John Wayne: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Steve Zmijewsky, Boris Zmijewsky, and Mark Ricci, The Complete Films of John Wayne (1983, reissued 1995); Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, John Wayne, American (1995, reissued 1997); Ronald L. Davis, Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne (1998); Emanuel Levy, John Wayne: Prophet of the American Way of Life (1988, reissued 1998).

Researcher's Note

John Wayne’s Birth Name

Most published sources refer to John Wayne’s birth name as Marion Michael Morrison. Wayne’s birth certificate, however, gives his original name as Marion Robert Morrison. According to Wayne’s own statements, after the birth of his younger brother in 1911, Wayne’s parents named the newborn Robert Emmett and changed Wayne’s name from Marion Robert to Marion Michael. It has also been suggested by several of Wayne’s biographers that Wayne’s parents actually changed his birth name from Marion Robert to Marion Mitchell. In Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne, (1985) Donald Shepherd and Robert Slatzer state that when Wayne’s younger brother was born, “the Duke’s middle name was changed from Robert to Mitchell. . . . After he gained celebrity, Duke deliberately confused biographers and others by claiming Michael as his middle name, a claim that had no basis in fact.”

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: NPR - John Wayne: Icon Of America's Booming Confidence. Aug 01, 2026
Anniversary information added. Jun 07, 2026
Anniversary information added. May 22, 2026
Add new Web site: ABC listen - Late Night Live - John Wayne, cinematic legend. Mar 26, 2026
Add new Web site: Cambridge Scholars Publishing - John Wayne and Ideology (PDF). Apr 15, 2025
Add new Web site: NPR - John Wayne: Icon Of America's Booming Confidence. Dec 11, 2024
First paragraph modernization. Apr 15, 2024
Media added. Feb 22, 2022
Added cross-references. Apr 30, 2020
Add new Web site: California Museum - John Wayne. Apr 24, 2019
Corrected display issue. Jun 27, 2018
Add new Web site: Official Site of John Wayne. Feb 14, 2018
Add new Web site: AllMovie - John Wayne. Jun 25, 2013
Add new Web site: Matinee Classics - Biography of John Wayne. Jun 25, 2013
A scene from McLintock! (1963) added. Jun 17, 2011
Added photograph. Mar 04, 2011
Article revised. Feb 24, 2005
Article revised. Apr 19, 2002
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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