Michael Wayne

Michael Anthony Morrison (November 23, 1934 – April 2, 2003), best known as Michael Wayne, was an American film producer and actor, and the eldest son of Hollywood actor John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles, California, Michael graduated from Loyola University in California in 1956 with a Business degree and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Michael began his film career as a production assistant on the set of the John Ford film The Quiet Man in 1951. He joined his father's film production company, Batjac Productions, for Alamo (1960) and became line producer for McLintock! (1963) and producer on many other John Wayne vehicles including Big Jake (1971) and Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973).

Michael, who developed the reputation of being a good businessman, served on the board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund and was The John Wayne Foundation's president and chairman of the board. He also was founder and chairman of the board of the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's Health Center.

Michael and his wife, Gretchen, had five children, son Christopher, daughters Alicia, Josephine, Maria, and Teresa. He died at the age of 68 of heart failure as the result of complications from lupus erythematosus, just two months before his mother's death.

Television appearances

• You Bet Your Life, episode #9.15, as himself (1959)
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, episode #2.3, as himself (1968)
• Hollywood Greats, episode on John Wayne, as himself (1984)
• John Wayne's 'The Alamo', video documentary short, as himself (1992)
• The Making of 'The Quiet Man', video documentary short, as himself (1992)
• The Making of 'Sands of Iwo Jima', video documentary short, as himself (1993)
• The 12th Annual Golden Boot Awards, telemovie, as himself (1993)
• Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick, documentary, as himself (1995)
• E! True Hollywood Story, episode "James Bacon: Hollywood Confidential", as himself (1999)