There have been rumors that he was only 5'6" tall, but the Duke was actually as big as the man he portrayed in his movies, standing at 6'4" tall and weighing 225 pounds and wearing a size 11 boot.

John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison on March 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa to Clyde L. Morrison and Mary Brown Morrison. His parents later changed his named to Marion Michael Morrison when they decided that they wanted to name their next son Robert. Clyde was a pharmacist who owned a drugstore and when young Marion was 6 years old, the family moved to Southern California where Clyde became a homesteader. Not long after that, the family moved to Glendale where Clyde again opened up a drugstore. When John was a boy, he wouldn't go anywhere without his Airedale Terrier dog named Duke. The locals started calling John "Little Duke" and the name stuck.

While John was in high school he worked several odd jobs including driving a truck and a fruit picker. He was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Southern California because of his athletic talents. In his second year of college, he broke his ankle and dropped out. While still in school he got a job as a scenery mover at Fox Films. John had bit parts in several movies while working as a prop man for 2 years but his first starring role was in the 1930 film, "The Big Trail". The director Raoul Walsh suggested giving him the stage name of "Anthony Wayne" after Revolutionary War general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Fox Studios chief Winfield Sheehan didn't like the name so Walsh suggested "John Wayne". Sheehan agreed and the name was set without John even being present. In John Wayne's career he starred in over 200 films. His last film was in 1976 when he starred as John Bernard Books in "The Shootist".

John Wayne was married 3 times and fathered 7 children. In 1964 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and had his entire left lung and 4 ribs removed. Five years later he was declared cancer free. After this bout with cancer he starred in 20 more films.

John Wayne passed away on June 11, 1979 at the UCLA Medical Center from stomach cancer. He was 72 years old. He was interred in the Pacific View Memorial Park cemetery in Corona del Mar.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.