John Wayne Day declared in Texas to mark star’s 108th birthday

Dressed in a brown plaid coat worn by John Wayne in 1945’s Flame Of Barbary Coast, Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has declared a day in honour of the quintessential screen cowboy.

John Wayne Day declared in Texas in honour of the star’s 108th birthday. Image by Insomnia Cured Here / CC BY-SA 2.0

An avid collector of movie memorabilia, Mr Patrick wore the coat as he presided over the Senate and declared it John Wayne Day in Texas to mark the Hollywood star’s 108th birthday and named the actor an honorary Texan. There were proclamations from the House, Senate and Governor Greg Abbott.

Senators told Wayne’s visiting children and grandchildren of their love for movies including True Grit, The Searchers and Rio Bravo, and senator Judith Zaffirini, whose district is near the set of Wayne’s 1960 film The Alamo, quoted her favourite Wayne-ism: “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.”

(Press Association)