 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
History Forum / General / British History / May 2007Re: John's Wayne's Centennial -- [1907-2007]
A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. DSH Lux et Veritas et Libertas --------------------------------------------- Randy Roberts and James S. Olson. _John Wayne, American_. New York: The Free Press, 1995. x + 738pp. Illustrations, bibliographical references and index. $24.95 (cloth), ISBN 0-02-923837-4. Reviewed by Kenneth R. Dvorak, American Culture Studies. Published by H-PCAACA (August, 1996) For Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, John Wayne is an important American cultural icon. Their book, John Wayne, American, explores the reasons why John Wayne became one of Hollywood’s greatest film heroes. Nearly two decades after his death, Wayne’s popularity continues unabated -- astonishing his critics while pleasing his fans. BINGO! -- DSH Many of Wayne’s films dominate video rental sections and appear regularly on cable television. The cable channel, American Movie Classics, features Wayne in their "Duke Nights of Summer" while Turner Broadcasting plays twinbills of Wayne’s westerns on Saturday nights. The authors state unequivocally that for millions of Americans Wayne symbolizes what is right about America. BINGO! -- DSH Wayne loved his country and its flag, its people and the potential he believed America offered the world. BINGO! -- DSH His films portray him as a pathfinder, a cowboy, a military hero, and a defender of American values. His opponents view him otherwise, seeing him as a tool used to glorify American history tainted with imperialism and racism. Yep, that's the Pogue Surreyman [Alan Spencer] approach. -- DSH Whatever the judgment one makes on Wayne’s film and personal life, I agree with the authors that he was foremost a fine actor. In their efforts to unravel the "reel" John Wayne from the"real" individual, Roberts and Olson succeed in capturing the essence of Wayne’s complex personality and his magnetic film image. They begin by tracing Wayne’s dysfunctional family life and his strained relationship with his mother. They poignantly retell the story of how Wayne became Marion Mitchell Morrison at age five solely at the whim of his mother. They follow Wayne’s personal battles to prove himself as a youth and his emergence in the early 1930s as a shy, young film actor. Surviving for years as a "B" film actor, Wayne emerged as a star in John Ford’s classic 1939 film "Stagecoach." However, this success was fleeting and Wayne again plunged back into the depths of "B" movies. From this experience the authors trace Wayne’s eventual rise to stardom and popularity with the American public. He became a military hero fighting America’s wartime enemies. Later roles have Wayne fighting Communists, extinguishing oilfield fires, and becoming a quiet man living in an idyllic Ireland. Wayne’s Western films, the authors argue, forever placed the character of John Wayne into American popular culture. Films such as "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "Rio Lobo," "The Cowboys," "Rooster Cogburn," "The Sons of Katie Elder," and "The Shootist" constructed the image of John Wayne, archetypal American hero. Roberts and Olson also recreate the most controversial aspect of Wayne’s career, his absence from military service during World War II. This story is not new, and the authors avoid sentimentalizing Wayne’s reasons for not enlisting. Portraying Wayne as an individual caught trying to make a living and seizing the chance of a lifetime making feature movies, the authors leave the reader to speculate why Wayne did not enlist. Concluding chapters chronicle, in compassionate and vivid detail, Wayne’s battles with cancer and his death in 1979. The authors do not criticize Wayne’s personal lifestyle, noting that he lived a full and robust life. Combining analysis of Wayne’s marital, financial, and political battles, they also trace how millions of Americans followed Wayne’s final days. To achieve the balance needed in examining Wayne’s life, the authors interviewed many individuals who knew Wayne, offering their personal insights about someone they simply called "Duke." _John Wayne, American will not please everyone, nor, I suspect, is that the authors’ intent. Roberts and Olson state categorically that their intention is to write a biography of John Wayne. They do not evaluate or criticize his films, personal life, or political views. Their work limns one of the most popular film idols of all time, and they succeed in their objective. Although the book examines Wayne’s rise as a cultural icon, there is no attempt to delve more deeply into why Wayne culturally remains so important to Americans. From my perspective this is perhaps the weakest aspect of the book; after plunging into the story, it seems irresponsible to not take a stand. John Wayne, American will anger and inspire individuals taking the time to read and reflect on the rise of a controversial/revered individual. Wayne’s entire film career was a struggle for recognition. He succeeded for over twenty years as Hollywood’s greatest box office draw. Randy Roberts and James S. Olson’s collaborative effort is highly recommended reading; _John Wayne, American_ is a welcome addition to the literature examining America’s best-known film hero. I'm certainly not alone in pointing out these truisms about John Wayne. Even The San Francisco Chronicle, deep in Pelosi Land, feels the irresistible tug of History and the Duke. He played some Great Naval Roles -- but applied to the United States Naval Academy, circa 1925, and was turned down. DSH Lux et Veritas et Libertas --------------------------------------------- Duke Assessing John Wayne's true grit on his centennial Mick LaSalle, Chronicle Movie Critic The San Francisco Chronicle Friday, May 25, 2007 When we talk about John Wayne -- whose 100th birthday is Saturday -- we are talking about a lot of things. We're talking about an actor. We're talking about movies. We're talking about an era. We're also talking about an idea -- specifically an American idea about itself that was appealing to so many people that Wayne remains unquestionably the most enduringly popular screen actor in the history of the medium. That may surprise today's moviegoers. Was Wayne really more popular than Chaplin? Or Humphrey Bogart? Or Bette Davis? Or Marilyn Monroe? Think of the great male stars of his generation and other names come to mind more readily: Clark Gable, Cary Grant, James Stewart. And yet it's Wayne who racked up the numbers: Between 1949 and 1974, Wayne made the top 10 list of box office stars 25 times. He