John Wayne didn’t only star in Westerns, but there is no other actor more prominently associated with the genre. John Wayne is the American frontier, as far as most people are concerned.
But not unlike other stars who rose to fame, he actually used a stage name. In fact, "John Wayne" was never this man's legal name. Try to process that one, pilgrim.
One of the biggest stars in American film history, do you know what his real name is?
Click START to answer.
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The answer is: Marion Robert Morrison. John Wayne was born in Iowa as Marion Robert Morrison but moved to California very young. The nickname “Duke” came early, as little Marion went everywhere with his family dog, Duke. The screen name would come much later.Thankfully for American cinema, Wayne’s burgeoning football career was curtailed following a bodysurfing accident. But his football coach at USC, through connections to western star Tom Mix, helped Wayne to get hired on with John Ford films as a prop boy and extra.He was credited as “Duke Morrison” once, for 1929’s Words and Music. Wayne was quickly picked out of the crowd to become a leading man for 1930’s The Big Trail — the name “John Wayne” was concocted by the director of the movie and the head of the studio.The Big Trail was a commercial failure, but the name was a rousing success. And John “Duke” Wayne went on to have a decent career, starring in 142 films.Source
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