Marion Robert Morrison was born at 216 South Second Street in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907 to father, Clyde Leonard Morrison, son of American Civil War veteran Marion Mitchell Morrison (1845â€“1915). Marion's mother, the former Mary "Molly" Alberta Brown, was from Lancaster County, Nebraska. They were of Scots-Irish and Scottish descent on both sides of his family, and he was brought up as a Presbyterian.<br/><br/>The Morrison family moved to Palmdale, California, and then in 1911 to Glendale, California, where his father worked as a pharmacist. Money was tight and the family was relatively poor once they'd settled in California but that never bothered young Marion, whom rarely ever was seen moping. The boy's natural posture was a strut, with is chest stuck out and his head held high. This distinguishing feature is how Marion got his nickname; a local fireman at the station on his route to school in Glendale started calling him "Little Duke" due to the abundance of hubris in his gate. 'Duke', he preferred "Duke" to "Marion", and the name stuck for the rest of his life.<br/><br/>As a young teen, Duke worked in an ice cream shop for a man who shod horses for Hollywood studios. He was also active as a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth organization associated with the Freemasons. It was here at the age of 12 that Duke met someone extraordinary and whom forever after change his life. The man was a living legend, a relic from an older and wilder time in America, and now here he was working as an adviser for a local film studio making 'Cowboy pictures'. The man was of course, Wyatt Earp, now bent with age and hair all in white, Earp was 70 years old at the time but still struck an intimidating figure.<br/><br/>Duke was a burly kid, with big square shoulders and thick framed even at 12, and it was this very fact that brought the attention of Earp on the fateful day that they had met on the movie lot. Morrison's boss had him bring a case of fountain drinks to the set that he was shoeing horses on. It was free advertising as far as he was concerned, having burgeoning movie stars drinking his own propitiatory beverages, a single photograph of the young actor swigging off one of his bottles of soda, and later when and if the young starlet got famous, he could hang the autographed head-shot on the wall and reap the benefits. Regular customers swooned at the idea of themselves drinking the same elixirs as the big time movie stars and his cash register would swell as a happy side effect.<br/><br/>So that was what Duke had done, making sure to add a bit of extra cane sugar for an extra 'pick-me-up', he handed out the bottles to the cast while his boss snapped photographs with his giant tripod camera. Wyatt Earp was eyeing the boy with some curiosity, and that is when Duke mustered up the courage to approach his childhood hero.<br/><br/>"Scuse me sir....Would you care for a fountain drink? We got all the best flavors, and all it will cost ya is a photograph." Duke asked trying to stay his quivering cracking voice.<br/><br/>"You got a good Sarsaparilla kid?" Earp's ancient voice still had the imposing tone it had held in his youth.<br/><br/>"yessir...." Duke said as he held up the bottle and popped the top for Earp. "You're Wyatt Earp....ain't cha?" He asked as he handed the bottle over, but now Marion couldn't draw the courage to look his idle in the eyes.<br/><br/>Wyatt didn't answer, instead he took a long haul off of the bottle and smacked his old dried slips together with satisfaction. Staring off reminiscently at the facade of the old west town they'd constructed on the studio's back lot. Duke felt that he'd offended Mr. Earp and started to take his leave when the old man stopped him.<br/><br/>" Spretty good kid....You mix this yerself?" Earp had said, still staring off at the fake town.<br/><br/>"Yessir.... You think maybe I could pose in the picture with ya sir?" Duke had asked.<br/><br/>"Yer a strapping youngster, why are you working at an Ice cream shop and not out horse-playing with the other lil' buckeroos?" Earp had said, still seeming to ignore any of Marion's inquiries.<br/><br/>"It's a job sir...any job'll do, and until my father's career at the Pharmacy takes off, We all need to pitch in, sir....My name is Marion Morrison, but my friends call me 'Duke', pleasure to make your acquaintance sir. " Duke said as he stretched out his hand , he figured he'd been ignored just about enough and finally decided to do something about it.<br/><br/>Wyatt finally stopped staring and turned his squinty gaze back toward the stocky kid. "You got grit kid....true grit I reckon....You kinda remind me of myself when I was a boy...It's good to meet ya Duke......You can call me Mr. Earp or sir if you'd like. " Wyatt and took the boys hand and shook it. His giant calloused paw swallowed Duke's small hand and the pressure was enough to make him wince.<br/><br/>"You gotta work on that grip, Duke; Men tend judge others on the conviction of their handshakes." Wyatt said finally letting go. "So yer family is fallen on hard times huh....That seems to be going around. I tell you what, You wanna make some spare coin?" Wyatt said as he took a cigar from his pocket and struck a match puffing it hard three times.<br/><br/>Duke couldn't believe it, here he was not only talking to a living legend, but now the man was offering him a job, and with that, more time to pick his brain and hear the stories he'd read about the famous lawman, straight from the horse's mouth. "Yessir.....that would be just fine...How can I be of service to you?" The words sprang from his mouth before his brain could even register them.<br/><br/>"I can't rightly tell ya right now, but I'll give you an address, and you meet me there, at midnight....You reckon you can do that...It's awful late at night for such a young feller'. " Wyatt had said as he placed his hands on his lower back and tried to stretch out the hunch in his frame.<br/><br/>"Yessir....won't be a problem at all...." Duke said excitedly as he took the small scrap of paper with the address penciled on it.<br/><br/>Wyatt watched as the young kid ran off, almost skipping with anticipation. 'If he only knew what horrors awaited him, I don't reckon he'd be so happy...." Wyatt thought to himself as nonchalantly puffed away at the brown cigar, while Duke's boss lined up his camera. Wyatt held up his hand to show he wasn't going to be posing for the photographer. "I am Wyatt-damn-Earp sir......I don't reckon yer bottle of sodi-pop is worth my picture no how....Now git yer ass back to shoeing them horses.." Wyatt growled at the man, and the man had done just that.