Thursday, October 20, 2011

John Wayne


John Wayne (1907-1979)

John Wayne sites that I have visited: John Wayne birthplace, Winterset, Iowa
                                                       John Wayne gravesite, Pacific View Memorial Park Corona del mar, CA


Legendary actor John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907. His given name at birth was Marion Robert Morrison.

I visited the birthplace of John Wayne in March 2011. I made a big loop through the western Midwest and saw the Truman and Eisenhower Libraries, as well as Gerald Ford's birthplace on the first day. We spent the night across the border from Omaha, Nebraska, in western Iowa. On the second day of the trip we would drive the entire length of Iowa arriving at the Hoover Library in eastern Iowa towards the mid afternoon. I was looking for something to see in Iowa that would break up the state wide drive to Hoover. I was very pleased to find that right in the middle of the state near Des Moines was the birthplace home of John Wayne. So John Waynes birthplace and Vice President Henry Wallace's grave in Des Moines made a good break in the drive.

 I grew up spending alot of time at my Grandparents house who lived just down the street. They would watch alot of old westerns on TNT, TBS AMC ect... So of course we would watch alot of John Wayne. Even though he died 2 years before I was born, I grew up being a big John Wayne fan. Now reflecting as an adult, there is a certain simple charm to the movies made back then that you just don't see in movies today. That's why every so oftain I feel like watching one of John Waynes classic movies.




Sign marking the house as John Waynes' birthplace.





John Wayne's birthplace home Winterset, Iowa


The house is filled with pictures and props from some of his movies. Unfortunatly, no pictures where allowed inside.


The visitors center next door





Me with a cardboard cutout of 'The Duke' in the visitors center. We are shocked at what we see.





An awesome interestion. Washington and Wayne




Near the birthplace is this awesome statue of John Wayne










The John Wayne statue with the local courthouse in the background. Notice our van to the right and one identicle to it on the left, stopped at the light. There seemed to be alot of dirt roads in Iowa. 




The John Wayne birthplace is a great site to see for anyone who is a fan of John Wayne. If your not a fan you will probably regret the 6 dollar admission fee. I throughly enjoyed it. There isn't much furniture in the house. It is kind of a museum to John Waynes movie career.




John Waynes footprints in front of the Chinese theatre. Los Angeles, CA






Pacific View Memorial Park Corona del mar, California. The final resting place of John Wayne. If you look closely to the right side of the picture, you can see my sister taking a picture of the gravesite.



I visited the gravesite of John Wayne on October 1, 2011. My sister and I flew out to Los Angeles for the weekend to see the Nixon and Reagan Libraries. I decided to visit John Waynes gravesite first thing in the morning, before the Nixon Library would open. We had just arrived in Los Angeles around midnight the night before. For some reason the sun seemed unusually bright that morning. Traffic was flowing very well. We arrived at Pacific View Memorial Park ahead of scheduel and followed directions that I got online to John Waynes gravesite. I am thankful that I found this website, otherwise there is no way that we would of found the gravesite. Most of the graves out there are flat markers on the ground, making it tough for us grave hunters out there to find what we are looking for. So specific directions are a nessesity.






John Waynes headstone.



John Waynes family must of been conserned about graverobbers. Because they left John Waynes gravesite unmarker for around 20 years.








My sister and John Wayne. She's a big fan to.





John Wayne and me.
 



Of all of John Waynes movies that I enjoy watching there are 2 that I seem to go to the most. I like True Grit, The Sons of Katie Elder, Big Jake, El Dorodo, The Shootist, and McLintock is always good for a laugh. But the 2 the I really enjoy are 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' and 'The Searchers'. Especially 'The Searchers', which I think is his best performance, playing someone that is Grittier than Rooster Cogburn, and you could almost call his character in 'The Searchers' a bad guy. Almost. In 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' John Wayne is part of a great cast ( including Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin) telling a simple story, with a surprise twist.



John Wayne's movie career lasted for 50 years.  According to Wikipedia a Harris poll which has been realesed every year since 1994, in January 2011 showed John Wayne ranked 3rd among America's favorite film stars. He is the only deceased person on the poll. He is also the only person to be on every years list since it started in 1994.

No comments:

Post a Comment