John Wayne Auction Brings In $5.3 Million

An auction of the late John Wayne’s personal property in Los Angeles brought in $5.3 million. More than 700 costumes, scripts, awards and memorabilia were sold to more than 2,600 John Wayne fans during the two-day auction hosted by Heritage Auctions and John Wayne Enterprises. Top items in the auction, held October 6-7, included a green wool beret Wayne wore in the film “The Green Berets,” which sold for $179,250, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in the film “True Grit,” which brought in $143,400, and a cowboy hat Wayne wore in both “Big Jake” and “The Cowboys” that went for $119,500. A portion of the money will be allocated to cancer research through the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. Wayne died of cancer in 1979.