Newport Beach dedicates newly named John Wayne Park

John Wayne is part of Newport Beach’s history, and now, its geography.

City officials past and present dedicated a renamed park Friday in honor of the late film legend and Newport resident. The former Ensign View Park at Cliff Drive and El Modena Avenue is now John Wayne Park.

Evelyn Hart was mayor in 1979 when Wayne died of cancer. Around that time, the city looked into commissioning a Wayne statue, but it didn’t happen. She spoke Friday of her daughter’s friendship with Aissa Wayne, one of the actor’s daughters, and the time her mother-in-law fitted John Wayne for a sweater to be knitted by his wife, Pilar.

Wayne lived in Newport Beach from the 1960s until his death. Friday would have been his 110th birthday. Newport started celebrating May 26 as John Wayne Day last year. And last month, after some debate about procedure, the City Council approved the name change for the park.

Mayor Pro Tem Marshall “Duffy” Duffield remembers his father introducing him to Wayne in the ’60s when the younger Duffield was a child. Wayne was introduced by his given name, Marion Morrison. Wayne and Duffield’s father played football together at USC and were in the same fraternity, Duffield said.

Young Duffield didn’t know who Wayne was at the time. Now he speaks of a major celebrity who chose “our little city” to raise his youngest children.

“He didn’t live in Laguna, he didn’t live in Beverly Hills. He lived here,” Duffield said.

More than 100 people turned out for the park dedication. It was a patriotic affair, with a presentation of colors by the Newport Beach police honor guard, an invocation by a retired Marine and the national anthem played by granddaughter Jennifer Wayne’s country trio, Runaway June.

Vietnam veteran Ronnie Guyer led the Pledge of Allegiance and presented Wayne family members with “John Wayne keys,” tiny P-38 can openers that came with field rations. Internet theories say they got the nickname for being tough and dependable.

Guests listened to an audio clip of a Wayne monologue from his star-studded 1970 TV special, “Swing Out, Sweet Land.” He urged viewers to live by the axiom “This is my country and I’m gonna do good for it.”

Ethan Wayne, one of Wayne’s sons, told the crowd how much his dad enjoyed relaxing in Newport Beach between film shoots, going to the Balboa Bay Club, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, the Goofoffers Club and the Sav-On drugstore as a regular guy.

“My father loved this area,” he said.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD