Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1952)

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During his decline he had to make a living doing something, so he made westerns that took only eight days to shoot for Republic and Universal — “The Three Mesquiteers” series and other quickies. It was hard work. There were no doubles; he did his own fighting. He arrived on the set at 6:00 a.m. and after a rugged day got home dirty and tired at 7:30 p.m. only to find that his dinner clothes had been laid out by Josephine. And off they went to a party! Speaking of this, John says, “A guy in pictures has got to look wide-eyed. I used to be so sleepy I could die. I loved having my friends around, but the routine of getting in at 1:00 a.m. and then up again at five to be on a horse in front of a camera at six — well, I began to curl up.” To John it was his old friends who were important — the people he went to school with. He was — and is — a loyal person, as indicated by his actions toward Herbert J. Yates, the president of Republic, one of Hollywood’s small studios. John could have signed with Universal a few years ago at twice the money Republic was paying him but preferred to stick with “Papa” Yates, who helped give him his start. Despite the fact that John didn’t care for society, he did like almost every other aspect of his life with Josephine, including that of religion. They had four children. Michael, nineteen, and Toni, seventeen, are students at Loyola University in Los Angeles. Patrick, fifteen, is in junior high, and Melinda, thirteen, is in the eighth grade. Of his children, John says, “I think my kids are the most wonderful, handsomest kids on earth.” A turning point came in 1938 with John’s smash hit in “Stagecoach,” which made him the top star he was supposed to have become when “The Big Trail” was produced. Following “Stagecoach” came more big roles and the inevitable separation from Josie and the children while he was on location. These enforced location separations, plus a possible sense of inferiority to the elegant Josephine, brought about a new assertiveness in Wayne’s manner which caused differences that, starting out as small ones, grew and grew in the eyes of both of them. There was a gradual drifting apart. Then, in 1943. came an unofficial separation. It was during this period that John met Esperanza Baur at a dance in Mexico City given by mutual friends. Esperanza was an up-and-coming Mexican actress. She was a beautiful dark-haired girl with snapping black eyes, a cute pugnose, and a smile that would charm the birds off the trees. Like Josephine, she was of Spanish descent. John called her Chata, which is Spanish for “pug-nose.” She, oddly enough, had been married in 1941 to a fellow named Morrison, Wayne’s real name. This one’s first name was Eugene. She divorced Eugene the same year she married him. Both women are tall, slender and dark. Although there is a remarkable firstglance resemblance between the two, Chata actually is the complete antithesis of Josephine. Josie is reserved and has a patrician appearance. Chata is hoydenish, and when she smiles her nose and her eyes and her whole face wrinkle. She is thirty; Josephine is forty. Chata wanted the things John wanted: the simple uncluttered life — a fire in the fireplace around which old friends could gather, and good, simple fun around a barbecue pit. However, the ties that bound John to Josephine and their four children were too strong for John to ignore at first, and he did break up with Chata and go back to Josephine. They effected a precarious reconciliation. It was agreed between them that John would forget about Chata if Josephine would never mention her name. Two minutes later Josie brought up the subject. From then on it was no good. Even so, Duke’s love for his family was stronger than his desire for happiness in his own personal life and he stuck with Josephine — for a while. But the reconciliation failed to jell. Thev broke up again. After the breakup and the divorce (it is understood that Josephine receives $30,000 a year alimony from John), he sought out Chata in Mexico City and on Januaray 17, 1946, they were married at Long Beach. Ward Bond was best man and Mrs. Ollie Carey, wife of the late Harry Carey, was matron of honor. “Papa” Yates gave the bride away w hen they returned to Hollywood after the honeymoon, I met them for the first time at the Associated Press Editors’ Convention at the Biltmore Hotel. They were the center of attention, along with the other newlywed couple who shared our table — Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall — and Danny Thomas and his wife. They were having a wonderful time and were obviously very much in love. Wayne’s star was still in the ascendancy career-wise, and the location-separations that had come about with his stardom while he was married to Josephine continued throughout his marriage to Chata. In addition, John took on more business commitments than he had ever carried before — responsibilities that demanded more time than Chata was willing for him to give. For instance, he signed a producing contract with Republic as well as an acting contract, and became involved with the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals — and he was increasingly in demand for pictures until it got to a point where he was making pictures for Republic, Warner Brothers, RKO and himself, with little time left to enjoy the home life that he and Chata had originally pictured for themselves. And Wayne was changing. He was now a star of top stature and was gradually discovering he liked the Hollywood social life — the life that was distasteful when he was married to Josephine. All these factors set the pattern for the separation last June, while John was making “Big Jim McLain” with Nancy Olson in Honolulu. John produced it and starred in it for Warners’ release. Chata went with John on the location trip but flew back home after several fights. No one has ever reported what these fights were about but