Page 10-Wednesday, June 13, 1979-The Michigan Daily The Duke: "I figure legends are people who aren't around. Hell, I'm no legend. I'm here and I'm planning on staying around for a while longer." -Actor John Wayne, during a 1970 interview From the Associated Press John Wayne, the hero of 200 movies during a career spanning 50 years, and one of Hollywood's biggest box-office stars, lost his battle with cancer Mon- day at the age of 72. On his way to becoming a legend, Wayne came to represent an American ideal: The plain-talking man of action, quick with his hands or his gun, always incorruptible and on the side of the right. IN WASHINGTON, President Carter said Wayne was "the symbol of many of the most basic qualities that made America great. "The ruggedness, the tough indepen- dence, the sense of personal conviction and courage-on and off the screen-reflected the best of our national character." Former President Richard Nixon said the actor was "true grit on and off the screen." "THE ROLES HE played and the life he lived will inspire Americans for generations to come," Nixon said from his seaside compound in San Clemente, several miles south of Wayne's Newport Beach home. Dozens of the countless Wayne fans called their condolences to the UCLA Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized for the past five weeks. His seven children and a number of his grandchildren were at his side when the end came at 5:35 p.m. (PDT) Monday. Wayne's family announced his funeral would be private and asked that instead of flowers, mourners send con- tributions to a cancer fund being set up in Wayne's name at UCLA. MANY OF THE tributes to Wayne noted his battle against cancer, a fight that: was symbolic of his life - both on the screen and off. Wayne had been battling the disease since he underwent surgery in 1964 for removal of a lung. Last January, he was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center where cancer was discovered in his stomach. That cancer was removed but doctors announced last month that more cancer cells had been found in Wayne's intestines. Actor James Stewart, reached at a Paris air show, said, "John Wayne was probably the most admired actor in the world. His passing marks a great loss for his family, for the film industry and for the entire world. "I PERSONALLY, grieve because I have lost a good friend. I will miss him," added Stewart, who co-starred with Wayne in several films, including Wayne's last, The Shootist, in 1976. Ironically, in that film, Stewart played a doctor who diagnosed terminal can- cer in the aging gunfighter, Wayne. Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, said, "The Duke is dead, which means the tallest tree in the movie forest has just been felled. There won't ever be anyone like him. God, we will miss him." -AP photos "HOLLYWOOD HAD ONLY one king-Clark Gable. And now that he and Gary Cooper are gone, I'm just a lonely cowboy, nothing more," Wayne said in 1961. wc (apa fire lE 7''7 " With coupon below, get-1 5@*@ff ANY PHOTO ORDER Limit One Coupon Per Order 50Off ON ANY PHOTOFINISHING ORDER OF $2.50 OR MORE Coupon redeemable when you pick up order I VALID JUNE 1 THRU JUNE 15, 1979 L -------...-..-------- 2 Camera Shop, Inc "' " " t 1 . ' sou ivi0 ersity 6bi-b0 JOHN WAYNE MADE a brief speech at the 1968 Republican National Con- vention in Miami. "There's a lot of yella bastards in the country who would like to call patriotism old-fashioned," Wayne said during an interview in 1969. Nine years earlier, he had summed up his political views this way: "I r,,n't e, to answer-any.man's.questions. All I'm for is the liberty of the-in. dividual", .... ...