A legendary American actor’s love affair with the United States is retold at the moment within the coronary heart of Fort Worth, Texas.
John Wayne: an American Experience opened in Dec. 2020 within the Forth Worth Stockyards. The museum is dedicated to the lifetime of the legendary movie star, nationwide icon and unabashed patriot.
The museum sits in an ideal location for the performer famed for his starring roles within the largest western movies of all time, together with “Fort Apache,” “El Dorado” and “Rio Bravo.”
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It faces Cowtown Coliseum, one of many nation’s premier rodeo venues, and is steps from Billy Bob’s Texas, the sprawling nightclub and live-music venue that dubs itself “The World’s Largest Honky Tonk.”
“Dad was super popular in his lifetime and he’s still popular today,” son Ethan Wayne, one of many members of the family who operates John Wayne Enterprises and the museum, instructed Fox News Digital.
“America, Why I Love Her,” was a spoken-word 1973 album by actor John Wayne. The legendary actor’s deep patriotism is celebrated at John Wayne: An American Experience in Fort Worth, Texas. The museum opened in Dec. 2020 within the Fort Worth Stockyards. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
“Every time you saw John Wayne you went on an adventure with him. But you also saw him make tough decisions and put self-respect over financial gain,” stated his son. “He made moral choices rather than poor choices. Sprinkled in with those lessons, you got adventure, humor, toughness and compassion.”
Wayne wore his American coronary heart on his sleeve with a mix of fierce toughness and deep compassion, his son stated. He displayed each on film screens world wide.
His profession, maybe unmatched, headlined half a century of movies that spanned the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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Wayne was born Marion Morrison in Iowa in 1907, his father a Civil War veteran. He was raised in California.
He was a star athlete at Glendale High School, stunningly good-looking and, at an imposing 6-foot-4 inches tall, earned a spot on the University of Southern California soccer workforce.
He centered on performing after accidents reduce quick his sports activities profession; whereas simply a youngster, he had already earned uncredited and additional roles.
A mural is proven at John Wayne: An American Experience, a museum in Fort Worth, Texas. “America, Why I Love Her” was a 1973 spoken-word album by the actor. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
He appeared in 36 movies by age 25 — with 100 extra productions to observe.
John Wayne: the American Experience lists all of them, from “Bardelys the Magnificent” in 1926, to his 1939 star-making efficiency in “Stagecoach” and his final movie, “The Shootist,” in 1976.
Wayne died in 1979, at age 72, after battling most cancers.
“You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why.”
The museum shows photographs and memorabilia spanning everything of the actor’s profession, with perception into his life off the display.
Wayne emerged as a larger-than-life leisure determine and an American people hero. He turned a logo of the nation itself — each right here within the United States and world wide.
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The actor returned the nation’s loving embrace. At the middle of John Wayne: the American Experience are shows of his patriotism.
Wayne entered the 1970s at the highest of his profession. He gained the 1970 Academy Award for Best Actor — his first and solely Oscar — enjoying Rooster Cogburn within the 1969 western “True Grit.”
John Wayne: An American Experience in Fort Worth, Texas, celebrates the profession and the patriotism of one of the vital fashionable actors in American historical past. (John Wayne Enterprises)
In 1973, he earned a Grammy nod from the recording business for his efficiency within the spoken-word album of poetry, “America, Why I Love Her.”
He additionally launched a kids’s e book of the identical identify.
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“You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I’ll explain. Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain? Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way? Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?” Wayne booms with stirring conviction within the album’s title observe.
He says at the tip of the poem: “You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why. My beautiful America, beneath God’s wide, wide sky.”
The Chisholm Trail ran by way of Fort Worth, Texas. This marker is located between John Wayne: An American Experience and rodeo venue Cowtown Coliseum within the Fort Worth Stockyards. Right, a rodeo rider will get able to compete at the Coliseum. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
The phrases have been written by James Mitchum, brother of actor Robert, who appeared with Wayne most lately within the 1970 western “Chisum.”
But they spoke deeply of Wayne’s personal heartfelt religion within the nation, its individuals and the unrivaled alternative it has given many thousands and thousands of individuals world wide.
“He made that album coming out of the trials and the tribulations of the 1960s, and he believed that America was made up of all kinds of different people who all had a lot of things in common,” stated Ethan Wayne.
“He believed a lot of his success was because of America and that belief really meant a lot to him.”
“Most of us came here from different backgrounds but with common goals and common dreams to be free and to pursue our own happiness,” stated the son.
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“You know, he came from pretty humble beginnings — but he was able to achieve an incredible amount of success. He believed a lot of his success was because of America and that belief really meant a lot to him.”
John Wayne: An American Experience lately accomplished a 4,000-square-foot enlargement. It hosts a three-day pageant later this month ending on May 26, celebrating what would have been the actor’s 117th birthday.
John Wayne: An American Experience is a museum in Fort Worth, Texas, that celebrates the life and patriotism of the legendary American actor. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Ethan Wayne believes a few of his father’s perpetual recognition stems from the truth that many individuals see in him a personification of the United States itself.
“My father was smart, he was articulate, but he had this larger-than-life and bold personality,” the son stated.
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“He was very kind and loving and very gentle. But he had the capacity to be tough and violent if he needed to be. But he didn’t want to be if he didn’t have to be. He was reliable, consistent, worked hard, had a positive attitude and believed in right and wrong.”
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