Well he was called that because His mother's name was "Mary" -- maybe that's what influenced the choice of "Marion". "Marion Robert Morrison" was John Wayne's original name. EXCEPT... His parents then had another baby boy, which they decided to name after Daddy this time. So, they then felt a need to change Marion Robert Morrison's name to "Marion Michael Morrison", so as not to overuse the name of "Robert".
So the second-born son gets named after Daddy, while the first-born son is stripped of Daddy's first name as his middle name and continues to wear a version of Mommy's name for his first name instead. If you catch my drift.

His father's name was CLYDE

Marion was a family name

Uncle Robert had a few bucks....Mary and Clyde didn't

catch my drift

Rick

PS
It didn't work :huh:

Mary was her real name but was refered to as Molly throughout her life. Duke's name was changed when his little brother Bobby was born. Clyde was not around when the name change occured.

Molly, didn't favor Duke, but did Bobby. Nobody doesn't know why.

Marion was a family name to Clyde's father, Marion Mitchell Morrison.

That's it in a nutshell. This is from John Wayne: American.

Hondo ;)

Hello All
From several sources the indications are, that JW's mother was a bitter self pitying woman who chose never to accept and acknowledge that her favorite son was a loser and that the son she shunned was a success. We are all of us human, and some do better then others, when dealing with challenges. The fortunes of the Morrison family rose, peaked and fell, including a series of failed business ventures. It is said that JW never really trusted woman as a result of the weakness and twisted manipulation perpetrated upon him by his mother the B.
On a more positive note it's possible that the cross he bore as a child helped to temper the steel of his resolve to succeed. In any case he remains a legendary figure that time has not managed to leave behind, as it seems to have done with so many others. Murray