In his time, John Wayne, who gained fame playing cowboys and military heroes, represented the all-American hero.  And he had the hero’s popularity to go with it, just as Harrison Ford did in later years with the Indiana Jones series.  Wayne was an American institution – and an early famous resident of Orange County. In 1979, the Orange County Supervisors voted to rename Orange County Airport in John Wayne’s honor.

Wayne lived along the shores of Newport Beach and was a one-time president of the Balboa Bay Club (a favorite hangout for stars of the ‘50s) where he sometimes tended bar.  Vacationers taking a cruise of Newport Harbor were sure to snap pictures of his waterfront home – and cruise guides pointed it out on every cruise.   John Wayne impersonators are still a highlight for those attending private cruise parties aboard his yacht, the Wild Goose, which is docked in Newport Beach.

He brought attention to Orange County at a time when it was still just a suburb of Los Angeles.  And though the airport was already more than 50 years old when it was renamed in his honor, his legacy lives on.  The Wayne statue at the airport is a frequent photo spot – and probably the most popular
meeting spot for arriving passengers and their families and friends.

Today, the one-time private airstrip that opened in the 1920s has grown to be a large regional airport serving 9.27 million passengers in 2004.  In April 2005 alone, 815,145 passengers passed through John Wayne Airport, up 6.3% from 2004.  The airport has 12 commercial carriers and three commuter carriers that operate roughly 300 flights each day to destinations across the country, including 25 nonstop destination cities.

The airport has become a favorite local filming location, with scenes from Jerry Maguire, Clear and Present Danger, Demolition Man and Elizabethtown among those that featured the airport.