Michael Wayne

Film producer and son of John Wayne

Michael Anthony Morrison (Michael Wayne), film producer: born Los Angeles 23 November 1934; married (one son, four daughters); died Burbank, California 2 April 2003

The eldest son of the actor John Wayne, Michael Wayne was the producer of many of his father's later films, including McLintock, The Green Berets and The Train Robbers.

He had been involved in the Wayne family's growing film enterprise since The Alamo (1960), which had been directed by John Wayne and produced by his company Batjac. The following year Michael became president of Batjac and in 1963 he gained his first solo credit as producer with the film McLintock, which co-starred John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. O'Hara, who made five films with John Wayne, had known Michael since he was a child, and she recalled that Michael was a "tough" producer. "One time, we were doing one of his movies and I said to John, 'Duke, maybe we should do this, or maybe we should do that.' He said, 'Maureen, you've got to talk to the boss – Mike.'"

In 1964, when I was compiling a book on western films, John Wayne agreed to write a foreword for me – but only after Michael had seen an outline of the book and given his sanction.

He was born Michael Anthony Morrison in 1934 in Los Angeles where his father (whose real name was Marion Robert Morrison) was appearing in low-budget westerns. Michael later used the surname "Wayne" himself, as did his younger brother Patrick, who went on to become an actor. Their mother Josephine was the first of John Wayne's four wives, and Michael was the first of the couple's four children. When the couple divorced in 1944, Josephine received custody of the children. "Even though my parents were divorced," said Michael, "Dad was always around, always the father figure. He represented the final word. Sometimes the final word was a spanking with his belt."

As a boy, Michael Wayne would spend weekends and summer holidays on location with his father, performing errands for the crew. "I relished the camaraderie, the new places and people, the excitement of a movie set," he said later. After graduating from Loyola University in 1956, Michael enlisted in the Air Force Reserve, then worked in the office of his father's production company prior to graduating to production assistant on The Alamo.

John Wayne had first entered production when he formed Wayne- Fellows Productions with the producer Robert Fellows in 1952 to make Big Jim McLain. Their collaboration lasted until The High and the Mighty (1954), after which Wayne bought out his partner's interest and renamed the company Batjac. (He took the name from that of a fictional trading company Batjack that had featured in his 1949 film Wake of the Red Witch.)

The Alamo had been a pet project of his for years, but the epic production put Batjac in some danger when soaring costs compelled John Wayne to mortgage the company to ensure the film's completion. Directed by John Wayne, who also played Davy Crockett, and featuring Michael's brother Patrick, the film lost money initially, but later recouped its costs through reissues and television screenings. When Michael brought in his first solo production, the $4m comedy western McLintock (1961), on budget, his father is reported to have commented, "That kid of mine runs a tight ship. He's all business and no nonsense."

After McLintock, Michael worked in a production capacity on Cast a Giant Shadow (1966), a biography of the Second World War colonel David Marcus (Kirk Douglas) in which John Wayne played a subsidiary role, The Green Berets (1968), a controversial saga of the Vietnam war mainly directed by John Wayne and picketed in several cities (including London), Chisum (1970), Big Jake (1971), The Train Robbers (1973), Cahill, United States Marshal (1973) and McQ (1974). The actor Harry Carey Jnr, a longtime family friend who appeared in many of John Wayne's films, said, "He was John Wayne's son, but that wasn't why he was a producer. He knew the business inside out." Maureen O'Hara says, "It's a pity he didn't go on producing because he was excellent, and Duke was very proud of him. We all were."

After his father's death, Michael Wayne became the primary keeper of his father's flame. He formed John Wayne Enterprises to control the use of his father's name and memory, carefully overseeing the image of the man he called "J.W." Some of the millions that are made from licencing John Wayne products including sculptures, plates, prints and weapons, go to the John Wayne Cancer Institute at St John's Health Center in California. Michael Wayne also proved canny in limiting the release of his father's film productions to video or television, and one of them, The High and the Mighty (1954), is among the most coveted titles for movie buffs (it is rumoured that the film's 50th anniversary might see its release). "I believe less is more," said Michael. "I model myself after Disney. If the public wants to see a picture it hasn't seen for a long time, there's more impact with a periodic release."

Tom Vallance