Famous John Wayne Quotes

Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.

Life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid.

Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday.

Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.

A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by.

I’m responsible only for what I say, not for what you understand.

I’m an old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness, flag-waving patriot.

A goal, a love, and a dream give you total control over your body and your mind.

I’d like to know why the well-educated idiots keep apologizing for lazing and complaining people who think the world owes them a living.

I’m the stuff men are made of.

All battles are fought by scared men who’d rather be someplace else.

Real art is basic emotion. If a scene is handled with simplicity – and I don’t mean simple – it’ll be good, and the public will know it.

Never apologize and never explain – it’s a sign of weakness.

A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.

The worst part of it has been, I think, the adverse effect on family life.

I’ve always followed my father’s advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be god damn sure I intend to.

Life is getting up one more time than you’ve been knocked down.

Famous John Wayne Quotes part 2

I would like to be remembered, well… the Mexicans have a phrase, ‘Feo fuerte y formal.’ Which means he was ugly, strong and had dignity.

I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either.

Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul.

Cowards never lasted long enough to become real heroes.

I won’t be wronged. I won’t be insulted. I won’t be laid a-hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

When you stop fighting, that’s death.

The only voice that you should listen to is your own.

I’ve had three wives and three children now. I particularly say three wives, because the first one left me, the second one didn’t, and the third one won’t.

I’m just an American patriot who knows which way the wind’s been blowing in Hollywood.

A man oughta do what he thinks is best.

A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.

In westerns, you meet a hardy bunch of characters. There is no jealousy on such pictures.

I was sure I’d set the world on fire, and it was hard for a young feller like me to realize the truth – that being a hero was a lot different from playing one.

I’m not the sort to back away from a fight. I don’t believe in shrinking from anything. It’s not my speed; I’m a guy who meets adversities head-on.

I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please.

I eat a few salads, but I prefer ice cream.

Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!

A horse is poetry in motion.

You can take everything a man has as long as you leave him his dignity.

I never trust a man that doesn’t drink.

When you come against trouble, it’s never half as bad if you face up to it.

Words are what men live by; words they say and mean.

I’m the most misunderstood and misrepresented man in Hollywood, sure, but it didn’t bother me too much because I’ve never been sensitive.

It’s the movies that have been running things in America ever since they were invented. They show you what to do, how to do it, when to do it, how to feel about it, and how to look how you feel about it.

If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‘Why the hell not?’

There’s right and there’s wrong. You gotta do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you’re dead as a beaver hat.

I never have really become accustomed to the ‘John.’ Nobody ever really calls me John… I’ve always been Duke or Marion or John Wayne. It’s a name that goes well together, and it’s like one word – Johnwayne.

I haven’t met a man I couldn’t lick yet.