When people hear of the Duke it conjures up an image of a hardcore, stoic, cowboy. John Wayne’s nickname, the Duke, even presents an image of authority; however, this on-screen persona does not compare to the man behind it - though, what man’s character could possibly fill that enormous stature and reputation.
John Wayne was born in 1907 in Winterset, Iowa as Marion
Robert Morrison to Clyde Leonard Morrison, a pharmacist clerk, and Mary Alberta Brown (english.illinois.edu.). Four years after his birth, Mary had another child whom she named Robert - of course in order to name him Robert she had to replace Marian’s middle name with Mitchell: the first occurrence that would prove that a majority of her affection would be directed towards Robert. Marian never received much attention from his mother, yet he always spoke of her respectfully but not with warmth and love. Marian’s life did include several other obstacles, such as financial struggles (Roberts and Olson, Pgs.
…show more content…
Marion happened to be talented in football though so he was able to manage a scholarship to USC (the University of Southern California) and he enrolled as a pre-law student- his time here was ephemeral because after two years he was injured and deemed unfit for playing so he lost his scholarship and could no longer afford to attend USC. However, while he was at USC his coach got him a summer job working at Fox Studios where he spent his time lifting equipment for a small wage. At Fox Studios he met the director John Ford who would offer him a role in the movie The Big Trail - this movie would be the first time he would be introduced as John Wayne. The movie failed due to it being released amid the depression so Wayne for the next nine years worked on low budget films until John Ford offered him a role in Stagecoach, which would be his big break and would earn him the degree of fame he still has today