John Wayne: The Life and Legend

by Scott Eyman

In McQ (1974), an indifferent stab at the then-popular rogue cop genre.

  With James Stewart in The Shootist (1976).

  Appearing in a Barbara Walters special in March 1979.

  The last public appearance, at the 1979 Oscars, a few months before his death.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The other shoe finally dropped.

  After I published Print the Legend in 1999, I was assailed by people who thought John Ford was all well and good, but what was really needed was a biography of John Wayne. After spending six years on Ford, the last thing I wanted to do was saddle up and head back to Monument Valley, either metaphorically or geographically. Ten years and two books later, it seemed like a much better idea.

  Gretchen Wayne agreed with me that it was time for a comprehensive biography of the man she called Grandaddy. She put both her own memories and the archives of the Batjac company at my disposal, including a series of oral histories that her late husband, Michael, commissioned shortly after his father died. Gretchen never asked for approvals of any kind. I hope the result is worthy of her trust.

  Dan Ford gave me the oral history he did with Tom Kane, the story editor at Batjac for thirty years. Dan was also there whenever I needed to clear up an abstruse point about his grandfather and John Wayne.

  Brian Downes, director of the John Wayne Birthplace in Winterset, Iowa, funneled information about Winterset to me and was a never-ending source of encouragement. Tim Lilley published The Big Trail, a newsletter about John Wayne filled with interviews with dozens of people that have since gone ahead. He was happy to open his archives to me.

  I owe a special debt to John Sacret Young for sharing the notes of his encounters with John Ford. Animation historian Mike Barrier helped fill in the historical record regarding the Wayne westerns produced by Leon Schlesinger, as did Jerry Beck. Frank Thompson has written extensively about The Alamo, and gave me his interviews with Al Ybarra and Happy Shahan.

  Joe Musso shared his collection of Wayne memorabilia, undoubtedly the finest outside the Wayne family. Jeff Morey helped with matters relating to firearms and Wyatt Earp, his two great specialties.

  Robert Osborne is well loved both for his duties as host on Turner Classic Movies and as a valued friend of the Eyman family. Bob used his influence to get me to people who have never spoken about Wayne for the record. Looking forward to our next dinner, pal. The same can be said for Leonard Maltin, a friend for more than forty years and counting, who gave me the benefit of his interview transcripts and good advice.

  I haven’t known James Curtis for quite that long, but sometimes it seems like it. Jim keeps me sane, keeps me laughing, and his own books give me something to aim for. He’s always happy to point out the many ways in which I come up short. Kevin Brownlow, the doyen of all film historians, remembered his own meeting with John Wayne with total specificity and then supplied the transcript of the interview!

  And a very special thank-you to Robert Wagner, my literary collaborator—one of Hollywood’s great gentlemen, who can always be counted on to help out a friend. Thanks, RJ. Then there was unit publicist extraordinaire Rob Harris, who used his influence to enable one crucial interview.

  Jeff Heise surpassed his own amazing efforts by serving as my researcher on the book, just as he has for twenty years. Every week, Jeff would find something I didn’t know existed. The commitment he’s demonstrated to the books we’ve worked on more than entitles him to this book’s dedication.

  To all of the following who spoke to me about John Ford and John Wayne, together or separately, my gratitude:

  Julie Adams, John Agar, Eddie Albert, Peter Bogdanovich, Adrian Booth, Yakima Canutt, Harry Carey Jr., Marilyn Fix Carey, Larry Cohen, Andrew Fenady, Joe de Franco, Andre de Toth, Angie Dickinson, Ed Faulkner, Rudi Fehr, Tom Fuentes, James Garner, Kristin Glover, Colin Grant, Coleen Gray, William Harbach, Dennis Hopper, Robert Horton, Ron Howard, Marsha Hunt, Tab Hunter, Anne Jeffries, Burt Kennedy, George Kennedy, Howard W. Koch, P. F. Kluge, Karen Steele Kramer, Syd Kronenthal, Dorothy Lamour, Betty Lasky, Janet Leigh, Stephen Longstreet, James Lydon, Andrew V. McLaglen, Lee Meriwether, Bert Minshall, Walter Mirisch, Hal Needham, Jean (Mrs. Frank) Nugent, Hugh O’Brian, Darcy O’Brien, Maureen O’Hara, Carolyn Roos Olsen, Robert Parrish, Stephanie Powers, Cecilia deMille Presley, Robert Relyea, Mickey Rooney, Ann Rutherford, Mark Rydell, William Self, Alan Shayne, Robert Shelton, Vincent Sherman, Barbara Sinatra, Dean Smith, Cass Warner Sperling, Robert Stack, Miles Hood Swarthout, Rod Taylor, Christopher Trumbo, Robert Walker Jr., Alicia Wayne McFarlane, Christopher Wayne, Gretchen Wayne, John Wayne, Michael Wayne, Patrick Wayne, William Wellman, William Wellman Jr., Haskell Wexler, Stuart Whitman.

