Legends stamp to honor John Wayne

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Actor John Wayne, known to millions of fans as "Duke," is being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a Legends of Hollywood commemorative stamp.

A full pane of stamps portraying Wayne in a variety of roles from his more than 200 films will be unveiled April 3 a private fundraising event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Proceeds from the Odyssey Ball benefit the John Wayne Cancer Institute in San Monica, Calif. Wayne, whose real name was Marion Michael Morrison, died of cancer in 1979.

"On behalf of the family, I'm grateful and pleased that the Postal Service has chosen to remember our father by issuing a prestigious Legends of Hollywood postal stamp in his honor," said Ethan Wayne, one of Wayne's seven children.

Other stamps in the Hollywood legends series honor Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

Wayne was previously featured on a U.S. stamp honoring his 1939 role in "Stagecoach."