topped that list four times. The significance of that can't be overstated. Think of what America was like in 1949. Then think of what it was like in 1974. Think of the changes in music, styles and social mores. Think also of the changes in movies, from "On the Town" to "Chinatown." And then think how, across that span, Wayne remained one of the top 10 people that other people wanted to see. That's longevity of epic proportions. The reasons for this longevity have to do with Wayne himself, with an artistry that had little to do with dramatic range but with other qualities that deserve to be looked at in detail; and with his movies, of course, some of which were excellent, though most were just OK. But they also have to do with the times, and what Wayne represented in those times. The dates jump out at us: 1949 to 1974. This is an actor who was born in 1907. Gable, Stewart, Grant, Gary Cooper and Henry Fonda were doing some of their best work before they were 35. But Wayne didn't come fully into his own until middle age. His contemporaries blossomed in Hollywood's legendary Golden Age that lasted from the 1930s through World War II, but Wayne was mainly a post-war icon. Or, to put it another way, a Cold War icon. He first made the top 10 list in the year that Mao took over China and the Soviets got the atomic bomb. And he stayed on top until there was a detente with the Soviets and the Vietnam War was over. Coincidence? Maybe. OK, probably. And yet it's fascinating: Wayne was there for as long as people felt they needed him. BINGO! Like Winston Churchill. When they didn't need him, they dumped him. -- DSH John Wayne -- just the name suggests America's love affair with itself, and for that he has been overpraised and overcriticized. More than any other star, before or since, Wayne came to mean something, and the result is that people confused what he meant for what he was -- an actor. To make matters worse, he even confused it. In the 1960s, he alienated a lot of people (and pleased others) with his vocal advocacy of the Vietnam War, even though, during World War II, he chose to build his career rather than fight -- in stark contrast to most of the major actors of his generation. But it's best to put that out of one's mind and just look at him onscreen. BINGO! He's an ACTOR. Watch him ACT. -- DSH He was, first of all, physically marvelous: huge, with his own walk (a conscious creation), and uncannily graceful, like an ox who could glide on his tiptoes. He was handsome, but in an utterly unsuspect way -- that is, he didn't seem to know it. He may, in fact, have been practiced in the fine art of anti-narcissistic narcissism, but he never showed it. He had very small feet. His walk was reportedly modeled in part on that of Wyatt Earp -- but also on that of Harry Carey [1878-1947]. John Ford said he moved like a big cat. Wayne's walk is unique. Watch it closely -- particularly when he walks slowly. At the end of _The Searchers_ Wayne also uses another characteristic Harry Carey gesture, as an homage. -- DSH He had wonderful eyes that were always calibrating and calculating and reading the other person, usually with a measure of disappointment. He was one of the screen's great listeners. In his films, he had a radar for human frailty and duplicity. Few people could ever live up to him. His mouth had a quality of grief and certainty to it, like he knew sooner or later he'd have to hit somebody. He was never in doubt. He could be confused. He could be wrong. But he always believed he knew at least enough to plunge ahead. ...That he knew enough to be a Man of Action rather than a Man of Dithering Indecision, A Hamlet. -- DSH Wayne projected an unshakable masculinity without any subversive or film noir undernotes. He was not introspective, and he was never the victim of circumstance. He was more foursquare than even Gregory Peck, in that his convictions never seemed the product of formal reasoning. For that reason, he could never convincingly play an intellectual, and I don't think he ever tried. <G> -- DSH His simplicity obviated the need for complicated thinking, and it was a big part of his strength. He looks at a problem, takes it all in, understands it in a glance and knows the answer is simple, so long as you don't have a lot of nonsense in your head. This is a talent many intelligent people admire and that every stupid person alive believes he possesses. Indeed, it's a trait that is sometimes imitated by politicians, who either forget or want the public to forget that in real life the players don't get script approval. Wayne's lack of complexity and introspection marked his limitations as an actor, and it's part of what makes him less interesting today than some of his contemporaries. Compare his disappointed-in-love drunkenness in "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) with Bogart's in "Casablanca." Wayne's version is just a matter of external gestures, without impact. For that matter, compare any of Wayne's performances to those of Robert Mitchum from the same period. The actors are equally tough and masculine, but Mitchum has a lot more going on -- regret, guilt, moral questioning, a fully developed inner life. When things go wrong for Wayne onscreen, he looks as though he's suffering from a form of animal confusion rather than forced reflection. The deepest he ever went inside was as the anti-hero in "The Searchers" (1956), but even that dark role is a cousin to those in his other films, in which he often played misguided, confused and angry men who remain stubborn to the point of dangerousness -- and then relent, just before their actions lead to disaster. To notice this lack in Wayne isn't necessarily to criticize him. Indeed, this may be the flipside of his onscreen sureness as an action hero. But the absence of nuance makes watching a routine Wayne film less satisfying than watching, say, a routine Cary Grant movie. Wayne needs good material to be interesting, and often he didn't get it. He might not have wanted it. Look at the movies Wayne made at the height of his popularity. He seemed to bypass everything interesting in American cinema in his time. There are no Wayne noirs, for example. There are no counter-culture Wayne movies. His filmography reads like an alternative history of American film, with "True Grit" (1969) showing up in the same year as "Easy Rider," and "Rooster Cogburn" (1975) competing for advertising space with "Dog Day Afternoon." Yet here's the thing: Wayne couldn't do things that other actors could do. But who besides Wayne could do what he did? He conveyed the image of the wholly effective man. The lonely man. The man born to wear the white