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Location: Veedersburg, Indiana | Today John "The Duke" Wayne would have been 102! Only remembered when I saw TCM running a lot of his old movies. |
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Location: Newington, CT | Absolutely one of a kind! One of the best ever. |
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Location: Tennessee | Marion Morrison. Injured himself whilst body surfing and lost his football scholarship at USC. From there to here. |
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December 2001
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Location: NJ | not sure how he is a hero but he made some good movies |
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Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | While serving in the National Guard in the early 1970's I befriended one of my fellow Guardsmen, John Bixby, whose historic family once owned most of Signal Hill in Long Beach, and who personally owned an antique store on Balboa Island (adjacent to Newport Beach, where the Duke lived). While picking up a rocking chair from John's store on Christmas Eve one year, in walks the Duke himself, absolutely bigger than life. I'm introduced and, of course, tried not to act star-struck, but it was impossible. He walked and talked just like he did in the movies. It was a moment I'll never forget. |
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Posts: 806
Location: Seymour, Tennessee | He was a big dude too, 6'4 or 5.
My favorite movie of his has nothing to do with the Westerns (though I like them too) or the Marines movies (of course I like those), but it is "The Quiet Man". |
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Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Originally posted by alpep:
not sure how he is a hero but he made some good movies Hero: an illustrious warrior c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d : one that shows great courage
2 a : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b : the central figure in an event, period, or movement
I think "The Duke" fits in that category. |
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Location: Tennessee | Not to mention he led the entire D-Day invasion of Europe and won the War for us. I saw it on TV. |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Brad,
Nice story. I wish I had had the opportunity to meet the 'Duke'! |
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Location: Newington, CT | Great story ProfBB! |
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Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Why is he be a 'hero'? He was a frigging ACTOR fer Pete's sake (edited)
And not a particularly good one either. He's always playing the same role - John Wayne. I thought actors were supposed to make you believe they're someone else.
A hero?
Nah! |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Muzz, you're looking at it from a great distance. I doubt many here would consider Ned Kelly a hero either.
Wayne is considered a "hero" because of the values he portrayed.
As far as his acting, if all you've seen were cowboy movies then yes, he played similar roles. Try "Back to Bataan", "Hatari" or "The Quiet Man". |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | His range of characters was limited, but they were, for the most part, what the consuming public wanted and expected from him. He also won numerous acting awards, including both an Oscar and Golden Globe for True Grit which also starred Glen Campbell. How's that for an Ovation connection? |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | You're comparing John Wayne to a REAL outlaw? Whether Aussies think Ned was a hero is irrelevent.
Do Aussies consider Mel Gibson, Russel Crowe or Errol Flynn as heros? I doubt it, but if they did I'd say the same thing to them as I did above.
Originally posted by Waskel:
Wayne is considered a "hero" because of the values he portrayed. That's my point - "portrayed" - acted.
Sorry for the rant but this whole 'cult of celebrity' thing really gets up my nose. (Right up there with interminable pop quizzes and otherwise beautiful guitars ruined by doing vegetable imitations.) |
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Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | There are not many actors whom I look up to. John Wayne was one of them. He loved this country (an Aussie's not going to appreciate that nearly as much as some of us do), who, in his movies, reminded us of what we could be and possibly should be.
In real life, from everything I've ever heard, he was exactly as he was on screen.
He was an icon in a world where show biz people are spoiled brats. I would put him head and shoulders above the like of Mel Gibson, Russel Crowe or Errol Flynn.
Have disdain if you want to, but mostly, you're showing ignorance of the American culture especially during the 40's-the 70's..... |
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OT - An American Hero's Birthday