After World War II, the newly-dredged Newport Harbor was alluring to the nautically inclined Hollywood set. People came here to make use of the boating facilities, said Dan Marcheano, owner of the Arches, the Newport Beach restaurant notoriously frequented by the Tinsel Town elite.
Authors Bert Minshall and Clark Sharon wrote about John Wayne's love affair with his boat in their 1992 "On Board With the Duke."
Wayne kept his ex-Navy boat, Wild Goose, berthed at the Lido Yacht Anchorage. Wild Goose was known as one of the biggest boats in Newport Harbor, according to the book.
Wayne's ties to Newport go back to the 1920s, when he body-boarded off Balboa Peninsula while he was a student at USC. He also went to dances at the historic Balboa Pavilion, according to the book.
Wayne and his family bought a home on Bayshore Drive, and while it was being remodeled, they lived at the Newporter Inn, according to the book. Wayne lived here for 15 years; his wife, Pilar Wayne, and several of his children still call Newport Beach home.
Wayne wasn't the only one who liked Newport enough to stick around. Funnyman and talk show host Joey Bishop has lived in Newport Beach since 1971.
He arrived here by chance. Returning to the Los Angeles area from a boat trip to San Diego, a storm forced him and his wife Sylvia to stay over in Newport Harbor.
The morning after the storm, Sylvia Bishop spotted several lots being developed on nearby Lido Isle and went to check it out. She returned and announced to her husband that she had purchased a lot.
They built a home on Lido Isle, and Joey Bishop, now 88, has lived there for 35 years. He also kept his boats, Son of a Gun I and Son of a Gun II, in the harbor.
