AboutPaul Rabe Expertise I have seen ALMOST every film with an appearance by The Duke, made since 1940, and a couple dozen of those before then. If it's a film with him, I've most likely seen it, have an opinion on it, and can try to answer questions about it.
Experience I saw my first film where Wayne makes an appearance almost fifty years ago. Since then, I have seen 102 films where he makes an appearance.
Education/Credentials Master of Arts, University of Texas
Question Hi Paul,
I lived in AZ. from 1979 to 1995. Excellent time by the way. Before we moved away I heard rumor that John Wayne owned a ranch (unknown name) near Casa Grande, AZ. Maybe 30 miles South of Chandler, AZ. and the Phoenix Metro area. Just wondering if it is true and if you have any facts about it. I would do some work at the hospital in that area and took a few drives through that area while living in Chandler. I've always been a big JW fan and just have a curiosity. Thanks.....Mike
Answer This is a classic example of "How do you prove a negative?"
Despite extensive Internet searching for the term
"john wayne" "casa grande"
I was unable to find anything more than
1) After the Duke's death, his business partner, Louis Johnson, organized an annual series of events there, in his memory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne#Celebrations_and_landmarks
2) Wayne often stayed at the Francisco Grande Golf Resort.
www.franciscogrande.com/resort.asp
3) There's a "John Wayne Parkway" in the city.
However, I could find no stated reason WHY these were at Casa Grande. None say they were there because Wayne lived nearby, but that COULD have been the reason -- or not.
BUT, does the fact that I can't find any reference to Wayne's owning a ranch near Casa Grande mean that he DIDN'T? Is non-existence of proof the same as proof of non-existence?
If you want to continue a search (I really don't want to check all 32,000 links I found in my initial look), you will find a much smaller search with
"John Wayne" "casa grande" -parkway -pkwy -francisco
