Did you know that John Wayne survived lung cancer before a far more aggressive stomach
cancer ended his life at the age of 72?
Curious to find out who inherited the icon's millions after he died?
Keep watching.
John Wayne was once one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
His performances in multiple Westerns even led to his name becoming synonymous with the
genre.
Born as Marion Robert Morrison in Iowa, his family eventually settled in Glendale, California
when Wayne was a child.
At the time, Wayne went by "Duke," a nickname that stuck for the rest of his life.
In high school, he was known for his natural athleticism and received a football scholarship
for the University of Southern California.
However, an injury forced the young Wayne to abandon his sports dreams.
In 1926, his football coach landed him a job at the Fox Film Corporation.
Wayne worked as a prop man and eventually, an extra.
He soon struck up a friendship with director John Ford.
Ford allowed Wayne to herd geese in his 1928 film Mother Machree.
He later introduced Wayne to another director, Raoul Walsh.
Walsh changed Marrion Morrison's name to "John Wayne" and gave him his first leading role
in The Big Trail.
Released in 1930, the western flopped.
For the next several years, Wayne starred in low-budget films and spent his time wisely.
He honed his craft and created the on-screen persona he is now remembered for.
Then in 1939, his old buddy Ford cast him in Stagecoach as Ringo Kid.
"Whoa, steady, whoa, whoa."
"Hey, look!
It's Ringo."
"Yeah."
Ultimately, the film revitalized Wayne's career and he spent the next few decades as one of
the world's biggest Western stars — and a millionaire.
Stagecoach was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won two.
Most importantly, it introduced audiences to Wayne and his signature rough and tumble
guise.
After 1939, Wayne essentially worked non-stop.
His next role was in another Ford film, The Long Voyage Home.
Once again, it proved Wayne's acting abilities and his brazen on-screen presence.
Based on a play by Eugene O'Neill, the film received several Academy Award nominations.
Between 1939 and 1963, Wayne and Ford collaborated on a number of films, with Wayne, for the
most part, always playing a similar character.
He personified a typical cowboy that had tenacity and honor.
In addition, Wayne starred in various war films including Sands of Iwo Jima in 1949.
Some of his other notable films include Rio Grande and The Searchers.
In 1969, his role as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit won him his first Academy Award.
Unlike his previous roles, Cogburn was not an average clean-cut cowboy.
"Which will it be?"
"I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man."
Off-screen, he was heavily involved in conservative politics, and eventually merged his beliefs
and film together.
Wayne later directed and starred in The Alamo and The Green Berets.
Both films reflected his political views.
In 1976, he made his final film, The Shootist, as a gunfighter who is dying of cancer.
At the time, Wayne was also battling the disease.
He died only three years later.
Throughout his life, Wayne was plagued by cancer.
In 1964, he survived lung cancer.
It became so aggressive that doctors had to remove one of his lungs and a number of ribs
to save his life.
Later, he developed stomach cancer, which ultimately killed him on June 11, 1979.
Wayne was 72 years old.
By the time of John Wayne's death, his film career had made him very wealthy with a net
worth of $7 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Some of his assets included property in Arizona and in Washington State.
While he did share his fortune with friends and family, Wayne was very selective in who
he left his money to.
The actor was married three times and had seven children in his lifetime.
His will ensured that all seven of his children and his first wife received some compensation,
either directly, or through trust funds, leaving them all with five and six-figure sums.
He additionally left tens of thousands to both his former and then present secretaries.
After Wayne's death, The New York Times reported that his current yet estranged third wife,
Pilar Pallete, was excluded from his will.
While that was true, Pallete and Wayne already had a financial separation agreement.
It's unknown who received his various properties.
However, some of his art and artifacts went to different organizations.
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