Happy 100th Birthday, John Wayne

John Wayne was born on May 26, 1907 and on this, his 100th birthday, Scott Eyman has come up with "100 reasons to Love John Wayne."

Here are the first ten; click the link for ninety other equally wonderful reasons to love the man.

1. Because he loved the movie business.

2. That walk.

3. "You may not like every film, but my fans will always come back because they know I won't be mean, I won't be small, and like an old friend, I won't let them down."

4. Because nobody else started out as such a bad actor and got so good.

5. Because he embodied American masculinity at midcentury and imposed an image on our idea of masculinity's past.

6. "A man ought to do what he thinks is right" (Hondo).

7. For the gentle way he could treat a fragile woman.

8. For the rump-slapping way he could treat a strong woman.

9. Hondo.

10. Because of his work ethic — in an acting career that spanned nearly 50 years, he starred in, by actual count, 156 movies.

Just seeing the man's picture reminds me of how much I enjoyed him over the years...and how much I miss him. It's hard to believe that the man would be 100 years old today.