To many, he was the ultimate man. Strength, integrity, honor, and courage wrapped up in a gruff and manly exterior. Yes, John Wayne. Michele recently wrote about a town that honored him. In our family, too, the name itself stands for honor.
Many, many years ago, my grandfather built his house in Newport Beach, and said that he was exactly the same kind of man in person. I grew up seeing photos of them together, candid snapshots and posed photos. Grandpa Fred was the same kind of man, one who believed that “life is hard, but it’s good.” He talked about John Wayne and his family with incredible fondness. One of his most treasured possessions was an oil painting of Wayne that was signed by him, and addressed with a personal message to my grandparents. It wasn’t so much that they were star-struck. He wasn’t the kind of man that would have welcomed that. It was more that they greatly esteemed and respected him as a person.
It’s no wonder that I saw just about every John Wayne movie growing up. Many are lost in the recesses of my mind, but others like Rooster Cogburn (with Katharine Hepburn), The Green Berets, and True Grit will forever be remembered. Some of those I’d forgotten are included in FamilyVideo’s John Wayne 20 Movie Pack. Right now, it’s on sale for only $9.75 for all twenty on four disks. If you’re a new customer, you can deduct $5. I like FamilyVideo because shipping is only .99. If you’ve been with one of those movie clubs, you’ll know that they can routinely charge as much as $6 to ship one video. With the code and the shipping, it comes to $5.75. That’s less than thirty cents a movie.
Here’s a list of the included movies: The Dawn Rider, The Desert Trail, The Lucky Texan , ‘Neath Arizona Skies, Rainbow Valley, The Trail Beyond, Texas Terror, The Star Packer, Paradise Canyon, Riders of Destiny, West of the Divide, Winds of the Wasteland, Born to the West (aka Hell Town), The Lawless Frontier, The Man from Utah, Randy Rides Alone, Blue Steel, Sagebrush Trail, The American West of John Ford, Angel and the Badman, and McLintock
My son’s favorite John Wayne joke (make sure to use the John Wayne voice). “Well, lemme tell you, par’ner. You can’t pick your friends like you pick your nose because you can’t wipe your friends on a saddle.”
Link to FamilyVideo
Code for new customers: NWEGWMEM