I've been a die-hard fan of John Wayne since the summer of 1969 - when I was 15 years old. I saw him on the Joey Bishop show, where he was plugging his movie, True Grit.
I sent Duke a fan letter in October, 1969 and received an autograph picture of him as Rooster Cogburn.
In 1972, I went to Radio City Music Hall to see his movie, The Cowboys. When the movie was over, John Wayne, as well as Roscoe Lee Browne and Mark Rydell walked out onto the stage!! What a thrill!!
Duke passed away the day after my 25th birthday (June 11th, 1979). I cried all day.
