The News-Press staff

A celebration of the release of the John Wayne postage stamp at The Shell Factory on Saturday will feature a Katherine Hepburn look-a-like contest as she appeared in “True Grit.”

He was born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. When his younger brother was born and named Robert, his middle name was changed to Michael.
He stood 6-foot-4 and wore a size 11 boot.

This information could be handy if you plan to enter the John Wayne trivia contest on Saturday, Sept. 25, at The Shell Factory.

The trivia contest is only one feature of the celebration for the release of the John Wayne postage stamp. Other events at The Shell Factory are a John Wayne movie marathon, a square-dance demonstration and country music as well as Wayne-impersonation contests.

There will also be a Katherine Hepburn look-alike contest as she appeared in the movie “True Grit.” The impersonation contests will bedecided by a panel of celebrity judges yet to be announced.

Plus, from 6-10 p.m. there will be a “Rio Grande” barbecue at The Patio.

The John Wayne stamp was issued Sept. 9, and was the 10th celebrity stamp in the post office’s “Legends of Hollywood” collection. A ceremony was conducted at Grauma’’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to mark the unveiling. And the marketing department at The Shell Factory figured this was worth a party.

“We have a post office station at The Shell Factory, and we thought this deserved a bigger splash than normal because John Wayne has a special place in all our hearts,” said Pam Dunmire, vice president of fun stuff for The Shell Factory. Dunmire is in charge of marketing and special events at The Shell Factory.

Most events will be in the post office section of the facility in North Fort Myers; however, the trivia contest - which will award a 24-inch-by-36-inch poster of the new stamp as a grand prize - will be in Fishbone’s restaurant. Dunmire said there will be other prizes for various trivia contests conducted throughout the day.

“We went to the John Wayne Museum Web site and ordered some prizes for some of the contests,” she said.
Dunmire said she’s not sure how many movies will be shown or which ones - it may depend on requests - but she has 10 titles and has set aside 11 hours to show them.
“It will be continuous,” she said of the movie marathon.

FEATURED EVENTS: Movie marathon from 10 a.m.-9 p.m., trivia contests all day until 6 p.m., then a written trivia contest for a poster-sized version of the stamp at 6 p.m. in Fishbone’s restaurant.

Western barbecue at 6 p.m. John Wayne impersonation and look-alike contest, Katherine Hepburn look-alike contest as she appeared in the movie “True Grit.” There will be a square-dance demonstration and country music.

The first 100 people to attend get a first-day cover of the John Wayne stamp as well as a John Wayne stamp image lapel pin.

ABOUT THE STAMP
The 37-cent John Wayne stamp, issued on Sept. 9, shows the legendary actor from the movie “The Man who Shot Liberty Valance,” from 1962.
Wayne is the 10th Hollywood personality to appear on a stamp in the “Legends of Hollywood” series. Others are Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
The stamps can be ordered by calling (800) STAMP 24.