  At libraries, first and foremost comes Ned Comstock at the USC Cinema-Television Library, who always goes the extra mile—a true gentleman and a scholar. Also at USC Special Collections, thanks to Rachelle Smith.

  Charles Silver at the Museum of Modern Art always has material that can’t be found anywhere else. Besides that, nobody loves John Ford more than Charles, which means we’re both members of the same band of brothers.

  At the Margaret Herrick Library at the Motion Picture Academy: Marisa Duron. At Special Collections: Jenny Romero and Barbara Hall.

  At the Warner Bros. Archive: Jonathan Auxier and Sandra Joy Lee Aguilar.

  James V. D’Arc at Brigham Young has become a close friend, which makes my frequent appearances in the Special Collections department a pleasure for both of us. Among many other prizes, Jim has a huge collection relating to Republic Pictures, without which any understanding of Wayne’s early career is incomprehensible.

  At Janklow & Nesbit, I am represented by the founder of the firm, the amazing Mort Janklow, backed up by Judythe Cohen.

  I’ve had the signal honor of being published by Simon & Schuster for twenty years, where Bob Bender edits my manuscripts with wit and forbearance, enlivened by the occasional sigh of justified dismay. Johanna Li puts up with both of us. And then there’s Gypsy da Silva, associate director of the copyediting department, who has earned my devotion many times over. Once again I benefit from the gentle (sometimes) attentions of Fred Chase’s excellent copyediting. Bill Molesky’s amazing eyes and attention to detail kept the book trending toward the specific and the correct.

  My wife, Lynn, is my advisor, my companion on our research travels, my best friend, my source of strength, my love.

  Scott Eyman

  January 2010–December 2013

  West Palm Beach, Hollywood, Aspen, Venice, Athens, Istanbul, Kanab, Moab, Provo, Funchal, Tangier, Barcelona.

  © PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG LOVETT

  SCOTT EYMAN has written eleven books, including, with veteran actor Robert Wagner, the New York Times bestseller Pieces of My Heart. Among his other books are Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille, winner of the 2011 Richard Wall Memorial Book Award; Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer; Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford; Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise; The Speed of Sound (all Simon & Schuster); and John Ford: The Searcher (Taschen). Eyman is pictured here with Clementine, the dog he adopted from Monument Valley. He, his wife, Lynn, and Clementine and other assorted animals live in West Palm Beach.

  MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

  SimonandSchuster.com

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Scott-Eyman

  ALSO BY SCOTT EYMAN

  * * *

  Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille

  Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer

  John Ford: The Complete Films, 1894–1973

  Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford

  The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1927–1930

  Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise

  Mary Pickford, America’s Sweetheart

  Five American Cinematographers

  WITH LOUIS GIANNETTI

  Flashback: A Brief History of Film

&
nbsp; WITH ROBERT WAGNER

  Pieces of My Heart

  You Must Remember This

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster eBook.

  * * *

  Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Simon & Schuster.

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

  NOTES

  ABBREVIATIONS USED IN NOTES

  AMPAS, Hal Wallis Collection. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California.

  AMPAS, John Wayne: Clipping files.

  Batjac Productions: Burbank, California.

  Brownlow archives: London, England.

  Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale, California.

  Kane manuscript: Untitled Tom Kane memoir, Dan Ford Collection.

  Maltin archives: Toluca Lake, California.

  MOMA: Museum of Modern Art, New York.

  MOMA, John Wayne: Clipping files.

  USC, Batjac Collection: University of Southern California.

