John Wayne was
born Marion Robert Morrison, on the 26th of May 1907 on South
Second Street, Winterset, Iowa. He was the first child 
of
Clyde, a pharmacist and Mary Morrison. When his younger brother,
Robert, was born he "lost" the Robert and became Marion
Mitchell.
In 1914 the family moved west to homestead 80 acres on the edge
of the Mojave Desert, near Lancaster, California. Two years later
they admitted defeat and Clyde got a job as a pharmacist in
Glendale, California and they moved to 421 South Isobel.
Clyde resumed his occupation as a pharmacist.
Marion soon acquired the nickname "Duke" which stayed
with him even after he became famous. He had a dog called Duke
and he soon became Duke too. He was fond of saying he wasn't
named for aristocracy but after a dog. He was a shy boy while at
Doran Elementary School and at Glendale Intermediate Junior High.
He adjusted and matured in Glendale High School, however, and
became one of the most popular boys there. He was class president
in 1925, worked on the school newspaper and was an A student. He
had odd jobs and played for an undefeated Glendale High football
team.
He won a scholarship to the University of Southern
California and played for the football team. Tom Mix, the cowboy 
film star was
a fan of the team and in return for tickets to games offered
summer jobs to the players. Duke reported to Fox Studios that
summer and the next. He never returned to USC again. His job was
to lug furniture and props around and arrange them on set. He
also started to appear as an uncredited extra in films. His first
seems to have been in Brown of Harvard. On the set of Mother Macree
he met John Ford, who was to have such a huge influence on his
career and life. >>>>cont. on next
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