John Wayne’s estate took to Instagram to pay tribute to his late son Michael on the 20th anniversary of his death. The candid black and white snapshot shows the Duke with Michael relaxing during a break from spearfishing.
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“Remembering John Wayne’s eldest son Michael Wayne who passed away on this day in 2003,” they captioned the image. ” Michael became a successful film producer for Duke’s production company Batjac and worked on twelve films with his father over the course of his successful career.”
However, t he location of the fishing spot has a special meaning to the John Wayne family. “Pictured are Duke and Michael at the historic estate of King Kamehamea the Great on Keauhou Bay, Big Island Hawaii designed by renowned architect Vladmir Ossipoff. Duke married his wife Pilar here on November 1st, 1954 while on location for the Sea Chase
Hailing from Los Angeles, Wayne earned a Business degree in 1956 from the esteemed Loyola University California and then went on to serve his country with distinction in the United States Air Force Reserve. Michael had seven siblings in total: three half-siblings — Ethan, Aissa, and Marisa Wayne — as well as Patrick, Mary Antonia LaCava, and Melinda Munoz with whom he shared the same mother.
Michael’s film career started with the John Wayne film ‘The Quiet Man’
In 1951, Wayne’s career in film began when he worked as a production assistant for the John Ford movie The Quiet Man. Afterward, he connected to his father’s Batjac Productions and served as a line producer for McLintock! (1963) and subsequently produced numerous other projects starring John Wayne such as Big Jake (1971) and Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973).
Wayne gained a reputation for being an exceptional businessman and was highly involved in the Motion Picture & Television Fund, where he served on the board. In 1979, after experiencing the heartbreaking loss of his father to cancer at 72 years old, Michael Wayne had a deep responsibility to guard and protect J.W.’s legacy. He founded The John Wayne Foundation and took up the presidency of it as well as becoming chairman of its board. He also established and chaired the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center.
Michael Wayne’s marriage to Gretchen Wayne on August 30, 1958, was the only union of his life. They remained together until Michael passed away on April 2, 2003, and had five children: Alicia, Josephine, Maria, Christopher, and Teresa.
Wayne and Gretchen, a loving couple blessed with five children, eventually had to face tragedy. Sadly enough two months before his mother’s demise, at 68 years old he passed away due to cardiac arrest caused by lupus erythematosus complications.
