The Duke would've hit the big centennial yesterday if he was still with us. I celebrated Friday night by watching Big Jake and The Cowboys on TCM.
Evidently his birthplace has been having a big a celebration all weekend.
Check out the pictures of Ethan Wayne on this site. Hard to believe he's the kid from Big Jake.
http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org/centennial/
Even without the cancer, he never would have made it, not with the way he lived.
Seems so weird that there's a whole generation for whom he's just a name from old movies their parents or grandparents watched. If they've even heard of him at all.
Talk about some hard living right there.
He was the man in his day and still is today as well.
I love the scene in the video version of Gremlins 2 (which is an easter egg on the DVD) in which the Gremlins interrupt the tape and some in western get up get shot by John Wayne. Hilarious!