  USC, Constance McCormick Collection.

  USC, Jack L. Warner Collection.

  USC, Special Collections, Warga.

  USC, Warner Bros. Collection.

  EPIGRAPH

  “That guy you see on the screen”: Movieland, March 1957.

  PROLOGUE

  “On every picture”: All the Ford quotes in the Prologue derive from AMPAS, John Wayne, “John Ford: Man Alive,” unsourced, undated story but 1950.

  “I’ve seen him”: Eyman, Print the Legend, p. 199.

  “He was talented”: Maureen O’Hara to SE.

  “He was not a social person”: Andre de Toth to SE.

  “Doing those B westerns”: Bakewell to Leonard Maltin, Maltin archives.

  “The reason Ford”: Dan Ford to SE.

  “He was so American”: Roberts and Olson, p. viii.

  “Wayne made westerns”: MOMA, John Wayne, Charles Silver, “Lest We Forget, John Wayne Remembered,” Film Notes, May 1997.

  “He worked hard”: Eyman, Print the Legend, p. 199.

  “What was different”: Michael Wayne to SE.

  “He was an expert”: Ibid., p. 198.

  CHAPTER ONE

  This is the world: Most of the detail about Winterset derives from a letter from Father Paul Barrus to David Trask, 6-15-88, in the collection of the John Wayne Birthplace.

  “Morrison did well”: Wills, p. 38.

  “only had four bits”: Roberts and Olson, p. 13.

  “Molly Morrison was”: Ibid., p. 14.

  “Just about all I remember”: AMPAS, John Wayne as told to Maurice Zolotow, “It Happened Like This,” American Weekly, 11-7-54.

  “barren, deserted country”: AMPAS, John Wayne as told to Maurice Zolotow, “It Happened Like This,” American Weekly, 11-7-54.

  That same year: USC, Batjac Collection, “Duke, American Royalty,” 12-17-72, box 12, folder 57.

  In later years: Munn, 11.

  “I learned you can’t always judge”: MOMA, John Wayne, Robert Osborne, “John Wayne,” Disney Magazine, 2-77.

  “Mostly we ate”: Ibid.

  “Never expect”: USC, Constance McCormick Collection, “Big Business Is His Hobby,” Silver Screen, 7-47.

  Wayne’s daughter: Aissa Wayne, p. 17.

  “I used to dream”: Stacy, p. 34.

  “Shooting those snakes”: AMPAS, Wayne, Bill Kelly, “John Wayne,” South Bay, 7-81.

  “We had five acres”: Roberts and Olson, p. 27.

  “there was no industry”: Batjac Productions, Fred Stofft interview, undated but 1980.

  “very good”: Graham, p. 285.

  Duke’s neighborhood hangouts: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Robert Waste, “Wayne Grew with Glendale,” Glendale News-Press, 6-12-79.

  “a very beautiful red head”: Batjac Productions, Fred Stofft interview.

  He also joined: Roberts and Olson, p. 40.

  It was raining: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale News-Press, 11-20-98.

  The year before: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale Evening News, 3-1-20.

  “He was well-dressed”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Esther DeBar query letter, undated.

  His teacher: Lorraine Gauguin, “With Duke Down Mexico Way,” Views and Reviews, Dec. 1972.

  “Me and a bunch”: MOMA, “John Wayne,” International Yachtsman, 1978.

  “I admired his dueling”: AMPAS, Wayne, John Wayne as told to Maurice Zolotow, “It Happened Like This,” American Weekly, 11-7-54.

  a “swagger”: Wills, p. 115.

  “I ruined a beautiful”: AMPAS, Wayne, John Wayne as told to Maurice Zolotow, “It Happened Like This,” American Weekly, 11-7-54.

  “To C. L. Morrison”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale Evening News, 1-31-23.

  Early in 1923: Ibid.

  “The whole line played well”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Neal P. Sooy, “Glendale High Beats San Berdoo 15–10,” 11-26-23.

  “Morrison was supposed”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale Evening News, 12-10-23.

  “Duke was the tallest”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Jeannette Mazurki, “Wayne Still Stands Tall,” Glendale News-Press, 10-22-68.

  The address was 313 Garfield Avenue: Glendale Public Library, Special Collections, Glendale Evening News, 3-10-20.

