John Ethan Morrison (born February 22, 1962), known professionally as Ethan Wayne, is an American actor, stuntman and podcast host. He is the youngest son of
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
and only son of
Pilar Pallete, and is best known for his role as
Storm Logan in the
CBS soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Bold and the Beautiful
''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...
'' (1987–1989, 1994, 1998, 2000−2001, 2003).
Early life
John Ethan Morrison was born in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, on February 22, 1962, as the middle child and only son
to
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
, an American
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
, and his third wife,
Pilar Pallete, a Peruvian former actress. He has two sisters, Aissa Maria Wayne and Marissa Carmela Wayne, and four half-siblings:
Michael Wayne, Mary Antonia "Toni" Wayne LaCava,
Patrick Wayne, and Melinda Ann Wayne Munoz, from his father's first marriage to Josephine Alicia Saenz.
Wayne grew up in
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...
. His name was chosen in direct relation to Ethan Edwards, his father's character in ''
The Searchers
''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...
''.
He was 17-years-old when his father died from
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
on June 11, 1979.
His father left an estate worth
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
6.85M, of which he received US$85,000.
Career
Wayne made his debut in 1970, as a
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...
, with an uncredited role in the
Western film
The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...
''
Rio Lobo''. He made his credited film debut with the role of Little Jake McCandles, the grandson of his father's title character in the
Technicolor
Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
Western film ''
Big Jake
''Big Jake'' is a 1971 American Technicolor Western (genre), Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara' ...
'' (1971). At the start of his career, he was occasionally credited as John Ethan Wayne.
Wayne started doing
stunt work in 1979, following the death of his father. His debut was the
action comedy film
The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
''
The Blues Brothers'' (1980). He then resumed work as an
The Blues Brothers (film)">The Blues Brothers'' (1980). He then resumed work as an
. His next two major appearances were both in 1981, as Stan in the slasher film">actor">The Blues Brothers (film)">The Blues Brothers'' (1980). He then resumed work as an
. His next two major appearances were both in 1981, as Stan in the slasher film ''Scream (1981 film)">Scream'', and as Eddie in the comedy film ''Longshot''.
Wayne portrayed Logan family (The Bold and the Beautiful)#First generation">Stephen "Storm" Logan Jr. in the
CBS soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Bold and the Beautiful
''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...
'', making his debut appearance in the episode broadcast on March 24, 1987.
His character was written out of the programme in the episode broadcast on March 10, 1989, after his contract ran out. He returned briefly in September 1994, making his departure that October. He returned in the episode broadcast on New Year's Eve 1997, making his departure in the episode broadcast on January 7, 1998. He made a brief return in January 2001. He made his return in the episode broadcast on April 30, 2003, making his departure in the episode broadcast on May 8. On the soap opera, Wayne worked with Robert Mitchum's granddaughter, Carrie Mitchum, whom he first met on the set of ''Big Jake''.
Wayne received a lot of work overseas after he started to appear on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''.
Wayne portrayed Officer Matt Doyle in the
police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
series ''
The New Adam-12'' during the early 1990s.
Wayne appeared as an expert on the
History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
reality television series ''
Pawn Stars'' in 2013, during the episode "
Dog Day Afternoon
''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The screenplay ...
", to help authenticate merchandise supposedly related to his father's career.
In celebration of what would have been his father's
111th birthday on May 26,
HDNet Movies tapped Wayne to host a "Western Icons" event from May 18–28 which featured
films starring his father,
Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
,
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
,
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...
,
Sidney Poitier,
Randolph Scott
George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in dramas, come ...
, and others.
Wayne now manages John Wayne Enterprises. He serves as the director of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and created its Team DUKE fundraising programme.
Wayne is the host of The John Wayne Gritcast
podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
series.
Personal life
Wayne keeps his personal life mostly private. He is the uncle of
Jennifer Wayne, from the
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
group
Runaway June.
Wayne and his longtime girlfriend, Gina Rivadenegry, a flight attendant,
eloped
Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, in December 1989. The couple quickly separated and their divorce was finalized in 1990, after less than a year of marriage.
Filmography
As an actor
Film
Television
As himself
As a stuntman
Source(s):
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Ethan
1962 births
Living people
American stunt performers
American film actors
American television actors
American soap opera actors
American male soap opera actors