JOHN WAYNE - IOWA TOWNSFOLK SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN WAYNE

IOWA TOWNSFOLK SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN WAYNE

Movie icon JOHN WAYNE is being remembered in the sleepy Iowa town he left when he was just four-years-old with a weekend-long celebration to mark what would have been his 100th birthday. The actor was born Marion Morrison in Winterset on 26 May, 1907, and the townsfolk have never forgotten their favourite son. Thousands of movie fans are expected to visit the town this weekend to see the house where the Hollywood legend was born and to take part in festivities. The celebrations began yesterday (25May07) with free showings of Wayne movies True Grit and Stagecoach in the town's leading cinema. Other events planned include a groundbreaking for a new John Wayne museum, which will feature the unveiling of a new statue honouring the movie star, and a series of western demonstrations by a rodeo drill team.