hat. The man with a rueful acceptance of life's limits and a quiet understanding of the bigness of nature. In his best films, for John Ford and Howard Hawks, Wayne gave us the mythic American man. Does that sound like nothing? Are we not impressed? Then try watching the last minute of Ford's "The Searchers" or "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949) -- or Hawks' "Red River" (1948) or "The Shootist" (1976), Wayne's lovely valedictory -- and see how it makes you feel. I predict one minute of cold skepticism followed by heart-in-mouth awe. John Wayne is in our collective bloodstream. > I've trouble with almost all movies about Viet Nam, for different reasons. > Sadly, the closest any has come to being informative and educational > may have been "Good Morning VN", in which Robin Williams captures > some of the madness prevalent among attendees. -- [TMO] Mediocre Choice. It's primarily a vehicle for Robin Williams, who is an excellent actor ---- and his brand of humor. The best AMERICAN films about the Vietnam War are: _The Quiet American_ -- both the 1958 version with Audie Murphy and Michael Redgrave and the 2002 version with Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine. Graham Greene certainly hated Americans -- in lockstep with most British Leftists. _A Bright Shining Lie_ [1998] -- Bill Paxton does a superb job playing John Paul Vann. Based on the Neil Sheehan book. There must be some first-rate Vietnamese and French films about the Vietnam War. But I haven't seen them. Does anyone have titles and comments on some, having seen them -- intelligent comments? DSH Lux et Veritas et Libertas Semper Fidelis They're even teaching Wayne's films in film school these days. His image as an American Cultural Icon will be around for many, many years to come and his films will be studied. Popular Culture Historians LOVE this sort of thing and will even write Ph.D. dissertations, books and articles. _The High And The Mighty_ is another much underrated film. I watched it _in toto_ for the first time just about six months ago. Since we see it through the parody of _Airport_ and the parody sequels that followed, it has been muddied in impact. Great Story by a Real Aviator. Robin Williams can't hold a candle to Michael Caine in _The Quiet American_. Excellent film about the Vietnam War -- in its French phase. _A Bright Shining Lie_, made for television, is also a fine film -- but you won't know that until you watch it. More Good Films about Vietnam will come as Americans begin to discover how important it was. McCain is helping with that. Texans don't own the Alamo. It belongs to all Americans. The 1960 film was far better, even with all its faults, than the 2004 one. Learn to write shorter posts with less storytelling. I know that's very hard for a Texan.... ...And discover the paragraph... As well as stop judging everything by your daughters' attitudes toward mass market entertainment. DSH Lux et Veritas et Libertas Worth Repeating. DSH Lux et Veritas et Libertas ------------------------------------------- <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070523/ap_en_ce/film_john_wayne_centennial;_ylt=Ali Hvm56Y_OoCuQ7AxQ3D1xxFb8C> By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK - On the 100th anniversary of John Wayne's birth, the Duke still swaggers through the American psyche as not just an actor, but a patriot - his centennial spawning fond remembrance, and perhaps a few small protests on the side. Wayne's legacy is unique because of the dual perspectives that pervade his memory. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Garry Wills, who wrote "John Wayne's America" in 1997, described Wayne as "the most popular movie star ever, but also the most polarizing." It could be argued that no other film actor has ever come to symbolize so many things: rugged masculinity, the frontier, even America itself. The Duke has remained, in the truest sense, an icon. For many, an entire way of life is epitomized in the tired, unblinking eyes that peered knowingly from his cocksure pose ("walks around like a big cat," said Howard Hawks). His voice, too, seems etched in the collective memory: With a simple "pilgrim," a whole lost world is summoned. Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison, would have turned 100 on Saturday. He died at 72 of stomach cancer in June 1979 after a career that spanned more than 170 films. He didn't win an Academy Award until 1970 for his performance in "True Grit." (He was nominated twice earlier - for best actor in 1949's "Sands of Iwo Jima" and best picture for 1960's "The Alamo," which he directed and produced.) To this day, he still ranks atop polls rating the most adored actors; a Harris Poll conducted just this year rated him as the third-most popular movie star behind Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. Nostalgia for strong, silent heroes like those Wayne portrayed can regularly be spotted in places like HBO's "The Sopranos." Of course, even Tony Soprano sees a shrink, and Wayne's rugged masculinity is now often viewed as the symbol of bygone era; feelings are now meant to be openly expressed and analyzed. Those who keep their emotions locked up have even been referred to as suffering from the "John Wayne syndrome." He seldom deviated from heroic roles, often set in the West or on the battlefield. Among his most beloved and acclaimed films are "Stagecoach" (1939), "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), "The Searchers" (1956) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962). His range was limited, but he mined a narrow path of the reluctant but obligated hero - a consistent approach that furthered his iconic stature. He knew it, too. "When I started, I knew I was no actor, and I went to work on this Wayne thing," he once said. "I figured I needed a gimmick, so I dreamed up the drawl, the squint and a way of moving meant to suggest that I wasn't looking for trouble but would just as soon throw a bottle at your head as not. I practiced in front of a mirror." It's a notably different - and perhaps dated - tactic in a profession that values, above all, malleability. If you want to be an actor, study Brando. But if you want to be a movie star, study Wayne. "He never tricked the audience with the characters he played," says Gretchen Wayne, who heads her late husband Michael Wayne's film company, Batjac Production, which was formed in 1954 by her legendary father-in-law. "His films started in the late '20s, early '30s, so there's three generations of people who have grown up with him." She will host an evening presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles on Thursday, where a new restoration of "The High and the Mighty" (1954) will be shown. (Wayne was married three times and had seven children.) Turner Classic Movies has been paying tribute throughout the week by airing a 35-film festival of his movies. His birthplace, Winterset, Iowa, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday for a new John Wayne museum. "Hondo" (1953), recently restored in digital 3-D, will screen at the Cannes Film Festival. Hollywood studios are also rolling out a small army of DVD releases, including collector's sets from Lionsgate, Universal, Warner Home Video and Paramount. This is all evidences an enduring love for Wayne that may surpass even his esteemed contemporaries: Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, whose centennial was earlier this month. Unlike some of the stars of his day, Wayne never served in World War II, ironic since Gen. Douglas MacArthur said he "represented the American serviceman better than the American serviceman himself." He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 1979 shortly before his death. Jim Olson, a Sam Houston State University history professor who co- wrote the 1995 biography "John Wayne: American," believes Wayne's guilt over not serving in the war propelled him to compensate by being a fervent anti-communist and symbol of American ideals. "Wayne was a confused young man," says Olson. "He sort of grew up searching for the meaning of life and I think he found it in the values he ended up portraying on screen. His screen image and his individual persona kind of kept ricocheting off each other over time until the image on screen became his alter ego." Especially in his later years, Wayne came to symbolize political conservatism and a dedication to country. His stand against communism during the Cold War was so influential that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin plotted to assassinate him, according to Michael Munn's 2005 biography "John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth." Wayne famously said, "I always thought I was a liberal. I came up terribly surprised one time when I found out that I was a right-wing conservative extremist." He angered more people with his support of the Vietnam War, which he expressed openly in 1968's "The Green Berets," a film he co-directed and starred in. "Wayne lived in a world of absolutes. He did not like ambiguity," says Olson. "He lived in a world where, in his mind, right was right and wrong was wrong. And evil was real and evil had to be crushed with violence if necessary. "There's a generation of Americans that kind of grew up with Wayne, matured with Wayne and grew old with Wayne, through all the trials and traumas of modern American history - and in doing so, found in him a voice they understood." It's been not only 100 years since his birth, but nearly three decades since his death. Yet Wayne still remains one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He is, as New York Times film critic Vincent Camby once wrote, "marvelously indestructible." ___ On the Net: <http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid158612> <http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org/centennial/index.html> "Every country in the world loved the folklore of the West -- the music, the dress, the excitement, everything that was associated with the opening of a new territory. It took everybody out of their own little world. The cowboy lasted a hundred years, created more songs and prose and poetry than any other folk figure. The closest thing was the Japanese samurai. Now, I wonder who'll continue it." - John Wayne "He was bigger than life. In an age of few heroes, he was the genuine article. But he was more than a hero. He was a symbol of so many of the qualities that made America great. The ruggedness, the tough independence, the sense of personal courage - on and off screen - reflected the best of our national character." - Former President Jimmy Carter "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on, I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." The Shootist "Westerns are closer to art than anything else in the motion picture business" - John Wayne "I have found a certain type calls himself a Liberal...Now I always thought I was a Liberal. I came up terribly surprised one time when I found out that I was a Right-Wing Conservative Extremist, when I listened to everybody's point of view that I ever met, and then decided how I should feel. But this so-called new Liberal group, Jesus, they never listen to your point of view..." - John Wayne "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne "God, how I hate solemn funerals. When I die, take me into a room and burn me. Then my family and a few good friends should get together, have a few good belts, and talk about the crazy old time we all had together." - John Wayne The Straight Dope Was John Wayne a draft dodger? <http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_004.html> > A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. > [quoted text clipped - 109 lines] > recommended reading; _John Wayne, American_ is a welcome addition to the > literature examining America’s best-known film hero. Sad, ain't it? Note that, Hines, "best-known FILM hero". Where was any REAL heroism? Twit! Surreyman What else could you expect from a paper-tiger and keyboard commando? I'd still love to see what DSH's miltary career consisted of. > Sad, ain't it? > Note that, Hines, "best-known FILM hero". [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Surreyman > What else could you expect from a paper-tiger and keyboard commando? I'd > still love to see what DSH's miltary career consisted of. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> >> Surreyman Those of us more familiar with DSH's career may have no less reason to question the logic of some of his positions or his apparent near-fixation upon the Silver Screen and John Wayne's place in the Hollywood and national iconographies. On the other hand, we don't question his active service which was long, as honorable as most and exposed him to just about as much danger as that faced by the majority of service men and women. I've not seen his decorations, presuming them like mine to be of the mundane and routine sort, mostly "gedunk" medals, but he certainly served, for some time at sea, apparently ashore in SEA, and then in a security billet or two. At some point , legend has it that he spent a tour in an administrative billet with oversight of base housing assignment. Let you belittle his service, I'll provide you a reason no to judge hastily. I've a younger friend, once a "porkchop" (Supply Corps) junior officer, for a while a mess caterer and treasurer ashore and afloat. Accepted orders to Viet Nam so that his wife, a nurse wouldn't have to go. She went anyway. He returned with a real honest to goodness Silver Star, a singular sort of a honor for a pork chop. Having seen the citation, he earned it. Having watched Roger Staubach play football in college and as a pro, I never doubted his courage. His skills have allowed him to be a success in commercial real estate (Big Time! In the many millions). Did you know that Roger was a "Pork Chop" How about you "Doug" of the anonymous remailer sort of address? Did you actually serve, or did you fail of admission based on the basic rest battery which disclosed that aside from "sucking eggs, running rabbits and eating sh.t" you did meet the basic qualifications required for the basest of hounds to quality for the K9 Corps? In the case of Highcolonic, whose lies, exaggerations and rash claims have been exposed with such frequency that were he Pinocchio his nose would stretch from Vancouver to Attu, the reliability of anything he posts was long ago exposed to be no more credible than were the tales of Baron Munchausen. But even Highcolonic, a Purveyor of Exaggeration to a degree almost unimaginable is proud enough to use his own name and attributions when posting, unlike you, dungy-doug, too ashamed of yourself to sign your work. TMO New John Wayne Note for those who can't imagine live without him.... This means you, Spencer! His ex-wife (or maybe widow, the marriage never having been formally dissolved apparently) lives in Fort Worrth and owns a Mexican resturants. Legend has it, theat she, an artist of some repute, accepts commissions to paint portraits of theose who commission the works side by side with John Waye. It'sa long flight and the painting may be expensive, Spencer, but think of how far it will go to keep John Wayne atop your personal cinematic Pantheon. TMO Iowa Town to Toast 'the Duke' in Style By HENRY C. JACKSON The Associated Press Friday, May 25, 2007 WINTERSET, Iowa -- Marion Morrison was just 4 years old the last time he lived in Winterset, but this picturesque community plans a rousing celebration this weekend for what would have been his 100th birthday. A nation of moviegoers came to know Morrison as John Wayne. To the townspeople here, the Duke's on-screen all-American ethos reflects Winterset's wholesome, small-town feel. "I think we've embraced it, his legacy," said Kathy Norman, who owns a downtown coffee shop. "This is a nice place. A very welcoming place. John Wayne, he sort of shares the values of the town, I guess." Thousands are expected to pour into town for the festivities and to see the tiny white clapboard house where the Hollywood legend was born on May 26, 1907. Centennial organizers have received RSVPs from as far away as Norway and Denmark. Winterset is planning a celebration befitting the celebrity cowboy's larger-than-life persona. The celebration was to begin Friday in the town square movie theater with free showings of "True Grit," for which Wayne won an Academy Award in 1969, and "Stagecoach," the 1939 John Ford western said to have made Wayne a major movie star. Among the planned events: _ A groundbreaking for the John Wayne Birthplace Museum and Learning Center. Wayne's son Ethan was to climb aboard a backhoe to help knock down an abandoned gas station to make way for the new museum. The Wayne family also plans to dedicate their gift of a statue of the Duke at the groundbreaking. _ Appearances by at least three of Wayne's former co-stars: Dean Smith, Edward Faulkner and Gregg Palmer. The actors appeared with Wayne in such movies as "Rio Bravo," "Chisom" and "The Green Berets." _ Demonstrations by trick riders and a rodeo drill team. Although he died nearly 28 years ago at age 72, Wayne still fascinates many people, said David Trask, chairman of the John Wayne Birthplace Society. "John Wayne was an American icon," he said. "I believe he characterizes that more than anyone or anything." Trask is leading an effort to build an 8,500-square foot, $5.5 million museum dedicated to Wayne. The number of events and Wayne's popularity have local officials girding for as many as 30,000 visitors throughout the Memorial Day weekend. "People really love John Wayne," said resident Jere Busenbarrick, who came to appreciate the devotion of Wayne fans through an encounter with an Australian hitchhiker on a central Iowa road. "This guy, he'd come over here _ broken off from his tour _ just to visit," Busenbarrick recalled. "Turns out he was the president of the John Wayne fan club in Melbourne, Australia. He took the Amtrak out here from San Francisco." ___ On the Net: John Wayne Birthplace: <http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org/> > A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. Tell me, Spencie, my man, do you know who Jimmie Rodger was? He was bigger than anybody in the 20s, now you have to look up the name. >> A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. > >Tell me, Spencie, my man, do you know who Jimmie Rodger was? >He was bigger than anybody in the 20s, now you have to look up the >name. You mean Jimmie Rodgers? He wasn't "bigger than anybody" while he was alive. Bud  SignatureThe night is just the shadow of the Earth. >>> A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Bud John who? What was/is he supposed to be? SignatureRobert Peffers, Kelty, Fife, Scotland, (UK). > On 27 May 2007 12:26:48 -0700, Jack Linthicum > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > -- > The night is just the shadow of the Earth. I call a million copies of a single record sold in the 1920s "bigger than anybody" particularly one Harry Crosby. During Rodgers' recording career (1927-1933), he sold in the area of 12 million records He was the father of country music and traveled around with Will Rogers when both were top stars. >>>A scholarly treatment of John Wayne as cultural icon. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Bud Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" after his death, so that point's taken. -- Les Cargill > Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The > media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" > after his death, so that point's taken. