Happy 100th birthday, John Wayne!

The Orange County Register ^ | May 24, 2007 | NIYAZ PIRANI

[ConservativeStatement]

If there's one thing I've learned from asking readers to send in stories about John Wayne, it's this: people really loved the guy.

Even if they didn't know him personally, many speak of brief encounters with his gentle ways and humorous personality as if they're talking about somebody they've known for years.

The Duke turns 100 years old Saturday, so we thought we'd celebrate with our very own birthday card.

[MISTERA]

I believe that the funeral where Tom Mix cried was that
of Wyatt Earp in 1929.

[bcsco]

I believe that the funeral where Tom Mix cried was that of Wyatt Earp in 1929.

That could well be. Casey Tefertiller, in his "Wyatt Earp The Life Behind the Legend" states that Mix was at Earp's funeral. Earp's best Hollywood friend, however, was William S. Hart, an older Western hero than Tom Mix in that time. Tefertiller also states that John Wayne knew Earp (before Wayne went in front of the camera) as did John Ford. Tefertiller also writes that Wayne told actor Hugh O'Brien that he based his roles as Western lawman on conversations he had with Earp.

Earp was full of stories and just how much truth there was in what he imparted can't be known. He also had a stash of Colt 'Peacemakers' that he'd give out to admirers, claiming they were the gun he used at the OK Corral. I've often wondered how many of those got into collections unknowingly.

[bcsco]

...and other than "Red River" don't remember him playing a character similar to that...

Neither do I. John Wayne's role as Thomas Dunson in Red River, however, was not nearly as dark as his Ethan Edwards role in The Searchers. Dunson was a driven man, not prone to taking the advice of others, or allowing others their due.

Ethan Edwards, however, definitely had a dark side, something which the movie failed to develop. Some things were implied: Where his money came from, his earlier relationship with his brother's wife, his hatred for Indians. Things such as these made The Searchers a much darker film, and Ethan Edwards a potentially malevolent character.

The look Wayne gives to those two rescued White girls at the military post is close to hatred. It really set up the question of what Edwards will do if he finds his niece. A very chilling moment.