Most weekends, all you have to do is flip around the dial and chances are you'll run across at least one John Wayne movie - and sometimes many more.
But one that no one has seen in almost a decade is one of Wayne's best: the 1954 classic "Hondo." That movie has been seen just twice in the past 30 years, and neither of those broadcasts were in the film's original 3-D.But next week "Hondo" will be seen on television stations that cover 95 percent of the country, including KSL-Ch. 5 (Tuesday at 8 p.m.)
"My father believed that less was more," said John Wayne's eldest son, Michael, in a telephone interview. "He told me, `Michael, always leave them wanting something.' We don't just run (the movies he controls) to death on television."
As a matter of fact, "Hondo" hasn't been seen since an airing on CBS back in 1982.
Michael Wayne and his six brothers and sisters control the rights to several of their father's movies, including "Hondo." And they aren't willing to trot the movies out for any old reason.
There were a couple of factors in the family's decision to allow "Hondo" to be broadcast. The first was the development of a new 3-D process called Natural Vision. (See related story below.)
And what really made the family anxious to see the film on television was the involvement of the Leukemia Society, which will benefit from the broadcast. The Wayne children are heavily involved in the John Wayne Cancer Clinic, which recently moved from the UCLA campus to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica.
John Wayne died in 1979 after a 16-year battle with cancer.
"We have a couple of goals," Michael Wayne said. "First, to find a cure for cancer. And, until a cure is found, to prolong people's lives and improve the quality of their lives.
"That's why the Leukemia Society affiliation in this project is so important. We believe that if they have enough money to continue the research, they can beat leukemia within five to 10 years."
"Hondo," based on Louis L'Amour's first best-seller, is acclaimed as one of Hollywood's best Westerns. In addition to John Wayne, the cast includes the film debut of Geraldine Page (she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance), a pre-"Gunsmoke" James Arness and Ward Bond.
Wayne stars as a wily cavalry scout who defends a frontier widow (Page) and her young son from an Apache uprising.
Michael Wayne, 56, is the keeper of John Wayne's "flame" - a task his father asked him to undertake before his death.
"It was something I told my father I would do," Michael said. "I was the oldest. He said to me, `Well, you've got to do it because there's nobody else to do it.' "
Before his death, John Wayne sold the rights to his name and image to his seven children, who license those rights to others. Michael Wayne said much of their efforts are expended trying to force unlicensed, crass products off the market.
Unlike some dead film or recording stars, the family has managed to keep their father's name from being associated with innumerable merchandising schemes.
Michael Wayne is also the head of Batjac Productions, the company that made many of his father's later films.
As a youngster, Michael Wayne spent his summers working on the sets of his father's films. On "Hondo," which was shot in a desolate area of central Mexico, he was a company clerk.
"Basically, I was a gofer. I checked horses in and out, paid the extras, that sort of thing," he said. "It was not a distinguished job, but it was an important one."
By the time he was in his mid-20s, Michael was producing his father's films as well as other movies. And he said that living in his father's shadow has never been a problem for him.
"If I hadn't been John Wayne's son, I would not have been producing films when I was 25 years old," Michael said. "Certainly, there's some negative part of it, but that's far offset by the good parts."
And he said he has nothing but fond memories of his father.
"One of the great things about him is he knew what space heoccupied on the planet. He also knew he was a movie star. He was very important to people and he tried not to let them down.
"But he had a sense of humor about it. It didn't go to his head."
According to his son, John Wayne never felt he was working for producers or studios, but for the people who went to see his films.
"He said, `I work for them. They pay their money to see the film. I don't want to disappoint them,' " Michael Wayne said.
"He wanted to give the people what they wanted to see. He always felt if they don't like the picture then give them their nickel back."
That devotion to his fans was a big part of John Wayne's public persona.
"He always gave autographs. He would stop anytime anybody spoke to him - except his family," Wayne said with a laugh. "He was tougher on us."
Living as John Wayne's son and later producing his movies, Michael said he wasn't cognizant of the fact that his father was becoming an American icon.
"I would never have dreamed he would become so much a part of America or America's folklore," Wayne said. "To me, he was my father, not a larger than life character. We used to get into arguments like any father and son.
"It's unbelievable, as the years go by, just to see how much he meant to the people in this country and around the world. He's kind of a symbol of what's right with America, and I think that's something to be proud of."