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Will Rogers, certainly across the Southwest America's most visible iconic figure until his untimely death. I certainly never saw any US soldiers "demonstrate" against John Wayne, but I certainly saw a loud and large group of 36th Division Texas National Guardsmen insult General Mark Clark, a commander held in great and unending disfavor is some quarters. TMO Yes, what happened? DSH > I certainly never saw any US soldiers "demonstrate" against John Wayne, > but I certainly saw a loud and large group of 36th Division Texas National > Guardsmen insult General Mark Clark, a commander held in great and > unending disfavor is some quarters. > > TMO > Yes, what happened? > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> National Guardsmen insult General Mark Clark, a commander held in great >> and unending disfavor is some quarters. During a post war visit by train, General Clark was greeted by local guardsmen lining the tracks facing outward in disrespect. Hippo, Didn't Clark command the Citadel at some point? His reputation was greatly tarnished, much of the tarnish well deserved apparently, by the campaign in Italy, admittedly much "de-resourced" by needs for other operations, but with poor generalship at almost every level. TMO > > Yes, what happened? > > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > TMO that bad generalship resulted in the first german army group surrendering to the western allies and not after the surrender but while the war was still on. > that bad generalship resulted in the first german army group surrendering > to the western allies and not after the surrender but while the war was > still on. Not to be a bearer of bad tidings, Ray, but a variety of characters, among them Colonel General Karl Wolf (rank & Sp?), and the increasing activities of Italian partisans threatened the Germans hope of getting home with their a.ses, much less dependents, various mistresses and assorted loot, had considerably more to do with German emissaries showing up at the US Embassy in Switzerland looking for a deal. Hell, I'd give Allen Dulles more credit than Clark (although during the Italian campaign, bad generalship new no national frontiers, with plenty of acts of omission and commission among UK, Commonwealth and US general officers to fill a library full of staff studies. Carlo D'Este, equipped with both an aristocratic last name and USArmy service used to give vibrant lectures on the generalship on display. For a good few weeks of light reading, there's "The Battle for Rome", "The Race for Rome", "The War North of Rome", "Circles of Hell" and "The Battle for Italy". Wading through the five of them will give you at least an introduction to analysis of the Campaign after Salerno. The 36th Division troops involved in the bungled attempt to cross the Rapido/Garigliano below Cassino felt that Clark had acted in self serving fashion to have his command and US forces show up well in comparison to UK and Commonwealth efforts to the West. The river proved as difficult to cross as the ridges had been to climb (but the real problems remained the open valley that made any Allied movement painfully obvious and Field Marshal Mud, the Italian campaign's collateral to General Winter in the USSR. I don't blame Clark for bombing the Abby. I once heard a former major of artillery, an AHS sort of guy who was there with a battery of 105mmSP guns, state that antiques and relics were less important than the attitude of the troops charged with taking the ground, and if blowing up the Abby made them any more confident, it should have been bombed daily for a week....(and given the notoriously modest accuracy of the bombers, a week's worth would have probably wreaked havoc with the German observers not in the Abby but hunkered in bunkers not far away. War is too important to be left to generals and admirals..... TMO > > that bad generalship resulted in the first german army group surrendering > > to the western allies and not after the surrender but while the war was [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > considerably more to do with German emissaries showing up at the US Embassy > in Switzerland looking for a deal. there were partisans in every theater, clark was the commander of record > Hell, I'd give Allen Dulles more credit than Clark (although during the > Italian campaign, bad generalship new no national frontiers, with plenty of > acts of omission and commission among UK, Commonwealth and US general > officers to fill a library full of staff studies. Carlo D'Este, equipped > with both an aristocratic last name and USArmy service used to give vibrant > lectures on the generalship on display. every campaign has its rough spots. > For a good few weeks of light reading, there's "The Battle for Rome", "The > Race for Rome", "The War North of Rome", "Circles of Hell" and "The Battle [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > any Allied movement painfully obvious and Field Marshal Mud, the Italian > campaign's collateral to General Winter in the USSR. i've menioned the rapido river massacre in two previouas posts, that you dodn't read them in not my fault. do try to keep up. > I don't blame Clark for bombing the Abby. I once heard a former major of > artillery, an AHS sort of guy who was there with a battery of 105mmSP guns, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > have probably wreaked havoc with the German observers not in the Abby but > hunkered in bunkers not far away. nobody said anything about the bombing and ultimare resposiblity would rest with harold alexander who was the commander in italy at the time. it was a good morale boost for the troops but it made the ruins a fine defensive position. you can only blow a place up once. "Ray O'Hara" <mary.palmucci@rcn.com> wrote .... > i've menioned the rapido river massacre in two previouas posts, that you > dodn't read them in not my fault. do try to keep up. Ray, it becomes so increasingly obvious that not only are you simple minded, but that your town library's two books. earlier mentioned, had been colored using dark crayons, leaving little for you to prehend from study of them. Aside from an aversion to upper case and the blatantly offensive loud pig-ignorance of a dingleberry upon the earth's fundament, undoubtedly located somewhere in the Commonwealth, you're a nasty little twerp to boot. I suspect that during your youth, (or perhaps on an ongoing basis), the neighbor kids rubbed mud on your glasses, stuffed fiberglass down your jeans, and routinely insulted your female relatives. Have you heard of the one trick pony, Ray? Perhaps you should study the lesson therein. After quoting your home library, apparently stocked with little more than those little 8 pagers of my youth, and the wizard of Wikipedia, the World Book of the Lame, you're constantly launching yourself into a torrent far over your head and deeper than your intellect. First, you're claiming that Mark Clark drove the Germans to surrender, then