As an iconic Western star, John Wayne was certainly no stranger to the great outdoors.
This is likely why Great Western Savings reached out to the movie star in the 1970s to complete a series of commercials with an outdoorsy and free-spirited feeling.
In one particular commercial John Wayne is seen taking his two kids camping. The camera pans over them cuddled up in sleeping bags before showing Wayne pacing around the campsite.
“Good morning. Great time of day, first light, chill air, warm fire, hot coffee. I’m letting them sleep in on the last day of vacation,” John Wayne says. It’s an entirely serene scene. He then goes into the commercial side of things by saying he’s most proud of his decision to put money aside for the future for his kids.
His kids would carry on this legacy of sharing money in their very own way. The John Wayne Cancer Foundation helps support those fighting cancer. Wayne passed away from lung cancer in 1964.
The mission of the foundation is to “bring courage, strength, and grit to the fight against cancer.”
USA Today has an exclusive photo album of Wayne spending time with his kids. One photo shows him scuba diving off an outrigger in Hawaii. He was an avid waterman that spent a lot of time at the beach or on a boat. He especially loved to free dive for abalone and lobster.
The photos also show him bringing his kids to movie sets. His son Ethan, for example, had a blast on the set of “The Sons of Katie Elder.”
“As he became more well-known, the boat was really a place where he could get away,” John Wayne’s son, Ethan, said to the publication.
John Wayne Time Outside
In his spare time, Wayne wanted to immerse himself in the great outdoors. He also always made time for his kids outside of his bustling film career.
According to AZ Central, John Wayne owned a working ranch in Maricopa, Arizona. Here he raised cattle and grew cotton. He bought this 4,000 acres of land for about $4 million in the 1950s.
He hired people to help tend to the land. Louis Johnson, his neighbor, was in charge of maintaining and harvesting cotton. The two struck a deal that if he got four or more bales of cotton from each acre of land, The Duke would buy him a brand new Cadillac.
John Wayne was a man of his word.
Wayne always made a habit to get outside. He would take his kids on vacations when he wasn’t filming. He also loved to fish and spend time out on the water. Wayne had his own private yacht that he spent his time on, especially once he was retired from moviemaking.