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LOT 3111
Iconic Framed Western Costume Co. “True Grit” Rooster Cogburn Style Waistcoat Labeled for Legendary Hollywood Actor John Wayne - Born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907 in Winterset, Iowa,
John “The Duke” Wayne needs little introduction. In 1916, Wayne’s family moved to southern California, where he spent his childhood and would later attend college at USC. After breaking his collar bone during a bodysurfing incident, Wayne lost his football scholarship at the university, and being unable to pay his tuition, left college. As a favor to USC football coach Howard Jones, Wayne was hired as a prop boy and extra by
Tom Mix and John Ford at the Fox Film Corporation.
Wayne quickly moved into bit parts, before landing his
first starring role in “The Big Trail” in 1930. In 1939, The
Duke landed the lead role in “Stagecoach”, making him
a mainstream Hollywood star, going on to star in 142
films, Wayne cemented his legacy as one of Hollywood’s legendary actors. John Wayne remains a household name to this day, having played a starring role in iconic films such as “Flying Leathernecks”, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”, “The Longest Day”, “Rio Bravo”, “The Alamo”, “The Green Berets”, “The Comancheros”, and “True Grit”. The vest offered here is one of those worn by Wayne’s character Rooster Cogburn in the films “True Grit” and “Rooster Cogburn”. The tag on the
inside collar is marked for the Western Costume Co. of Hollywood and is also marked “No.2456-3”. Another of the waistcoats,
previously sold at auction in October 2011 had a tag marked “No. 2456-2”. The tag on both this vest and the one
previously sold were also marked “John Wayne #2” and with his chest measurement of 48 1/2. The vest itself
is of a tan leather suede with notched lapels and
leather drawstrings around the middle. The backing is of a coarse woven linen, and it is lined with a finer
linen. There is a steel badge pinned to the left chest which is marked “MARSHAL” and has floral engraving. There
is no further documentation included with this piece, but it certainly has every appearance of being a
John Wayne costume piece screen worn in either “True Grit”, “Rooster Cogburn”, or both. The vest is contained in a glass topped display frame which
measures approximately 36 3/4 x 31 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches.
CONDITION: Fine, the vest itself shows some mild wear
typical of being worn on set for filming with
some scattered light
age cracking. The label remains crisp and clear. The badge shows an attractively aged patina. The frame is excellent with only the slightest handling/storage evidence. A fantastic display piece for a gun room or office! Provenance: John Wayne; The Gary Hess Collection; Private Collection.
Estimate: 20,000 - 40,000
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