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Editor’s Note: This series is brought to you by the Nebraska Press Association in celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday.
“I’ve about had it with you, pilgrim!” If you were on set and John Wayne was talking to you, brace yourself — you’re about to get decked! The definition of a Pilgrim: “An Eastern Dandy who doesn’t quite understand the ways of the West”.
Is John Wayne the greatest male movie star Hollywood ever produced?
Yes, says Brian Downes, Executive Director of the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum in Winterset, Iowa.
Just think about his longevity, his larger-than-life persona, and considering the era, his massive box office draw. Along with “Duke” (a nickname that came from Wayne’s dog), some people in the business simply called him “Box Office”. Back in the early 1930s, Wayne would be featured in 7 to 11 pictures a year.
Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1903, he personifies what an American man should be. He was truly an All-American man, helping the nation get past some tough times by inspiring audiences through his westerns and military roles, encouraging and reminding Americans of the good in people and the United States.
Clint, Bogie, Stewart, Tracy, and Cruise were or are all talented actors, but Wayne was the bigger-than-life star. He has been accredited with 177 films, almost 100 more than any of those other famous artists. From the Depression through Vietnam, he kept his onscreen persona intact.
“He developed that walk and his disgruntled stare, to be different,” Brian explains. “When John had a lung removed in 1964 due to cancer, he had a gentle pause in the way he talked. Some thought it was great acting but actually, he was just catching his breath”.
To fully appreciate this legacy, you have to visit the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum in Winterset, which is an absolute gem. (We have actually produced an intriguing YouTube video under Bob Ford’s History, Mystery and Lore about Wayne’s life — check it out.)
Winterset, Iowa, happens to be in Madison County. Yep, that Madison County with the famous bridges. You can easily imagine a young John Wayne and his buddies climbing all over those things. The engineering of the interior supports and the intricacy of the designs are what make those 140-year-old structures so sturdy and unique. The bridges were constructed with a cover to protect them from the elements... and it worked! They were built like John Wayne: with character that lasts!
After touring the Museum and Home, we noticed the annual Madison County Fair was taking place — so naturally, we had to go. Winterset itself would be an ideal setting for a Norman Rockwell painting; not only were the lawns perfectly manicured, but all the houses seemed to have window boxes full of flowers. The fair was Americana on parade; there was even a 12-yearold girl with a pig on a leash. Right after that, I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich; no relation, I promise.
Speaking of my own relations, my last name is Ford, which brings to mind a great story about the legendary man who helped make the Duke a star. My father, Jake Ford, was on a cruise and ventured into a lounge for an afternoon nip; after all, he was on vacation. He sat down next to a “salty old guy with a bad eye”. They started talking and it turned out they shared the exact same last name. It was John Ford, the filmmaker who directed John Wayne in some of his finest movies.
My favorite Wayne/Ford film collaboration was They Were Expendable. It’s a WWII film based on the exploits of a Torpedo Boat Squadron fighting in the Philippines early in the war. Much of the courageous action is based on factual events that led to tough times on Corregidor. One of the best known, but out of character, movies for Wayne was Ford’s production of The Quiet Man. John Ford’s given last name was Feeney—very Irish—and The Quiet Man was his beautifully filmed homage to his ancestral homeland. The surrey used in the movie is even on display at the Museum back in Winterset.
My father found Ford to be a humble man who hoped people just enjoyed his work. He also said he was an Irish Whiskey guy. Funny enough, I wrote about this meeting in an article. You know you are at the mercy of an editor when you submit a piece, but when it was finally published, they didn’t have my father and John Ford meeting in the afternoon for a nip; nope, they changed one letter — so it read they met every afternoon for a nap. I can just see those two grizzly WWII vets spooning their way across the Caribbean.
But let’s get back to Winterset. Being the first State to hold Presidential Caucuses, Iowa becomes ground zero for national campaigns every four years. If you were running for the highest office in the land, who better to pose with in-state than the statue of their favorite son, John Wayne?
Brian Downes has entertained them all—candidates he knew and a few he didn’t.
“They pull up in their motor coaches and limos just to get a photo op with the statue in front of the Museum,” he said with a grin. “Ronald Reagan was funny, Bill Clinton charming, and Hillary sweated a lot.”
If you get a chance, take a drive to Winterset and visit the icon’s museum. It’s a wonderful tribute to the man who taught us phrases like, “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do” or “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway”.