  “I was very envious”: AMPAS, National Enquirer, 1-28-75.

  Eugene Clarke: USC, John Wayne, “USC Friends Remember Duke,” Trojan Family, August/September 1979.

  “I don’t think it’s possible”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Jay Dean, “Wayne Memory Remains Alive,” Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  “My girlfriend and I”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  “He was very bashful”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Jay Dean, “Wayne Memory Remains Alive,” Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  “By winning today’s”: Batjac Productions, Explosion, November 7, 1924.

  “Glendale’s varsity”: Batjac Productions, Explosion, October 31, 1924.

  “I studied”: John Wayne to SE.

  “The worst things”: John Wayne to SE.

  “He was just”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  Duke spelled it out: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Margaret Gibson, “John Wayne’s Friend Recalls Earlier Days,” Glendale Ledger, 5-30-79.

  Clyde turned his son: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Los Angeles Daily News, 11-17-88.

  “He was mature and conservative”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Jay Dean, “Wayne Memory Remains Alive,” Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  “fine student”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  “never in trouble”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale Ledger, 5-30-79.

  Another close friend: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Esther DeBar, “They Called Him Duke,” Mature Living, 6-81.

  By the time Duke graduated: AMPAS, John Wayne, Jack Smith, “Wayne Plays Wayne Hard, Rides Fame Easy,” Los Angeles Times, undated but February 1960.

  “This so-called last”: Michael Wayne to SE.

  “A pimply-faced kid”: Combines Michael Wayne to Leonard Maltin, Maltin archives, and MOMA, John Wayne, Joseph N. Bell, “John Wayne’s Scrapbook,” Good Housekeeping, 6-76.

  “One thing”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Glendale News-Press, 6-13-79.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “The training table”: USC, Constance McCormick Collection, box five, folder 11, Rick Jewell, “John Wayne: An American Icon,” Trojan Family, Autumn 2008.

  “Last year”: AMPAS, John Wayne, John Wayne as told to Maurice Zolotow, “It Happened Like This,” American Weekly, 11-14-54.

  “Duke never really”: Kan
e manuscript, p. 21.

  “What am I”: Kane manuscript, p. 38.

  “I had been running”: Roderick Mann, “John Wayne—A Natural as The Shootist,” Los Angeles Times, 3-7-76.

  Sam White: Bruskin, p. 200.

  “He sat there”: Bogdanovich, p. 277.

  He resorted to selling: USC, Special Collections, Warga, draft of tape 4A, April 1971.

  “It’s unlikely”: Munn, p. 18.

  “I had borrowed money”: Joe McInerney, “John Wayne Talks Tough,” Film Comment, 9/10-72.

  “He had to go to work”: Glendale Library, Special Collections, Margaret Gibson, “John Wayne’s Friend Recalls Earlier Days,” Glendale Ledger, 5-31-79.

  “Duke was in bad shape”: USC, Constance McCormick Collection, box five, folder 11, Rick Jewell, “John Wayne: An American Icon,” Trojan Family, Autumn 2008.

  “[Duke] was down”: Lindsley Parsons to Leonard Maltin, Maltin archives.

  “Their friends”: Gretchen Wayne to SE. All subsequent quotes from Gretchen Wayne in this book derive from our interviews.

  “I think the lesson”: MOMA, John Wayne, Joseph N. Bell, “John Wayne’s Scrapbook,” Good Housekeeping, 6-76.

  After several takes: Bogdanovich, p. 279.

  “There had been”: John Wayne to Kevin Brownlow, Brownlow archives.

  “Another fella”: Bogdanovich, p. 285.

  one of his more demeaning jobs: USC, Special Collections, Warga, WW’s Notes Continued, 5-16-71.

  “He was a labored”: Roberts and Olson, p. 73.

  “Everybody that I was in school with”: John Wayne to SE.

  “There were a lot of tough guys”: Kane manuscript, p. 27.

  He also casually mentioned: Jeff Morey to SE.

  “young and handsome”: Kotsilibas-Davis, p. 58.

  “Our two blankety-blank”: AMPAS, John Wayne, Gladwin Hill, “Tale of a Horse Opera Hot Shot,” New York Times, 11-7-48.