May 26

Marion Robert Morrison's Birthday
 

After losing his athletic scholarship at the University of Southern California because of a surfing injury, Marion Morrison began working at the local film studios. Silent film star Tom Mix had gotten him a summer job in the prop department in exchange for football tickets. Wayne soon moved on to bit parts, establishing a longtime friendship with the director . John Ford, who provided most of those roles. Marion soon changed his name to John Wayne. Soon his film career began to take on legendary proportions with a total o f 167 film credits. Wayne was given a Best Actor Oscar for his iconic role if  Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969)  and was also nominated as the producer of Best Picture for The Alamo (1960).

However, it was Wayne's personal life that often made more headlines than his film career, including his controversial remarks about race and class in the United States in an interview in the May, 1970 Playboy magazine p, and his numerous v conservative Republican statements. He took part in creating the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals in February 1944 and was elected president of that organization in 1947. Wayne also was a member of the conservative and anti-communist John Birch Society.

He was an ardent anti-communist, and vocal supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committee which resulted in.  Joseph Stalin order for Wayne's assassination  Stalin died before the killing could be accomplished. His successor, Nikita Khrushchev, reportedly told Wayne during a 1959 visit to the United States that he had personally rescinded the order. Getting on Stalin's hit list certainly took true grit.

Foodies who are also die-hard John Wayne fans may want to buy a copy of True Grits: Recipes Inspired by the Movies of John Wayne  which features 100 recipes inspired by Wayne's greatest films from the Alamo Burger to Donovan's Beef, from the Quiet Man Corned Beef and Cabbage to the Crumb Buns of Katie Elder,  However, this book features the original true grits.

.Hominy grits, or just plain grits,  are  primarily sold in the southern states stretching from Texas to Virginia, which is also known as the “grits belt.” The state of Georgia declared grits its official prepared food in 2002 The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground. Some cookbooks refer to grits as hominy because of regional preference for the name. Americans have been using the term "grits" since at least the end of the 18th century. Grits are small, broken grains of corn. Traditional southern grits are made from hominy or white corn and are labeled coarse, old-fashioned or stone-ground. Grits originally were primarily a breakfast food, but more recently with the additions of  butter, cheese, vegetables, ham, bacon, sausage and shrimp, they are also becoming a popular luncheon and dinner dish.
 

True Grits