In his private life, he had seven children and 21 grandchildren and made sure he was an active Dad. He lived and loved hard, and drank, smoked, gambled and all the other macho things that you associated with John Wayne's name. To his friends and fans, Duke was generous and loyal - and they to him. In one account, when Wayne and Jimmy Stewart were in California they came upon some anti-war demonstrators displaying the Vietcong flag. Duke entered the throng and in a moment the flag came down - Duke had informed them that Stewart's son had recently died in the war, and the demonstrators respected the Duke's wish that the flag not be flown. I can't think of any other actor who could have made that kind of request in the turbulent 1960s and 1970s.
In the 1970's, Wayne's best role was in 1976's "The Shootist", but by this time the actor was dying of cancer, and while still the strong man on screen, was suffering off screen. But he was a fighter, and after going public with his battle, he helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research. He died in June 1979 of late stage cancer, and Americans mourned their loss.
Over twenty years later, John Wayne is still an icon - a screen presence who tops the lists of many people as being one of the most patriot symbols of American pride. He took pains to be professional in all aspects, and took responsibility for all of his actions - whether they were regarded highly by others or not. You may not like his acting, his accent, or his politics. Or you may love his acting, his accent and his politics. But either way - you know the name of John "Duke" Wayne, and you know what he stood for. And that's the way he liked it.
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