Biography of john wayne for kids

In Riders of Destinyhe became one of the first singing cowboys of film, albeit via dubbing. Wayne also appeared in some of the Three Mesquiteers Westerns, whose title was a play on the Dumas classic. He was mentored by stuntmen in riding and other Western skills. Stuntman Yakima Canutt and Wayne developed and perfected stunts and onscreen fisticuffs techniques that are still in use.

One of the main innovations with which Wayne is credited in these early Poverty Row Westerns is allowing the good guys to fight as convincingly as the bad guys, by not always making them fight clean. Wayne claimed, "Before I came along, it was standard practice that the hero must always fight clean. The heavy was allowed to hit the hero in the head with a chair or throw a kerosene lamp at him or kick him in the stomach, but the hero could only knock the villain down politely and then wait until he rose.

Biography of john wayne for kids: Born Marion Robert Morrison (his name

I changed all that. I threw chairs and lamps. I fought hard and I fought dirty. I fought to win. Because of Wayne's B-movie status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor —a much bigger star at the time—received top billing.

Stagecoach was a huge critical and financial success, and Wayne became a mainstream star. Cast member Louise Platt credited Ford as saying at the time that Wayne would become the biggest star ever because of his appeal as the archetypal "everyman". America's entry into World War II resulted in a deluge of support for the war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no exception.

Wayne was exempted from service due to his age 34 at the time of Pearl Harbor and family status classified as 3-A — family deferment. Wayne repeatedly wrote to John Ford saying he wanted to enlist, on one occasion inquiring whether he could get into Ford's military unit. Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A draft eligiblebut Republic Studios was emphatically resistant to losing him, since he was their only A-list actor under contract.

Herbert J. Yates, president of Republic, threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract, and Republic Pictures intervened in the Selective Service process, requesting Wayne's further deferment. National Archives records indicate that Wayne, in fact, did make an application to serve in the Office of Strategic Services OSSprecursor to the modern CIAbut his bid was ultimately unsuccessful.

Wayne toured U. During this trip, he carried out a request from William J. By many accounts, his failure to serve in the military later became the most painful part of his life. His widow later suggested that his patriotism in later decades sprang from guilt, writing: "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home.

The following year, he appeared in his only film directed by Cecil B. DeMillethe Technicolor epic Reap the Wild Windin which he co-starred with Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard ; it was one of the rare times he played a character with questionable values. He made a number of appearances in dramatic roles, mainly recreations for radio of his own film roles, on such programs as Screen Directors Playhouse and Lux Radio Theatre.

For six months inWayne starred in his own radio adventure series, Three Sheets to the Wind, produced by film director Tay Garnett. The show was intended by Garnett to be a pilot of sorts for a film version, though the motion picture never came to fruition. No episodes of the series featuring Wayne seem to have survived, though a demonstration episode with Brian Donlevy in the leading role does exist.

Wayne, not Donlevy, played the role throughout the series' run on NBC. Broderick Crawfordwho was eventually cast in the role, won the Oscar for best male actor, ironically beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for Sands of Iwo Jima Cohn had bought the project for Wayne, but Wayne's grudge was too deep, and Cohn sold the script to Twentieth Century Foxwhich cast Peck in the role Wayne badly wanted, but for which he refused to bend.

Batjac, the production company co-founded by Wayne inwas named after the fictional shipping company Batjak in Wake of the Red Witcha film based on the novel by Garland Roark. A spelling error by Wayne's secretary was allowed to stand, accounting for the variation. Batjac and its predecessor, Wayne-Fellows Productions was the arm through which Wayne produced many films for himself and other stars.

His portrayal of a heroic copilot won widespread acclaim.

Biography of john wayne for kids: Early life ; Wayne

The first movie in which he called someone "Pilgrim", Ford's The Searchersis often considered to contain Wayne's finest and most complex performance. In it, Wayne had a cameo as himself. Howard Hawks 's Rio Bravo premiered on March 18, Wayne notoriously portrayed Genghis Khan in The Conquerorwhich was panned by critics. Wayne was nominated for an Oscar as the producer in the Best Picture category.

May 29 marked the premiere of Howard Hawks's Hatari! On October 4, The Longest Day started its theatrical run, with Wayne memorably acting with an ensemble cast. During this time, the cast of the television drama, Combat! Morrow noted that the instructors who worked with the cast at Fort Ord had one common request: not to act like John Wayne.

On November 13, another film starring Wayne premiered, Andrew V. McLaglen 's McLintock! Wayne wanted to make this movie because at that time Hollywood had little interest in making movies about the Vietnam War. During the filming of The Green Berets, the Degar or Montagnard people of Vietnam's Central Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and all subsequent films.

Also that year, Wayne played the lead in Andrew V. McLaglen's Hellfighters, a film about the crews who put out oil rig fires. His later interviews prove that point.

Biography of john wayne for kids: Wayne was born in

Many Americans today realize that John Wayne's America, though beloved by many, is not the America that everyone calls their own. Western movies that pay homage to Confederate soldiers and Indian-killing frontiersman and cowboys are not everyone's cup of tea. History for Kids: An Illustrated Biography of John Wayne for Children looks at the iconic actor's life on and off the silver screen, from his out-sized influence to Hollywood to his outspoken views on politics.

Wayne has been credited with coining the term "the Big C" as a euphemism for cancer. Not from your hangover.

Biography of john wayne for kids: John Wayne was.

From falling over and hitting your head. He later became a member of the York Rite. During the early s, Wayne traveled often to Panamaand he purchased the island of Taborcillo off that nation's Pacific coast. It was sold by his estate at his death. Wayne's yacht, the Wild Goosewas one of his favorite possessions. He kept it docked in Newport Beach Harborand it was listed on the U.

National Register of Historic Places in Roosevelt in the presidential election and expressed admiration for Roosevelt's successor, fellow Democratic President Harry S. Trumandespite having supported Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey in His personal views found expression as a proactive inside enforcer of the " Black List ", denying employment and undermining careers of many actors and writers who had expressed their personal political beliefs earlier in life.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is alleged to have said that Wayne should be assassinated for his frequently espoused anti-communist politics, despite being a fan of his movies. Kennedy won the election: "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job. He declined, joking that he did not believe the public would seriously consider an actor in the White House.

Instead, he supported his friend Ronald Reagan 's campaigns for Governor of California in and He was asked to be the running mate for Democratic Alabama Governor George Wallacewho had been nominated for president by the American Independent Partyin his campaign, but he immediately rejected the offer [] and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon; [] Wayne addressed the Republican National Convention on its opening day.

Wayne enclosed some hate literature on "that Jew, Kissinger ," who had negotiated the historic meeting with Chinese leaders. Buckley believed that the Panamanians had the right to the canal and sided with President Jimmy Carter. Wayne starred in so many movies nearly in all that when asked to name his worst, he joked that 50 of them were tied, but the excessive number allowed Wayne to portray heroes of all stripes, from cowboys to soldiers, and he was invariably charming, courageous, and full of rugged, masculine swagger.

Even as Westerns have certainly waned in popularity, Wayne himself has remained immensely popular, in part because he set the prototype for the heroic character, regardless of genre. But John Wayne also transcended the Western genre.