John Wayne can be described as a true American hero. He had rugged looks, enjoyed American football, and was an actor. Like so many other idols before him, like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne’s popularity after death seems even to have eclipsed the fame he enjoyed in life.

The flame of his memory is kept burning bright by his movies, people’s memories, and the vast range of John Wayne memorabilia available to his fans.

John Wayne was actually born Marion Robert Morrison as was later known by the name of Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was born in Iowa and lived there until his family moved and settled down in California. John was a successful football player, playing first for his team at Glendale High School and then later at University of Southern California.

Unfortunately, he suffered an injury while surfing at Newport Beach and was not able to continue playing football. As a consequence he lost his athletic scholarship, and had to leave the university due to a lack of funds. It was then he began working in the local film studios which would start his acting career.

His initial work there saw John helping out in the prop department, but this soon developed into speaking a few lines in films. It was here that Marion Robert Morrison became John Wayne, a screen name decided for him by his agent.

John then moved on to playing parts in low budget films until he received stunt training for the’33 film Riders of Destiny. It was this which secured him a role in Stagecoach, the film that would truly open the doors to the acting world for him.

American values were of great importance to John Wayne, and as such he only accepted roles which he believed reflected these. Despite never enlisting in the Second World War, John became heavily associated with the US military after playing war heroes in several of his movies.

Sadly John Wayne died of stomach cancer in’79 after a long and successful film career. During this time he managed to find the time to have four wives, seven children, as well as a number of affairs. John also had strong political interests, mainly revolving around his American values. These values are what make John Wayne so memorable; the reflection of America in a glorified display on the silver screen.

Ross Tilley is a freelance writer with a passion for film collectibles, such as John Wayne memorabilia.