He was born in Iowa in 1907 and as a small child, the family moved to California. His childhood dog was named Duke and that stuck to him a whole lot better than his birth name, Marion Morrison. He was well remembered growing up because he grew to be a large individual. He won a football scholarship to USC and played lineman for them for 2 years. In the summer before his junior year, he injured his knee while surfing and the school dropped his scholarship. He went back to his summer job of working on the film lots and was slowly given parts because of his size and because of his affability on the set. Much of the decade of the 1930s, he made westerns and his big break came with the movie, “Stagecoach” in 1939. During his lifetime, he made over 200 movies and became a world renowned actor. He became known for standing up for oneself and being able to be counted on in a pinch. Everyone has a favorite John Wayne movie because he had many famous lines that are still quoted. Come and see his story and relive some of those movie moments because this is a tribute to an American icon.
