John Wayne might not be so popular in Sacramento these days, but he’s still beloved in Orange County as the Board of Supervisors and Newport Beach City Council Tuesday adopted resolutions praising late movie star in honor of the anniversary of his birth.
Assemblyman Matt Harper, R-Huntington Beach, last month proposed a mundane resolution in honor of the anniversary of the actor’s birth on Thursday, but it was shot down by lawmakers, who cited bigoted quotes Wayne made in an interview with Playboy magazine in 1971.
Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, said Wayne had “disturbing” views on racial issues.
Alejo reported cited the interview in which Wayne was quoted as saying, “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”
Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel presented a resolution in honor of Wayne before today’s board meeting.
“We had only one TV at home, so my Dad loved John Wayne so much that I started falling in love with him because he was our hero,” Steel said.
“I used to watch (Wayne’s movies) in (the) Korean language and when I was in Japan in junior high and high school I was watching the movies in Japanese. And then I came here and I was watching him in the English language.”
Steel said it was important to keep Wayne’s legacy alive because, “young kids these days they don’t have a hero in their lives.”
Wayne’s son, Ethan, and his daughter, Marisa, were on hand to accept the resolution.
Ethan, who was named after Wayne’s character in “The Searchers,” which is one of the most influential films and has been praised for its stance against racism, thanked the board of supervisors.
“Thank you Supervisor Steel and the rest of the board for recognizing May 26, my father’s birthday, as John Wayne Day here in Orange County,” Ethan Wayne said.
“It was a special place for my dad, a place he started visiting in the 1930s and a place he was able to make his home. My sisters and I were raised here and he is buried here, and I know he would appreciate the fact that the Orange County Board of Supervisors continues to support him.”
Marisa Wayne said she and her brother were born and raised in Newport Beach “and it was a very special place for my dad. He loved being out on his boat in the water and bringing up his children here.”
Later, the Newport Beach City Council approved a similar resolution in honor of Wayne.
“John Wayne was a true American icon, and beyond that, a Newport Beach local whose interests and values mirror everything that makes this community so special,” Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon said.
“He symbolized all that is great in America and our city so it is only fitting that we should honor such a great man.”
Last month, Harper condemned Wayne’s critics for shooting down the resolution.
“Today is the day that political correctness prevailed over a profoundly American figure recognized throughout the world,” Harper said
“Opposing the John Wayne Day resolution is like opposing apple pie, fireworks, baseball, the free enterprise system and the Fourth of July.”
–City News Service