A LOOK AT JOHN WAYNE: 'I love them all - plump, skinny, tall or short.' John Wayne's insatiable love for the ladies

John Wayne is arguably the most iconic name in American film - more than an actor, he was a national treasure. Now the Wayne Family is sharing the star's personal letters, telegrams, cards and never-before seen photos in Duke: In His Own Words, published by Media Lab Books.  

'The guy you see on the screen isn't really me,' said Wayne. I'm Duke Morrison, and I never was and never will be a film personality like John Wayne. I know him well. I'm one of his closest students. I have to be I made a living out of him.

'I've found the character the average man wants himself, his brother or his kid to be. It's the same type of guy the average wife wants for her husband'.

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Life and legacy: New book highlights John Wayne's life through the eyes of the people who loved him and knew him better than anyone else

'Duke', 'Everlovin', or just 'Dad' to his family and friends was born in the Midwest but soon resettled in southern California with his family to accommodate his own father's lung condition.

 

It was the move westward that introduced the rugged 6'4' man's - and woman's - man to the Hollywood movie studios. 

He had lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California after a body surfing accident. He actually never scored a touchdown.

With no funds for school, he left and went on to be a prop boy and extra in movies in the 1920s.

Come 1930, he was given his first starring role in The Big Trail and that's when the screen name John Wayne came to life. He moved on to star in westerns that eventually translated into box office gold for five decades until his death on June 11, 1979. 

Wayne died of stomach cancer at the age of 72.

But he left behind a legacy with his seven kids. Wayne was married three times - all Latina women.

His first wife Josephine Saenz was the daughter of a Panamanian consul in Los Angeles. 

Instead of spending time with her he was often socializing with his film buddies leaving Josephine alone and unhappy. 

In their 12 years together they had four children – Michael, Toni, Patrick and Melinda. 

His second wife was a 'hot tamale who drank like a fish'. Wayne met Esperenza Bauer Diaz while vacationing in Mexico City. Nicknamed 'Chata', Diaz was a bit film actress and full time call girl to the stars. 

They had no children together in their eight years of marriage. Wayne went on to declare it the biggest mistake of his life because they fought so much.

The all-American cowboy's third and longest marriage was with Pilar Weldy, lasting 17 years. They met in 1953 in Lima, Peru while he was scouting locations for the film, The Alamo.

The daughter of a Peruvian politician, she was twenty-two years younger than Wayne and was the mother of his youngest three children: Aissa, John Ethan and Marisa Carmella. 

'I'm a demonstrative man, a baby picker-upper, a hugger and a kisser—that's my nature'.

'He was just a regular dad', said Melinda from his first marriage to Josephine Saenz.

'He had a wonderful sense of humor but was adamant about school and always said that education was the key to life'.