There aren’t many figures bigger than John Wayne. One of the most iconic leading men of his era, there was no one else in Hollywood like him—but there was a chilling darkness to this legendary figure. His infamous Playboy interview is just the tip of the iceberg, so buckle up and let’s dive into the dark history of John Wayne, the Duke himself.
1. He Was Larger-Than-Life
John Wayne was larger-than-life from the moment he came into this world. Born in 1907, little Marion Robert Morrison of Winterset, Iowa managed to get his name in the local paper because his was no ordinary birth. Little Marion wasn’t so little, apparently: The Winterset Madisonian reported that he weighed 13 pounds at birth!
He’d make many more headlines before he left the world—and not all of them would be so adorable.
2. He Hated His Name
We glossed over this point, but it deserves mentioning: John Wayne’s name was really…Marion. If you think that name sounds a little funny for a big tough cowboy like Wayne, you aren’t the only one. Terribly insecure, Marion Morrison utterly despised his feminine name. He was ready to jump on any other name that came along—which leads to the surprisingly sweet origin of his famous nickname.
3. He Got His Name From A Dog
Marion Morrison was a big softie at heart, and he never went anywhere without his best friend: A huge Airedale Terrier named Duke. Every day while he was walking to school, he walked past a fire station. One of the firemen noticed this little kid walking his big dog to school every morning and took to calling the boy “Little Duke.” Once he grew up, he dropped the “little,” but he still loved the “Duke” part.
4. His Dream School Rejected Him
Even as a boy, John Wayne was an ardent patriot, and he dreamed of serving his country. When his time came, he applied to the US Naval Academy—but there was a problem. Wayne was a boy scout in many ways—joining the Latin Society, the debate team, the football team, and contributing to the school newspaper—but his grades were terrible.
The Naval Academy rejected him. Wayne was heartbroken, and fell back on pre-law at USC—but even though it was a consolation prize, his university days still ended in disaster.
5. He Had A Scary Mentor
Clearly, academics weren’t the Duke’s strong point, so at USC, he focused on sports. He joined the football team under the coaching of the infamous Howard Jones. Jones went on to become one of the most famous coaches in the history of college football—but not because he was nice. He got results, but he was an absolute terror to his athletes.
So when Wayne had a terrible accident, he didn’t know what to do…
6. He Couldn’t Admit The Truth
John Wayne showed up to football practice one day with his arm in a sling. He’d broken his collarbone. Jones interrogated him about it, and Wayne just made something up—he was far too terrified to tell his coach that he’d snapped his collarbone bodysurfing on an off day. Well, it’s not like it made a difference in the end: Wayne’s injury ended up derailing his entire life.
7. He Lost It All
Again, John Wayne wasn’t much of an academic, so I doubt it’ll surprise you to learn that he was only at USC on an athletic scholarship. He couldn’t play with his broken collarbone, so the scholarship went out the window. Out of funds and out of options, Wayne was forced to leave USC. But just because he didn’t get a degree, it doesn’t mean he didn’t get anything out of college…
8. He Got His Chance
Coach Howard Jones might have been a frightening figure, but he saw something in Duke Morrison, the tall, strapping Iowa boy who definitely didn’t break his collarbone bodysurfing. And it turns out, Howard Jones was a good man to know. Some of Hollywood’s best and brightest were USC fans and went to the coach for tickets to games.
So when movie star Tom Mix came to Jones looking for tix, Jones made a deal. I’ll give you tickets, if you give the Duke a job. Marion Morrison’s life was about to change forever.
9. He Met A Living Legend
Losing out on a football career isn’t so bad when you’re working on John Ford movie sets in Hollywood. Wayne was only a prop boy when he started out, but after dropping out of university, he was just happy to be there. Then one day, he was wandering the lot when he bumped into one of the most famous lawmen in the world: Wyatt Earp. Earp happened to be good friends with Tom Mix, and he spent a lot of time on set.
Wayne would later credit almost his entire persona to Earp. But Earp wasn’t the only person he bumped into. It was high time John Wayne discovered his greatest vice: Women.
10. He Fell In Love
Just as John Wayne’s career was starting to take off, his love life did too. Around 1926, he went on a date with a young lady named Carmen Saenz. Sparks didn’t quite fly, but someone else caught Wayne’s eye: Carmen’s 16-year-old sister, Josephine. Wayne, always a hopeless romantic, fell for her instantly—but not everyone was happy about it.
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