How Well Do You Know “The Duke,” John Wayne?
Wayne was known to his friends and fans as “Duke” and appeared in such noteworthy films as True Grit, The Quiet Man, The Longest Day and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He was born in Winterset, Iowa, as Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907. His family moved to California while Wayne was a young boy, and he went on to excel in both academics and athletics, enough to earn a scholarship to USC.
Wayne suffered a shoulder injury which cost him his athletic scholarship, and, as a result, he turned to films. He appeared in many Westerns in the 1930s before shifting to war movies such as Sands of Iwo Jima and Flying Leathernecks. Later, he returned to the Western genre with films such as Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo and The Alamo, which Wayne also directed and produced.
Wayne even dipped his toes into the waters of television, appearing as himself on I Love Lucy and making an uncredited cameo in the pilot episode of the long-running Western Gunsmoke. Wayne passed away on June 11, 1979, from stomach cancer.
How well do you know John Wayne? Take the quiz!
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