John Wayne Treasures Ride Off to Auction

Saddle up, Pilgrim. A whole passel of personal John Wayne memorabilia is about to hit the auction block in Los Angeles. The Duke's eye patch from his last movie, True Grit, as well as the Golden Globe he won for Best Actor in the film will be part of the booty. The items were picked by his youngest son, Ethan (named after his legendary pop's character in John Ford's western The Searchers), who heads up John Wayne Enterprises and is selling off some of the family's treasure because there's more than he can handle.

Fans have been calling, begging, for John Wayne memorabilia for 32 years, he says. "His films affected people and they have a personal relationship with the guy and they want that connection. I remember how important the fans were to my father," he tells the Los Angeles Times. Exhibition of the items will be held this month in New York and Dallas, and will be sold in LA next month. Some 400 costumes, scripts, personal papers, and award will be among the stash. "We tried to create a broad, honest sampling of this guy's life and all the stuff that he kept," said his son. (More John Wayne stories.)