He was the image of strength and manliness for generations of movie-goers, but he also had moments when his human frailty and mortality was made manifest, such as his heart surgery in 1978, and his prolonged battle with cancer, which began in 1965 and ended with his death in 1979. His friendship with John Ford, who made no mystery of his own profound Catholicism, influenced his life. His first significant contact with Catholicism was due to his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz, who got John Wayne involved in various parish events and who prayed incessantly for his conversion, even after their marriage failed.Īll his wives were Catholic, his seven children went to Catholic schools, and his 21 grandchildren grew up in the faith. Nonetheless, faith always came back to knock on the door of his heart.

However, John Wayne soon left religion behind and led a life far from the teachings he’d received: he got married three times, tended to drink too much, and had several lovers (including celebrities Marlene Dietrich and Maureen O’Hara).