you're back to Alexander as the campaign's chief strategist and the major player in the Abby-bombing decision, then you reveal how little you really comprehend of the conflict in the "soft underbelly". As for partisans, Ray, they were active on several fronts, and by early '45 were certainly herding the Germans out of Yugoslavia. Their activities in NItaly, the conflicts between disparate groups and the minimal aid provided by the Allies would provide a table full of potential learning for one who obviously substitutes childish ethnic prejudice, simplistic political analysis, and objectionable behavior as a lame excuse for any exposure to the world. In reading your posts, I'm almost convinced you've never been farther than Logan, and there only to watch the 'planes. TOM > "Ray O'Hara" <mary.palmucci@rcn.com> wrote .... > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > TOM your reading comprehension needs work. alexander was the original 15th army group commander in italy, he held that position at the time of the bombing of cassino. he was supplanted by clark in dec 1944 as the 15th army group commander and held that command when the german army group c surrendered. if you had read the books you mentioned you might have known that. yiou have shown yourself to be a typical net loon with your over the top rant and i'm sure you learned those tricks as the victim. > "Ray O'Hara" <mary.palmucci@rcn.com> wrote .... > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > TOM /cue wild applause redc1c4, you are one of the gems of Usenet..... don't ever change. %-) Signature"Enlisted men are stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, and bear considerable watching." Army Officer's Guide > > Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The > > media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > TMO You can find a lot of Will Rogers in the Daily Show, although Rogers never tried to really hurt any one or mock someone who couldn't reply. Little known outside of Southern California was his obsession with polo. He reveled in the idea that a cowpoke could play a game against gentlemen. Contrawise he had no use for golf: "About all there is to prominent men nowadays is their golf. It has always been a mystery to me how our old time men every got even as good as they were without golf. Just imagine if Lincoln had had golf to add to his other accomplishments. There is a boy you have been proud of." http://willrogerspolo.org/ >>> Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The >>> media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > http://willrogerspolo.org/ Will Rodgers ranch and personal polo ground are now a state park in Pacific Palisades, CA. The Will Rodgers Polo Club still plays matches there every weekend in the summer. ALV > > Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The > > media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > TMO they still haven't gotten over the rapido river. >>Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The >>media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" >>after his death, so that point's taken. > > I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Will Rogers, certainly across the > Southwest America's most visible iconic figure until his untimely death. Being an Okie, he is a personal hero of mine. I have never been so shocked as to see this really excellent bronze statue of Rogers that once greeted you at the entrance to the Woolaroc Museum relocated to the Capitol building. > I certainly never saw any US soldiers "demonstrate" against John Wayne, but > I certainly saw a loud and large group of 36th Division Texas National > Guardsmen insult General Mark Clark, a commander held in great and unending > disfavor is some quarters. What was the context for that? I may have used the name "Mark Clark" earlier when I should have said "Wesley Clark". Drat. :) > TMO -- Les Cargill Why was it moved? DSH > Being an Okie, he is a personal hero of mine. I have never > been so shocked as to see this really excellent bronze statue > of Rogers that once greeted you at the entrance to the Woolaroc > Museum relocated to the Capitol building. > Why was it moved? > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >>of Rogers that once greeted you at the entrance to the Woolaroc >>Museum relocated to the Capitol building. I don't know. I had seen that statue four or five times a year, then for a span of time, stopped going to Woolaroc. Then there it was in the Capitol. Just weird, is all :) Wikipedia has a story on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Rogers "Each state is allowed to have two statues in the United States Capitol Building. Will Rogers was one of the people to be given this honor by the state of Oklahoma. The statue is made of bronze and faces the floor entrance of the House of Representatives gallery in a hallway connected to Statuary Hall. There is a story that Oklahoma knew they wanted Will Rogers, before he passed away, to be one of their two statues in the Capitol and when the state asked him if that would be okay he told them only if his statue is placed facing the House gallery so he can keep an eye on Congress. It is true that of all the statues in the hallway, Will Rogers is the only one facing the House gallery entrance. It is also said that as Presidents walk by the Will Rogers statue on the way to give a State of the Union speech it is good luck to rub the shoes on the statue." -- Les Cargill Woolaroc? You haven't explained that. In the Capitol, so the horse's arse faces the public, also. You are saying it was moved to the OKLAHOMA Capitol, right? More folks can see it there, I suppose -- it's a more prominent position. ANOTHER version of the statue, the "original" is in the UNITED STATES CAPITOL, right? DSH >> Why was it moved? >> [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > -- > Les Cargill > Woolaroc? You haven't explained that. http://www.woolaroc.org/ Museum outside Bartlesville, Oklahoma on land donated by the Phillips family. > In the Capitol, so the horse's arse faces the public, also. > > You are saying it was moved to the OKLAHOMA Capitol, right? U.S. Capitol building. > More folks can see it there, I suppose -- it's a more prominent position. > > ANOTHER version of the statue, the "original" is in the UNITED STATES > CAPITOL, right? There is only one version, and it was moved from Woolaroc to the US. Capitol. > DSH > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >>-- >>Les Cargill Will Rogers died in 1935. Why has it taken the Good Folks of Oklahoma so long to get his statue placed in the United States Capitol? DSH