Hat tip to ‘The Duke’

John Wayne spent 50 of his 72 years making films that made “The Duke” a Hollywood legend.

But when he was at home in Newport Beach, he was better known as Grandpa or Dad.

And now the city he called home for two decades will celebrate his life as his 100th birthday approaches with Ten Decades of “The Duke”: The Official John Wayne Centennial Celebration from April 21 to 28, in conjunction with the Newport Beach Film Festival.

“It’s fitting it’s in his hometown and it’s associated with the film festival — those were two things that really made us want to do it,” John Wayne’s youngest son Ethan Wayne said. “Film was his life, and the beach was his life, and those two things together create a perfect set.”

Film festival representatives have been planning for the event for a number of years and wanted to wait for his 100th birthday to make sure he got the attention they believe he deserves.

“When John Wayne won the [Congressional Gold Medal], there was one word inscribed on it, ‘American.’ And I think what it comes down to is that when people think about John Wayne, they think about the good things that the title bestows…. He’s a legend, but he’s also a legend who epitomizes the best in filmmaking and the best in American culture,” film festival executive director Gregg Schwenk said.

John Wayne’s film career and life will be celebrated with a kickoff gala at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, as well as with screenings of nine of his films.

Along with the rare chance to see the flicks on the big screen, audience members will be treated to rarely seen footage and photos, and appearances by John Wayne’s costars and other people who worked with him in Hollywood.

A film symposium about John Wayne and the American western on April 21 will explore John Wayne’s choices in films and the genre.

At the gala on April 21, one honoree will be given the inaugural John Wayne Courage Award, which Schwenk said will go to someone in the arts community who “really has been able to step up and truly lead by example in the roles they have chosen as well as their involvement and commitment to the greater community.”

The weeklong festival will end with a fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club. Proceeds from the event will benefit the John Wayne Cancer Foundation.

The film festival’s organizers continue to look for community involvement in every aspect of the production.

John Wayne was named as the country’s third most popular movie star this year, according to the Harris Poll of America’s Favorite Movie Stars, despite not having starred in a film since the mid-1970s.

“I just think he was authentic. He was real, and you can see that when you watch his films,” Ethan Wayne said. “He had a great personality, and people were drawn to him.”

When not on the set, John Wayne loved spending time in Newport Beach, Ethan Wayne said. He spent time on his boat, Wild Goose, with his family every summer and winter when they’d explore Alaska and Mexico.

John Wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979.

ON THE BIG SCREEN