On April 7, 1970, John Wayne took home the Oscar for best actor. It was an honor that had eluded him his entire career. By his side that night was his wife, Pilar. The two were married for 24 years and raised three children together. “LA Times Today” recently caught up with Pilar, now 94, to reflect on her years with The Duke and how she keeps his memory alive with her paintings.
Wayne said she focuses mainly on painting “very pretty women” and scenes from nature, with one exception.“I started with faces and I realized that I was no good at painting men. I wanted to, but it wasn’t for me.
The only one that I liked to paint was my husband, John Wayne… Duke was so unique. Such a wonderful heart. Such a patient man. I just could never love anybody like I love him,” she said. John Wayne features in many of his wife’s paintings, though large paintings featuring many people are not Wayne’s favorite to create.
Wayne was born in Peru, and met her future husband while she was working on her first film. They married while he was shooting on location of the 1955 film “The Sea Chase” in Hawaii. She reflected on their years together.
“We had so much in common. He liked what I cooked. I cook Peruvian dishes. He loved them. We playing games, we were playing French chess and we also read to each other. I would read 20 pages and held 20 pages. I also read there was a very down to earth person and he had a passion for his children,” she remembered.
Now, over 40 years after her husband died, Wayne talked about how important it is to provide for oneself in your later years. “We should have something that we can help, whether that’s to take care of dogs or cats or painting or whatever, but something that gets you motivated to get up in the morning or something for the good of mankind, to just simply enjoy life.” Wayne devotes hours a day to her paintings. Her work has been exhibited all over the world.