Gettin’ back in the lane with John Wayne’s youngest son

Ethan Wayne, the sixth child of American icon John Wayne and director of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, leaves no stone unturned as he recalls learning how to drive on a busy Los Angeles freeway, visiting “The Sons of Katie Elder” movie set, filming a Great Western Savings and Loan commercial, and much more in an enlightening interview. Seen here is a 10-year-old Ethan visiting his famous father on the Durango, Mexico set of “The Train Robbers,” an underwhelming western directed by Burt Kennedy and released by Warner Bros. to diminishing returns on February 7, 1973. Photography by David Sutton

Ethan Wayne has some mighty tall boots to fill but he doesn’t let that unenviable task deter him. As the youngest son of landmark American cowboy star John Wayne, Ethan has casually worn many hats over the course of a lengthy career — actor, stuntman, musician, and current director of both the John Wayne Cancer Foundation and John Wayne Enterprises.

One of Ethan’s most notable efforts to memorialize his larger than life dad, who succumbed to horrific stomach cancer mere months after the teenager’s 17th birthday, came with the publication of the estate-sanctioned John Wayne: The Genuine Article coffee table tome 34 years later in 2013.

Author Michael Goldman recalled the Duke’s unmitigated love for his child, who actually landed a costarring role in the elder Wayne’s gritty revenge-laden Western Big Jake, during a previous interview with this writer. “When I wrote the introductory chapter of The Genuine Article, I pulled out some material from biographer Wayne Warga’s notes in which Duke had told Warga on the set of The Cowboys [1971] an anecdote about Ethan,” said Goldman.

“Ethan had been on Easter vacation visiting the set, and Duke decided to let him stay there an extra week even though school was back in session. Warga asked, ‘Why isn’t the kid going back home for school?’