Wayne in LA

A young Marion Morrison (far left) with his family in 1917.

In a two-parter, On Location follows a young “Duke” Morrison from the Midwest to the hot lights of Hollywood.

Written by Jenn Thornton

Long before John Wayne was bestowed his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (which fans can find at 1541 Vine St., two blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard), he orbited the entirely different universe of Midwestern America. Nicknamed “Duke” after the  family dog, the young Marion Morrison was born on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa, which the family left primarily for opportunity and found it, like so many others, out West. The Morrison clan put down roots in Glendale, California, a far more desired LA enclave today than it was when they arrived in 1916, and young Duke’s father set up shop as a pharmacist, hoping for a better outcome than his previous attempts at business.

To Glendale, Marion Morrison brought his salt-of-the-earth upbringing and independent streak—courtesy of strong role modeling from his mother, another self-starter who influenced Duke to go his own way and do his own thing. As the legendary actor’s son Patrick Wayne put it in the book The Genuine Article: “His mother was always the driving model for his will to succeed. They might have been dirt poor, eating Saltine crackers and peanut butter for lunch, but my grandmother always had him in a clean shirt and shoes.” She was connected politically and involved in local campaigns, just “a real go-getter.”

A handsome headshot of John Wayne in 1928.

The apple did not fall far from the tree. Duke picked up that same ball and ran with it. First as a student at Glendale Union High School (today Glendale High School) where he played varsity football, served as vice president of his junior year class and president of his senior class. He was a sportswriter for the school newspaper and a member of various committees; he earned an honor pin, was a senior dance chairman and participated in the Southern California Shakespearian Contest. Appropriately, in 2014, John Wayne Enterprises approved changing the name of Glendale High’s auditorium to the John Wayne Performing Arts Center.

Duke’s drive took him as far as he could go, which at that particular time was USC where he was equally active, joining Sigma Chi fraternity and playing football for the Trojans. But as a bodysurfing accident derailed his football career, Duke found himself without a scholarship and the financial stability it provided, so he traded in his pigskin for his first role in Hollywood—a prop man at Fox. It was, ironically, a game-changing move.

John Wayne with his girlfriend Josephine at the beach in Southern California, circa 1920s.

While always ambitious, it is doubtful that even Duke Morrison saw himself as one of the biggest stars on the planet. He needed a job. Sent to the studio by his football coach, Duke’s aspirations at that time was to be a potential sparring partner for movie star cowboy Tom Mix—a man who in his unfinished autobiography Wayne described as his “hero.” Impressed with Duke, the more established actor helped find the young upstart work and Duke began moving furniture from set to set until,  finally, with his cornerstone confidence and rock-solid work ethic, Marion Morrison eventually made his name—John Wayne. “If you gave him an opportunity, he took advantage of it,” Patrick Wayne said. 

Those who dream of tracing the early footsteps of the Duke can do so without stepping on a movie set. Although…that’s possible, too, if taking one of the many film studio tours offered in Los Angeles. But any trip down memory lane with Wayne starts where it all began, in Glendale, where at 404 N. Isabel you can see the Morrison family home; the journey continues just down the road at USC—the university that awarded the Duke an honorary doctorate in fine arts in 1968, and where fans watch his former team the Trojans take the field! Up next for On Location in LA? A Hollywood ending: John Wayne, the sequel.

John Wayne earning his honorary doctorate diploma in fine arts from USC in 1968.

Images courtesy of John Wayne Enterprises