Quote of the Day: Actor John Wayne on 'Courage' and 'Saddling up Anyway'

Before John Waynebecame a fixture of Hollywood’s Golden Age, he was a baby boy born on May 26, 1907, according to his official website. Originally named Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne was from Winterset, Iowa, where he grew up playing football with his father and brother.

A move to California in 1916 surely set Wayne’s film career in motion, when he earned the nickname of “Duke.” Wayne went on to attend college at the University of Southern California, where he played football and joined a fraternity. While he was there, he worked part-time at Fox Film Corp (which later became 20th Century Fox and, long after Wayne worked there, 20th Century Studios). It was here that Wayne got his first taste of the silver screen playing a football player as an extra in several movies.

In the 1940s, he became a household name, a on-screen legend many people still love today. In 1964, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite being warned to keep the diagnosis to himself because of his image, Wayne became very vocal about the disease.

According to the History Channel, Wayne died at the age of 72. While he ultimately lost a lung to his cancer in 1964, he rallied and had several good years before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1979, dying just months after learning he had been afflicted once again.

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Quote of the Day by John Wayne

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“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

The quote from Wayne is attributed to his battle with cancer. And while the exact origin of this quote has never been definitively confirmed, it is widely attributed to Wayne.

Wayne first found out he had cancer in 1964, according to the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, and while he initially beat that version of the disease, stomach cancer later took his life. He became deeply devoted to helping others with cancer, which is where many believe the quote stemmed from.

Deeper Meaning of John Wayne’s Quote—On ‘Courage’ and ‘Saddling Up Anyway’

Wayne was famously full of bravado and frequently played hard and rough cowboys on the silver screen. However, that on-screen persona carried over into his real life when he was diagnosed with cancer, and he appeared to rely on that macho version of himself as he got ready for the fight of a lifetime.

Saying that “courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway” means acknowledging your fear (in this case, his cancer) but going on to fight anyway. Many people believe that this act—stepping up to face your fears when you are admittedly terrified—is a bigger sign of bravery than tackling something that doesn’t scare you at all.

Wayne likely made this statement to make amends with the way he felt about his health battle, noting that he was frightened of the road ahead, but still willing to walk down it anyway…a feeling that many who have faced a diagnosis like cancer or other chronic disease likely know well.

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More Quotes from John Wayne

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives, and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”
“A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.”
“A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”
“Life it tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid.”
“Seen better fights than this at a prayer meeting.”

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