When you think “John Wayne,” you think “Famous Hollywood Actor.” You think “The Ultimate Cowboy.” You think “Red-White-and-True-Blue Patriot.” But did you know he also was a very devoted Freemason? Let’s take a moment to see why.
Humble Roots in Iowa and California
Born in Winterset, Iowa, on May 26, 1907, the man the world would come to know as “John Wayne” was christened Marion Robert Morrison. When Marion was seven years old, his Freemason dad, a small-town pharmacist, moved his family to Glendale, California. It was there that Marion earned the nickname “Duke,” when local firefighters frequently saw him walking with his Airedale Terrier named Duke, and chose to transfer the name to Marion.
Drawn to Fraternal Organizations & Values
Because he was so grounded in small-town, neighbor-helping-neighbor values, Duke was drawn to fraternal organizations. After enrolling at the University of Southern California, he joined the Glendale DeMolay chapter and belonged to the Trojan Knights and Sigma Chi fraternities. One blogger later said of him that he was, throughout his life, “a man’s man, from his walk to his talk. You knew where you stood with him. He was straight-forward, self-sufficient, rugged, and dependable.” Actor Jimmy Stewart said John Wayne would always be remembered not only as a famous Hollywood actor but “because he lived his life to reflect the ideals of his country.”
John Wayne Becomes a Freemason
As a hard-working actor who made an astonishing 142 movies, the Duke had minimal time for “normal” life. But in 1970 he followed in the footsteps of his dad and became a Freemason. He reported to friends that he relished the time he spent among his Brothers, especially because he felt so at home in the lodge, “as if his fame melted away.” His Masonic lodge was Marion McDaniel Lodge No. 56 in Tucson, Arizona. Soon after earning his degrees, he became a member of the York Rite, joined Al Malaikah Shrine Temple in Los Angeles, as well as 32nd-degree Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
A Freemason’s Final Chapter
Throughout John Wayne’s life he strove to embody the Freemason principles of Brotherly Love, Tolerance, Charity, and Truth, as he had learned them first from his Freemason dad. One of the many ways he embodied these principles was to speak out very publicly about cancer (which he battled in 1964 and later) and to urge preventative exams. He made TV commercials for the American Cancer Society and made sure his estate financially supported The John Wayne Cancer Foundation, which his children founded after his death.
It is a testament to the Duke’s personal character and commitment as a Freemason that he would help relieve the pain of others even after his death. As an enduring symbol of American values, John Wayne was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Carter.
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