History
Marion Morrison was born in Iowa in 1907, came West with his family in 1914, and pretty soon was being called “Duke” by everyone who knew him, after some local firefighters in Glendale, California thought it would be fun to give the boy the same nickname as his constant companion, a proud Airedale dog named Duke.
Marion Morrison got his first starring role as the cowboy Breck Coleman in the 1930 film, “The Big Trail.” During this production, studio executives gave Morrison a new name in the hopes of making him an easier sell to film audiences, and he readily accepted the moniker “John Wayne,” saying it was OK with him if the people paying his salary wanted to spruce up his name.
Throughout the 1930s, John Wayne diligently and strategically honed his craft while starring in a series of less well-known Western features and serials, preferring to spend most of his time with stuntmen and real-life cowboys so that they could teach him the skills necessary to play a realistic cowboy on screen. He developed over this period his signature walk, a fist-fighting style, wardrobe preferences, and performed many of his own stunts. Then, in 1939, director John Ford gave him his big break as the Ringo Kid in the classic film, “Stagecoach.” John Wayne’s performance made him a star for good.
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