting for the expansion. Around the block is the house that Marion Robert Morrison was born in on May 26, 1907. He was delivered by a woman doctor (a real M.D., not a midwife) in the house, which was very common at the time. His brother was also born in the house. It’s a small-by-our-standards but pretty good-sized by 1907 standards house with four rooms. No bathroom (this was 1907, remember), but a kitchen and three other rooms. According to the historian at the birthplace, the Morrison family moved frequently. As a result, while all of the furniture is from that era of the early 1900s and 1910s, none of it actually belonged to the Morrison family. (Kudos to them for making that abundantly clear immediately.) Some things I know about John Wayne that weren’t at the museum include the fact that he was originally offered the role as Marshal Dillon on the TV adaptation of Gunsmoke; and that he was also offered a role in Blazing Saddles, the Mel Brooks spoof to end all western spoofs. Brooks said that Wayne politely declined after reading the script because it was too bawdy for what his fans expected of him. “But I’ll be the first person in line to see it,” he promised Brooks. And here’s another connection to my later trip today: Buddy Holly was inspired to write “That’ll Be the Day” after seeing Wayne’s film The Searchers, where Wayne’s character frequently uttered that line. I had a great time at the museum. I only wish my dad could’ve been with me in person instead of in memory.