Rewind 1949
Sun Herald
Sunday July 29, 2007
Patrick Wayne
The son of Hollywood legend John Wayne remembers how watching his dad on set taught him about acting and led to small parts in some of the era's classic Westerns.I had gone out into the desert in Moab, Utah, to visit my dad on the set of Rio Grande. I was nine years old and the only one of my brothers and sisters who had any real interest in the motion-picture business. The director, John Ford, who was my godfather, said, "Hey, do you want to be in the picture?"I got the job as a glorified extra with a few lines of dialogue. I was one of a group of children who were being hustled into a church ahead of an Indian attack and it was a lot of fun. John Ford said I'd earn $10 for the week, which was a lot of money back then, so I did it and that was the first of many times I worked with my dad [including on 1956's The Searchers].My father wasn't the type to give advice per se but I learned a lot just watching the way he conducted himself on set, from watching him prepare. He threw himself into it and all of his waking hours were spent preparing and rehearsing and getting it right. He was very ambitious and driven and focused on success. The only real piece of advice he gave me was when we were working on The Comancheros [1961]. There was a scene where I had to ride a horse and we watched the dailies and I looked terrible. My dad said to me, "You're going to learn to ride a horse or you'll have to get out of this business!" I did learn.The great thing about being with him on Rio Grande was that my brothers and sisters [Ethan, Aissa, Marisa, Michael, Toni and Melinda] weren't there so I had a lot of one-on-one time with my dad. My strongest memories are of the drive to and from the location every day. I'd always ride with him and we'd talk about all the unexpected things that had happened on set that day.I was an average, normal boy and I'd push the envelope to see what I could get away with but with an imposing figure like my father you learnt to toe the line. I wouldn't say he was strict but he had a set of values that he made pretty clear to us. He was all about friendship and being reliable and trustworthy. He was a man of his word and he expected that in return. He was very fair.Growing up, we didn't see much of the Hollywood scene. My dad wasn't into the parties. He enjoyed the ocean and being out on his boat [the Wild Goose] and playing bridge with a small group of friends. It was difficult going out in public with my dad because he could never walk away from his fans until he'd signed every autograph. But professionally, being John Wayne's son opened a lot of doors. Working with him gave me a body of work so I was able to get credits and this business is built on credits. I suppose there were certain expectations put on me because of who my dad was but once I got rolling, I developed my own persona so it was never a problem. I'm proud to be his son.My dad is still in my heart and so is that little boy [Patrick Wayne is now 68]. I'm still open and innocent in some ways and I haven't lost my curiosity.Fast forwardMy father would have been 100 this year [John Wayne died of lung and stomach cancer in 1979]. Many of his films are being released on DVD [including Island In The Sky, The High And The Mighty, Hondo and McLintock!, out through Paramount on Wednesday]. I'm still stunned that 28 years after he passed away, he's so recognisable and so popular. I think it is simply because the body of films he was in still play very well. I haven't been pursuing acting so much because my time is taken up with being chairman of the board for the John Wayne Cancer Institute. We decided as a family that we would use our dad's name to raise money and pursue this cause.
© 2007 Sun Herald