With little discussion, the Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously signed off on a resolution designating May 26 each year as John Wayne Day, a tribute to the legendary late movie star who called Newport home.
At the start of the council meeting, city officials presented the Wayne family with the resolution.
“Newport Beach is a community that my father loved,” Wayne’s son Ethan said in a statement. “I know that if he were here today he would be humbled by such an incredible honor and excited that the legacy that he built will be forever remembered on John Wayne Day.”
The council’s decision came about a month after a resolution for a similar honor statewide failed to gain traction with lawmakers in Sacramento.
Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Muldoon asked city staff this month to place a resolution on the council agenda to designate May 26, Wayne’s birthday, in the actor’s name. Muldoon also was born May 26.
Wayne represented a special era in Newport Beach that many residents recall fondly, Muldoon said.