John Wayne.

Wayne appeared in at least one film every year from 1926 to 1976, a record of 51 consecutive years. He had no film released in 1975, but both Brannigan and Rooster Cogburn were released that year.

Mel Brooks wanted Wayne as the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles 1974. Wayne thought the script funny as hell but too dirty for his fans.

As a young man, Ethan Wayne was never allowed to leave home without carrying autographed cards of his father to hand out to fans.

On June 11, 1979, the Olympic Torch at the Los Angeles Coliseum was lit in Wayne’s memory and remained lit until his funeral four days later.

Wayne re-mortgaged his Hollywood house to finance The Alamo 1960, which lost him money personally. He resolved his financial problems by early 1962 after making several films, including The Longest Day 1962 for $250,000 for four days’ work.

In the late 1970s, Wayne made commercials for Great Western Savings Bank. After the first ad aired, a man walked into a branch with $500,000 in cash, saying ‘If your bank is good enough for John Wayne, it’s good enough for me, and closed his accounts at a rival bank.

In 1973, Clint Eastwood wrote to Wayne suggesting a western together. Wayne responded angrily criticizing Eastwood’s revisionist style in High Plains Drifter 1973, and no film was made.

Wayne and drinking buddy Ward Bond frequently played practical jokes. Once Bond bet Wayne that he couldn’t hit him with a newspaper between them. Bond set the paper in a doorway, Wayne stood on one end, Bond slammed the door, and Wayne punched through it, winning the bet.

For Wayne’s square at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the sand in the cement came from Iwo Jima in honor of his film Sands of Iwo Jima 1949.

In the mid-1930s, Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn falsely accused Wayne of making a pass at a starlet and blacklisted him. Wayne later confronted Cohn, grabbing him by the neck and threatening to kill him. He refused to work for Columbia even after Cohn’s death, turning down offers including the lead in The Gunfighter 1950.

In 1971, Wayne and James Stewart encountered anti-war demonstrators with a Vietcong flag. Stewart’s stepson had been killed in Vietnam. Wayne spoke to the protesters, and within minutes the flag was lowered.

Since 1993, Wayne has consistently appeared in the top ten of the Harris Poll for favorite movie stars. In a 2001 Gallup poll, Americans selected him as their favorite movie star of all time. He is the only deceased actor to appear in the Harris poll.

After Ronald Reagan’s election as California governor in 1966, Wayne confronted a mob of 300 anti-war protesters outside a celebration. When they waved a Viet Cong flag, he chased them down an alley.

Wayne gave Sammy Davis Jr. the first cowboy hat he ever wore in a film.

Wayne’s spoken album America: Why I Love Her 1973 became a surprise best-seller and Grammy nominee. It was reissued after 9/11 and became a best-seller again.

During filming of The Undefeated 1969, Wayne fractured three ribs and tore a shoulder ligament. He continued working in pain, concerned only about disappointing his fans.

Critics consider Wayne’s final film, The Shootist 1976, the best final film by any major star, rivaling Clark Gable’s The Misfits 1961 and Henry Fonda’s On Golden Pond 1981.

During a 1974 London visit, Wayne caught pneumonia, which damaged a heart valve. He underwent emergency open heart surgery in 1978. Bob Hope sent a message from the Academy Awards saying they expected him to amble out next year, motivating Wayne to attend the 1979 Oscars.

Wayne allegedly thrust his Best Actor Oscar for True Grit 1969 to Richard Burton, saying You should have this, not me.

Contrary to rumors, Wayne was not dying of cancer when he made The Shootist 1976. His lung was removed in 1964, and he remained cancer-free until Christmas 1978.

Wayne made a cameo on The Beverly Hillbillies 1962 in the episode The Indians Are Coming 1967. He asked for a fifth of bourbon as payment.

Wayne co-starred with Rock Hudson in The Undefeated 1969 even though he knew of Hudson’s homosexuality. They became good friends.

Of nearly 200 films, Wayne’s character died in only eight: Reap the Wild Wind 1942, The Fighting Seabees 1944, Wake of the Red Witch 1948, Sands of Iwo Jima 1949, The Alamo 1960, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962, The Cowboys 1972, and The Shootist 1976.

Wayne was a Master Mason.

While filming True Grit 1969, Wayne used uppers and downers to control weight. Once, he took a downer before taping The Dean Martin Show and told Martin he was too doped up. Martin replied, Hell, Duke, people think I do the show that way all the time!

When Emperor Hirohito visited America in 1975, he asked to meet Wayne. Wayne was quoted saying, I must have killed off the entire Japanese army.

Michael Caine recalled that Wayne’s advice on acting was ‘Talk low, talk slow, and don’t talk too much’ and Never wear suede shoes because someone once urinated on his.

Many saw Wayne’s Oscar win for True Grit 1969 as a lifetime achievement award. Ronald Reagan wrote that it made up for his lack of nominations for Red River 1948, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949, and The Searchers 1956.

By the early 1970s, many of Wayne’s contemporaries were dead or retired, but he continued starring in movies until 1976, remaining a top ten box-office star until 1974.

Nine of Wayne’s films are in the National Film Registry: The Big Trail 1930, Baby Face 1933, Stagecoach 1939, Red River 1948, The Quiet Man 1952, The Searchers 1956, Rio Bravo 1959, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962, and How the West Was Won 1962.

The Congressional Gold Medal awarded in 1979 reads simply: John Wayne, American.

Wayne’s production company Batjac was originally Batjak from Wake of the Red Witch 1948. A secretary’s typo changed it, and Wayne kept the spelling.

Maureen O’Hara presented Wayne with the People’s Choice Award for most popular motion picture actor in 1976.

Entertainment Weekly voted Wayne the 5th Greatest Movie Star of all time.

The Republican party supposedly asked Wayne to run for president in 1968, but he declined because he didn’t think America would take a movie star seriously. He supported Ronald Reagan’s campaigns.

In later years, Wayne lived near Newport Beach with his yacht The Wild Goose, a converted Navy minesweeper. He hosted card games with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Wayne wore a toupee in every film from Wake of the Red Witch 1948 onward. It fell off during a fight scene in North to Alaska 1960.

In his final years, Wayne’s political views moderated. He attended Jimmy Carter’s inauguration and applauded Jane Fonda at a tribute to Henry Fonda.

Wayne uncharacteristically sided with Democrats on the Panama Canal issue, believing the canal belonged to Panama.