John Wayne starred in some of the most successful films in the Western genre, but one film was so close to his heart that he named his son after the main character from the movie. Wayne got his start in the Western genre thanks to John Ford, who cast him in Stagecoach. After this movie, Wayne became a staple of both Westerns and war movies for the next five decades, one of the longest runs of any actor regarding remaining a lead star throughout his career.
John Wayne also had a large family with seven children. The man known as “The Duke” had four children with his first wife, Josephine Saenz (Michael, Mary, Patrick, and Melinda), and three with his third wife, Esperanza Baur (Aissa, John Ethan, and Marisa). Hardcore John Wayne fans might recognize one of those since one of his sons was named after the character Wayne played in arguably his most iconic and celebrated movie. John Ethan was named after Ethan Edwards in John Ford’s seminal Western masterpiece, The Searchers.
John Wayne Named His Son Ethan After The Searchers’ Protagonist
John Wayne Named One Of His Sons John Ethan
John Wayne had three sons among his seven children, and he named his youngest son after himself and his beloved movie character. His son even went by Ethan instead of his first name, making him more connected with The Searchers. According to his son, that meant a lot to him, and he said that he remains most proud of “living up to my father’s straight-ahead toughness” (via People). Many of Wayne’s children followed their dad into the business, including Toni and Patrick, who appeared in movies with him, and Michael, who became the head of his father’s production company.
After Michael died in 2003, Ethan began running John Wayne Enterprises.
As for Ethan, he runs the family businesses now. After John Wayne died following a battle with stomach cancer, his children started the John Wayne Cancer Insтιтute at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California. They said they wanted to use their dad’s name to help fight the disease that took him away from them. After Michael died in 2003, Ethan began running John Wayne Enterprises to help keep his dad’s name alive. He is also chairperson of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.
Why The Searchers Is Still Among John Wayne’s Very Best Movies
The Searchers Remains One Of John Wayne’s Masterpieces
John Wayne starred in several incredible Westerns throughout his career, from Stagecoach and True Grit to The Man Who SH๏τ Liberty Valance and The Shootist. However, out of all his Westerns, The Searchers might be the best. He re-teamed with John Ford, and they created a masterpiece. Wayne stars as Ethan Edwards, a former Confederate soldier in the Civil War. After a Comanche tribe attacked his home, killed his wife and son, and abducted his niece and sister, Ethan sets out to find and kill his niece, who he feels was ruined by the Comanches.
Ethan Edwards is an angry and lonely man.
What makes this movie great is that it is an answer to many of the characters John Wayne played previously. Ethan Edwards is an angry and lonely man, one who is so steadfast in his ways that he would rather kill his niece than see her living happily with the Comanche tribe who abducted her. Edwards was violent and had no remorse, and Roger Ebert rightfully compared his character to that of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, an unhinged man with so much hate that he wants to destroy everything he sees wrong with the world.
The last scene in The Searchers is one of the most iconic and memorable in movie history, regardless of genre. Ethan has brought Debbie home, choosing not to kill her and to save her instead. As Debbie goes into the house with her family, Ethan stays outside and then turns and walks away, framed by the door, which eventually closes, with him still on the outside, alone. This visual poetry makes The Searchers John Wayne‘s best movie and Ethan Edwards his greatest character.
