John Wayne was one of Hollywood's most famous and most successful
actors, but he was more than that. He became a symbol of America itself.
He epitomized the Western film, which for many people epitomized
America. He identified with conservative political causes from the early
1930s to his death in 1979, making him a hero to one generation of
Americans and a villain to another. But unlike fellow actor Ronald
Reagan, Wayne had no interest in politics as a career. Like many stars,
he altered his life story, claiming to have become an actor almost by
accident when in fact he had studied drama and aspired to act for most
of his youth. He married three times, all to Latina women, and conducted
a lengthy affair with Marlene Dietrich, as unlikely a romantic partner
as one could imagine for the Duke. Wayne projected dignity, integrity,
and strength in all his films, even when his characters were flawed, and
whatever character he played was always prepared to confront injustice
in his own way. More than thirty years after his death, he remains the
standard by which male stars are judged and an actor whose morally
unambiguous films continue to attract sizeable audiences.
Scott Eyman interviewed Wayne, as well as many family members, and he
has drawn on previously unpublished reminiscences from friends and
associates of the Duke in this biography, as well as documents from his
production company that shed light on Wayne's business affairs. He
traces Wayne from his childhood to his stardom in Stagecoach and dozens
of films after that. Eyman perceptively analyzes Wayne's relationship
with John Ford, the director with whom he's most associated and who made
some of Wayne's greatest films.
Wayne was self-aware. He once said, "I've played the kind of man I'd
like to have been." It's that man and the real John Wayne who are
brilliantly profiled in Scott Eyman's insightful biography of a true
American legend.
