[lowbridge]

PBS. Figures.

[The Duke]

My favorite line from my favorite actor:

"Fill your hands you son-of-a-bitch!"

[HighWheeler]

From John Wayne, aka Marion Morrison:

[RJCogburn]

The one nick in his armor was putting career above the country he loved during World War II. He shirked a call to arms when other actors such as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Henry Fonda and Tyrone Power entered the service.

That is, at best,unclear, and "shirked" is certainly a perjorative term. Other biographies claim he was not accepted due to a prior knee problem, age, family. I do not know what is correct.

[Redleg Duke]

"The one nick in his armor was putting career above the country he loved during World War II. He shirked a call to arms when other actors such as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Henry Fonda and Tyrone Power entered the service."

Typical PBS bullshit lies. Wayne tried to enter the service but was rejected on medical reasons due to an old football injury. Of course, the liberal elite at PBS will tell any lie to trash this man's reputation.

[mystery-ak]

Hubby and I are big JW fans...many DVD's and tapes...my fav JW film is *The Searchers* but my fav line is *Apologizing is a sign of weakness* from *She Wore A Yellow Ribbon*...

[aomagrat]

One of my favorite lines...

"I'm looking at a tin star with a drunk pinned to it."

[TAIPAN22001]

The liberal low lifes at pbs can never lower the stature of the great John Wayne, no matter how they try. He's the ultimate symbol of what's good in this country, as well as the greatest movie star this country has ever produced. A giant being slandered by fleas!

[visitor]

...nor does it set out to destroy the heroic image.

if it doesn't "set out to destroy" does this sentence implie that it does just that by the end? ...rto

[holymoly]

"Explaining to Congress why the actor merited the nation's Medal of Honor,"

Some time ago, I saw the Duke's biography on The Biography Channel. As I recall, the medal he recieved simply said "American." Maureen O'Hara & Elizabeth Taylor testified before Congress, urging them to award him a special medal, and to do so before he died of cancer.

The person who wrote this article seems to be one of a large number of people who are too stupid to realize or understand that civilians are not awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is our nations' highest military award.

Maybe it's just me, but this kind of stupidity is inexcusable.

[Mary-Bayou]

I loved 'Rio Bravo.' Great western, fabulous cast. Oh, I loved 'The Shootist' too. And 'The Searchers.'

[secret garden]

Has anyone contacted this author to inform her of the truth behind his 'shirking' of military service?

[IronJack]

WIth PBS's reputation for liberal bias, you can expect this "documentary" to be a thinly veiled jeremiad against another conservative cultural icon. Of course, these are the same people who portray Lyndon Johnson as a man deeply troubled by Vietnam, and FDR as a social savior.

[Maigrey]

I've got to disagree with this quote

Filmmaker Oliver Stone says of Wayne: "There was no sexuality, but there was honesty. You knew what you were getting."

'Scuse me, but he was a real man, effusing masculinity and most of the time, got the lady at the end of the film.

[RGSpincich]

He shirked a call to arms

One patented John Wayne overhand right to Oliver Stone's already flat face is called for here. OS undoubtedly fed this tripe to the willing reporter.

[Ferret Fawcet]

I just love the Duke- my husband and I are in our early 30s and we've recently "discovered" John Wayne (we never watched much of him when we were younger)

We have been trying to see all his movies... since he made over 120 of them, we have a long way to go! We love the westerns some have already mentioned on this thread, and we particularly enjoy "Wings of Eagles" ...delightful and funny.

[squidly]

John Wayne was a poser.

Y'all flame away now.

[PatrioticAmerican]

Pure BS.

[logician2u]

As much as I detest PBS, I suppose I'll be watching tomorrow night to see how badly they treat a great American hero.

John Wayne's friendship with director John Ford was well-known, along with their drinking bouts, but how many FReepers know that Ford's son, Peter, is cut from the same cloth?

Peter Ford's Home Page

Not your typical Hollywood brat, that's for sure.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>Wayne's life is traced from childhood (he was born Marion Morrison)

And that would be born in Wintersett, Iowa - Madison County, more recently famous for that movie about the covered bridges...