Separated at Birth? Bruce, John & Anthony Wayne

History Spotlight by Doug Humes

If you’ve grown up in our area, you have come across “Mad” Anthony Wayne. He was a General during the American Revolution. The town of Wayne is named for him. His house, Waynesborough, is near the golf club of the same name.

General Anthony Wayne

Photo from public domain (Wikipedia)

A statue of him on horseback is at the top of Wayne’s Woods in Valley Forge, and he’s also the golden horseman at the Philadelphia Art Museum. His troops were the ones surprised by the British night attack that’s remembered as the Paoli Massacre. Wayne’s family worshipped at Old St. David’s Church, and the General, or at least part of him, is buried there as well. Wayne is a hometown hero whom we can proudly call one of our own.

Young Marion Morrison aka John Wayne

Photo from public domain (Wikipedia)

Anthony Wayne died in 1796, but his memory inspired several other American heroes. Marion Morrison was born in Iowa in 1907, and then moved to California. In high school, he played football on his school’s team, and was seen around town in the company of his dog, Duke, whose name Marion soon took as a nickname. In his 20s, he found work around the film studios, as a prop boy. A film director liked his rugged good looks and wanted to cast him in a lead role, but not with that feminine name. The director suggested a name change for him, to Anthony Wayne, after the General — the epitome of rugged masculinity. The studio chief said “No, too Italian.” And so, the director suggested a solid English first name: John. So Marion Morrison became John Wayne, and went on to star in 142 movies in the course of his acting career.

Bruce Wayne, aka Batman

Another American icon was born in 1939. As a child, he witnessed the murder of his parents, and grew to manhood vowing to bring criminals to justice. To the residents of Gotham City, he was rich socialite Bruce Wayne. But to those in need of his crime-fighting services, he was known as Batman. One of the co-creators of the Batman character, Bill Finger, explained the alias: “Bruce Wayne’s first name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock… then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne.”

Bruce Wayne, John Wayne, Anthony Wayne. You’d be well protected in that company! The fact that they are linked by a common thread is one of those wonderful footnotes in the book of American history.

For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and membership information, please visit the Newtown Square Historical Society’s website at www.HistoricNewtownSquare.org.