How Did You Become A John Wayne Fan?

I came by it honestly ... dad was a died-in-the-wool JW fan and we always watched what dad wanted (1960's, only one TV and only some of the shows were in color

cheers - boomer

Let me relate an amusing (I think) little anecdote about my mother (bless her dearly departed soul), who steered me toward love for our hero.

She was a hardcore Duke fan. In the late Forties, my Dad took us all to the drive-in to see one of his movies (might have been "Fort Apache" or "Three Godfathers".)

On the way home, my Mom was gushing over Big John's performance. My Dad, who was also a Wayne fan but not so much as my Mom, apparently became a little jealous about Mom's remarks because suddenly he said, "Oh, I wish you had John Wayne stuck up your rear".

Mom giggled, wriggled her butt a little on the car seat, and said, "Me too!" Naturally, this served to further aggravate my Dad. :teeth_smile: :teeth_smile:

:teeth_smile: Thatl's too funny Stumpy!!

This is a neat subject! I grew up watching all the John Wayne War movies with my Dad and the Westerns with my Grandpa. I loved them ever since I can remember. When I was about 10 yrs old I would dream that JW was my real dad. (I was adopted at birth.) I later discovered that my adopted dad and JW resemble each other a lot even though I hadn't picked up on it earlier. I think my favorites are the ones that include Maureen O'Hara. The Quiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, & McLintock.

I just wanted to this back up for the benefit of our newer members. There's some pretty good reading, if you start at the beginning and see how folks came to love John Wayne!

Chester

when we were young in the 60s, cowboys and indian games were all the rage - mum, dad and grandad were all big john wayne fans and, in the days of having one tv set only in the house, you sat and watched them together. i must admit, i grew out of it all in my teens and it was only when they started to come out on dvd that i started collecting them again - i started with the alamo and found i was totally hooked on him. watching john wayne films takes me to a nice place - i can t put my finger on what it is but it also helps that he is sooo sexy

I remember my dad watching JW movies , when they came out with tvs with picture in picture he bought one so he could watch his JW movie and get the lotto draw numbers at same time. Now I watch the JW movies but don't play the lotto

...I know the day I knew him: the 10th of May, 2008. Yes: I knew him just one year ago. I saw "The Man who shot to Liberty Valance", which my mother brought to me. This movie opened my eyes: I didn't know before I've seen it that John Wayne was existed! Well, actually I knew him because is very famous, but I had never seen his face. The 11th of May I wanted to see the movie again, then I decided that John Wayne was meant for me
"The man who shot..." is still my favorite movie of him

I guess I'm doing some mistakes with the use of simple past. Feel free to correct me!

Quote from chester7777

I just wanted to this back up for the benefit of our newer members. There's some pretty good reading, if you start at the beginning and see how folks came to love John Wayne!

Chester

Good idea: this thread is a very good reading!

Quote from terry

...I know the day I knew him: the 10th of May, 2008. Yes: I knew him just one year ago. I saw "The Man who shot to Liberty Valance", which my mother brought to me. This movie opened my eyes: I didn't know before I've seen it that John Wayne was existed! Well, actually I knew him because is very famous, but I had never seen his face. The 11th of May I wanted to see the movie again, then I decided that John Wayne was meant for me
"The man who shot..." is still my favorite movie of him

I guess I'm doing some mistakes with the use of simple past. Feel free to correct me!

Terry,

Well, I guess we should wish you a Happy Anniversary for being a John Wayne fan!! Did your mother give you the film because she is a John Wayne fan? What a great story you have shared.

BTW, do not worry about your (VERY) few mistakes. I can only speak for my wife and myself, but we find the slight "stumbles" of our members for whom English is not their native language to be endearing. We really appreciate the effort you make, and applaud you for being here! Keep it up!

Chester

May I third that? - You're doing great, Terry! Hope to see you here very often.

That's right, some days ago was the Anniversary of me and John Wayne. Sadly I could not watch a movie of him because I had to study!
No, my mum didn't know John Wayne very well, she brought me that movie only because it's a classic and she know that I love old movies.

I thank you!!

My late father got me hooked on western movies and John Wayne, oh, way back. I was born in '48 (no, 1948 not 1848) so it must have been around the mid '50s. Western movies were big then, everyone was making them. Then when we first got TV they were on much of the time, and dad loved them so it was part of the family time around the TV.

I used to get the small western comics, Buck Jones, Kit Carson, JW, and many others. I think that part of my childhood never left me, and the association with JW was particularly strong.

Some years ago I started collecting the plates made about JW, starting with the Franklin Mint ones. I then started getting as many others that I could find. I have always had the 'collecting' thing. That stopped for some years as I was too busy with work and family, then it started again a few years ago. I recently resurrected my web site on JW plates after I found that some new official plates were on sale.

I wonder if today's young children will carry on the legacy as most of their interests are with computer games and the like. They do not seem to be interested in westerns.

Bob

That is a very nice collection. Thanks for sharing it with us. I have a few plates, but not like you do.

Mark

Watching Stagecoach on TV. I was maybe 11.

I became a John Wayne fan very young. When I was little during the summer my dad would come home for lunch everyday and he would put in a John Wayne film. Through all of these movies I would sit and ask my dad question after question about the people on places and events and he would patiently answer every one that he could. Not only did I really enjoy spending time with my dad but I also loved these movies many of which are still some of my favorite John Wayne movies.

Not really sure. It just kind of grew on me over time. I started liking his war movies the best but then swung on over to his Westerns.

My case is a bit out of the ordinary. Had some sort of night terror attacks when I was very young. My Dad got tired of me crying outside their door and it was the 60's. A therapist? Hell no! Mom and me (there were 6 other children) slept downstairs on the couch. I had inherited her "lack of a need for sleep". When I was "put" to bed something went wrong in my head. ANYWAY. The way it worked, for about two years, was I would be sent into the living room at my regular bedtime and lay on the couch while my older brothers and sisters watched TV in the den. When they all went to sleep Mom would come in and open up the couch, get crackers and we'd start watching old black and white movies till I eventually fell asleep. I never had trouble getting up in the morning so this wasn't a problem. I fell in love with ALL the old movie stars, but decided John Wayne was the one I would marry. First childhood trauma? My Mom got sick of hearing me say it and told me I couldn't because he was as "old as grandpa". First childhood rebellion? Called my Mom a big, fat liar, stamped my foot, told her I'd do what I said I'd do and stormed off. Waited until I got to my room to cry...Hell, even when I was a punk rocker I loved John Wayne...as a graduate film student I loved John Wayne...I have always and will always love John Wayne...and when my mom passed away early this year I "retreated to the womb of Wayne" and spent a week watching John Wayne movies non-stop. And there you have it!