FReeper Canteen~Remembering John Wayne~11 June 09

Thank you Troops Vets & Families!! | Canteen Crew

[AZamericonnie]

The Freeper Canteen Remembers

~~John Wayne~~
May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979

In more than 200 films made over 50 years, John Wayne saddled up to become the greatest figure of one of America's greatest native art forms, the western.

The movies he starred in rode the range from out-of-the-money sagebrush quickies to such classics as "Stagecoach" and "Red River." He won an Oscar as best actor for another western, "True Grit," in 1969. Yet some of the best films he made told stories far from the wilds of the West, such as "The Quiet Man" and "The Long Voyage Home."

In the last decades of his career, Mr. Wayne became something of an American folk figure, hero to some, villain to others, for his outspoken views. He was politically conservative and, although he scorned politics as a way of life for himself, he enthusiastically supported Richard M. Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Spiro T. Agnew, Ronald Reagan and others who, he felt, fought for his concept of Americanism and anti-Communism.



But it was for millions of moviegoers who saw him only on the big screen that John Wayne really existed. He had not created the western with its clear-cut conflict between good and bad, right and wrong, but it was impossible to mention the word "western" without thinking of "the Duke," as he was called.

Mr. Wayne was co-director and star of "The Green Berets," a 1968 film that supported the United States action in Vietnam. The movie was assailed by many major critics on all grounds, political and esthetic, but the public apparently did not mind; in only six months, it had earned $1 million above its production cost of $7 million.



Won Growing Respect

As the years passed, Mr. Wayne was recognized as some sort of American natural resource, and his various critics, political and film, looked on him with more respect. Abbie Hoffman, the radical of the 1960's paid tribute to Mr. Wayne's singularity. Reviewing "The Cowboys," made in 1972, Vincent Canby, film critic of The New York Times, who did not particularly care for it, wrote, "Wayne is, of course, marvelously indestructible, and he has become an almost perfect father figure."

But years before he became anything close to a father figure, Mr. Wayne had become a symbolic male figure, a man of impregnable virility and the embodiment of simplistic, laconic virtues, packaged in a well-built 6-foot-4-inch, 225- pound frame.



Overcame Great Odds

Appearances were not altogether deceiving. Mr. Wayne loved adventure and the outdoors. He did believe that things were either right or wrong, and he came back against great odds. In 1964, a malignant tumor was removed from his chest and left lung, and within several months he was on location making another movie.

Mr. Wayne made his last public appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony in April, where he drew an emotional standing ovation when he strode out on stage to present the Oscar for best picture.

He was recently presented with a special Congressional medal of the kind given to such national figures as the Wright Brothers.

Between his first starring role in "The Big Trail" in 1930, and his last one, as the most celebrated gunslinger in the West who finds he is dying of cancer in "The Shootist," in 1976, Mr. Wayne shot his way through generations of film fans with little change in style or personality. He had consciously adapted his posture for that first movie and retained it. He was sometimes inseparable from it in the flesh.

Famous movie quotes

• "I'm looking at a tin star with a ... DRUNK pinned on it." ("El Dorado")
• "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." (The Shootist)
• Speaking to his young cavalry lieutenants: "Don't apologize—it's a sign of weakness." (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
• "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!" (True Grit)
• "That'll be the day!" (The Searchers - Spoken several times; inspired Buddy Holly to write a song with that title.)
• "Pilgrim." (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Reportedly he used the expression "Pilgrim", as in "tenderfoot" or "dude" or "amateur", 23 times in that film, and once also in McLintock. It became a catchphrase for impressionists such as John Byner, and Rich Little)
• "I haven't lost my temper in 40 years; but, Pilgrim, you caused a lot of trouble this morning; might have got somebody killed; and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't. I won't. The hell I won't!" (He belts him in the mouth). (To Leo Gordon in McLintock!)
• "Out here, due process is a bullet!" (To anti-war journalist David Janssen in The Green Berets)

~~America, Why I Love Her~~

[AZamericonnie]

I absolutely loved the Quiet Man yarddog.

I had no idea about the brand!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Yes, it is.
I’m doing a favor for a gal at work.
Next time I offer to do that, please kick me.

[AZamericonnie]

Cool site Grammie!

Love the pics....*hugs*

BGx2?????

[AZamericonnie]

yes ma’am I do, I tell the truth.

That is a great line advertising guy!

[AZamericonnie]

Hiya Tann....I haven’t gotten to say hello to you in ages! *hugs*

All is well in Tann town?:)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Man....don't these people know I have stuff to do at 5pm...3 phone calls to reset passwords!! And then someone wanted to ask a question. *sigh* LOL!!

How was your commute? Weather good enough to walk?

"They" say it was 83 in the parking lot just an hour ago.

[Arrowhead1952]

Yes, we got close to triple digits here today. It was 95 about one hour ago.

Good morning to everyone at the Canteen.
Still 90 now.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Taz!

*HUGS*

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Brad’s Gramma]

BGx2?????

Yep! Sometime in January! YEA!!!!

[Chode]

Brother Wayne...

[TASMANIANRED]

I got caught up on a bunch of FR lore.

[AZamericonnie]

Rest In Peace Cpl. Charles Dustin “Dusty” Parrish.

[TASMANIANRED]

Don’t forget your jacket. I hear they have canceled summer this year.

[TASMANIANRED]

She owes you big time.

[Army Air Corps]

LOL. Yeah, I have been getting the weather report from some Canadian Freepers. They are asking where the Global Warming is hiding.

[AZamericonnie]

Wise words indeed Sandy & thanks for posting them!

[AZamericonnie]

Truer words Wizard. I found this...

John Wayne's enduring status as an iconic American was formally recognized by the United States Congress on May 26, 1979, when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Hollywood figures and American leaders from across the political spectrum, including Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Mike Frankovich, Katharine Hepburn, General and Mrs. Omar Bradley, Gregory Peck, Robert Stack, James Arness, and Kirk Douglas, testified to Congress of the merit and deservedness of this award. Most notable was the testimony of Robert Aldrich, then president of the Directors Guild of America: "It is important for you to know that I am a registered Democrat and, to my knowledge, share none of the political views espoused by Duke. However, whether he is ill disposed or healthy, John Wayne is far beyond the normal political sharp shooting in this community. Because of his courage, his dignity, his integrity, and because of his talents as an actor, his strength as a leader, his warmth as a human being throughout his illustrious career, he is entitled to a unique spot in our hearts and minds. In this industry, we often judge people, sometimes unfairly, by asking whether they have paid their dues. John Wayne has paid his dues over and over, and I'm proud to consider him a friend and am very much in favor of my Government recognizing in some important fashion the contribution that Mr. Wayne has made."

Maureen O'Hara, Wayne's close friend, initiated the petition for the medal and requested the words that would be placed onto the medal: "It is my great honor to be here. I beg you to strike a medal for Duke, to order the President to strike it. And I feel that the medal should say just one thing, 'John Wayne, American.'" The medal crafted by the United States Mint has on one side John Wayne riding on horseback, and the other side has a portrait of Wayne with the words, "John Wayne, American." This Congressional Gold Medal was presented to the family of John Wayne in a ceremony held on March 6, 1980, at the United States Capitol. Copies were made and sold in large numbers to the public.

[TASMANIANRED]

Evening Kathy, Hugs.

You are warmer than here but the sun has already set.

[AZamericonnie]

Did you work yourself silly again on your day “off”?:)

[yarddog]

Interestingly, that belt buckle with the Red River “D” brand is visible in the first picture on this thread but that is not the picture I was thinking of.

The one I remembered is him with a Winchester over his shoulder. The belt buckle is much more prominent in that one.