WOOLAROC... Strange Name. DSH > WOOLAROC... > > Strange Name. > > DSH It's contracted. WOod LAnd and ROCk. Lots of Western paintings (Russel, Remington etc ), machines , guns, Native American articles of historical import. Sorta an Okie Smithsonian. Pretty country, too. -- Les Cargill Thanks! Sounds worth a visit. DSH >> WOOLAROC... >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > -- > Les Cargill > Will Rogers died in 1935. > > Why has it taken the Good Folks of Oklahoma so long to get his statue placed > in the United States Capitol? > > DSH these references may help you better understand: http://www.virtualology.com/hallofusa/nationalstatuaryhall/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Statuary_Hall JML > > Will Rogers died in 1935. > > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > JML i always found it disgusting that virginia had the traitor r.e.lee as one of its statues, especially when you think of all the great virginians they could have had instead. madison, monroe, jefferson. > > > Will Rogers died in 1935. > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > of its statues, especially when you think of all the great virginians they > could have had instead. madison, monroe, jefferson. Many times the person representing the states in Statuary Hall is someone whose fame, although significant at the time of his/her selection, has proven to be rather ephemeral, or at best of local fame- who would remember such folks as Charles B. Aycock of North Carolina or Jabez Collamer of Verrmont? In some states, there have been movements to remove some of these folks and replace them with native sons and daughters of more significant national stature. I had heard that there was a movement to replace Bobby Lee with the late tennis pro Arthur Ashe, who was born in Richmond, but I haven't heard anything more. JML > > > > Will Rogers died in 1935. > > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > JML george marshall would be a fine choice. but jimmy monroe wrote the constitution. that should get you a statue in the halls of congress. while arthur ashe was a great tennis player and a man of exemplary character, he was just a tennis player. looking at the list i can see there are many inappropriate men are honored {its been a while since i've been there} SC and Miss both honoring great traitors. why does wyoming only have one? > > > "Jane Margaret Laight" <jml27...@yahoo.com> wrote in > [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > traitors. > why does wyoming only have one?- nice question--my guess is that they're probably waiting for Dick Cheney to die--although the Federal Building in Casper is named for him, one of the few (I think two or three) federal buildings named for a person alive at the time of the dedication of the building. JML searching for George Washington Glick While President George Herbert Walker Bush has an aircraft carrier named after him. DSH >> why does wyoming only have one?- > > nice question--my guess is that they're probably waiting for Dick > Cheney to die--although the Federal Building in Casper is named for > him, one of the few (I think two or three) federal buildings named for > a person alive at the time of the dedication of the building. 29, 10:25 am, "Ray O'Hara" <mary.palmu...@rcn.com> wrote: > > > > "Jane Margaret Laight" <jml27...@yahoo.com> wrote in > > [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] > JML > searching for George Washington Glick if virginia,SC and Miss can put in traitors wy can put in curt gowdy. > Will Rogers died in 1935. > > Why has it taken the Good Folks of Oklahoma so long to get his statue placed > in the United States Capitol? > > DSH Beats me. The statue was at Woolaroc for a very long time. -- Les Cargill > > Will Rogers died in 1935. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > -- > Les Cargill IIRC the Phillips family had no sons and the decision was made to get the family out of direct management of the oil operation and divide assets so that the daughters could obtain maximum benefit. Local gossip from a cousin who worked for Phillips in Bartlesville and T. Boone Pickens, just ahead of the law, to hear him tell it. >> > Will Rogers died in 1935. >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > gossip from a cousin who worked for Phillips in Bartlesville and T. > Boone Pickens, just ahead of the law, to hear him tell it. I'm surprised that T. Boone Pickens did not change his last name to Phillips > >> > Will Rogers died in 1935. > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > I'm surprised that T. Boone Pickens did not change his last name to Phillips Probably didn't because it might be legal, cousin left T. Boone when he saw he had no regard for any law of any kind. Now if you are the Oklahoma State football team.... >>>Will Rogers died in 1935. >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > gossip from a cousin who worked for Phillips in Bartlesville and T. > Boone Pickens, just ahead of the law, to hear him tell it. That's pretty much how I understand it. Your cousin worked for T. Boone Pickens? "Just ahead of the law" is an understatement. We are all paying for that little fiasco. Oil companies self-financed, and Pickens tried to do the "leverege the cash against the stock" thing - which is just good sharp business, but please note the disrepair of the infrastructure. Refinery capacity isn't getting any better and only by laying fiber in pipeline as conduit have the pipeline companies done well. That's why there was Enron. The "swamp isn't being drained", and It's a Problem, now. Of course, they burned the marble in Roman buildings for quicklime, too. -- Les Cargill > >>Eh, I'm afraid that's not true. Jimmie Rodgers made a serious dent. The > >>media were very young at the time. He did become "more somebody" [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I may have used the name "Mark Clark" earlier when I should have said > "Wesley Clark". Drat. :) lt gen mark wayne clark commanded the 5th army in italy in which the 36th was a part of. they got caught crossing the rapido river and slaughtered. they had misgivings about the attempt before it took place and events proved theit fears well founded. you can look it up under the name "rapido river massacre' it was when moving up towards monte casino. Does the Will Rogers statue in the OKLAHOMA Capitol also have the horse's arse facing the public? DSH "D. Spencer Hines" <panther@excelsior.com> wrote in message news:... > Woolaroc? You haven't explained that. > [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] >> -- >> Les Cargill |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.