Home >

John Wayne

John Wayne

Birthday: 1907-05-26 | Place of Birth: Winterset, Iowa, USA

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor and filmmaker. An Academy Award-winner for True Grit (1969), Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. Born in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne grew up in Southern California. He was president of Glendale High class of 1925. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre. Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant star. He went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them, he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth." Wayne's other well-known Western roles include a cattleman driving his herd north on the Chisholm Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose young niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), and a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman's hand in marriage in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist (1976). He appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era, and his last public appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.

...

Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2013
John Ford & Monument Valley

as    Self (archive footage)

1993
1976
Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend

as    Himself/Narrator

1976
The Shootist

as    J.B. Books

1975
Brannigan

as    Lt. Jim Brannigan

1975
Rooster Cogburn

as    Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn

1974
McQ

as    McQ

1973
Cahill: United States Marshal

as    J.D. Cahill

1973
The Train Robbers

as    Lane

1972
The Cowboys

as    Wil Andersen

1971
Big Jake

as    Jacob McCandles

1971
The Selling of the Pentagon

as    Self (archive footage)

1971
The American West of John Ford

as    Self - Narrator

1970
Rio Lobo

as    Colonel Cord McNally

1970
No Substitute for Victory

as    Himself

1970
Chisum

as    John Chisum

1969
The Undefeated

as    Colonel John Henry Thomas

1969
True Grit

as    Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn

1968
The Green Berets

as    Colonel Mike Kirby

1967
El Dorado

as    Cole Thornton

1967
The War Wagon

as    Taw Jackson

1966
Cast a Giant Shadow

as    Gen. Mike Randolph

1965
In Harm's Way

as    Capt. Rockwell Torrey

1965
The Sons of Katie Elder

as    John Elder

1964
Circus World

as    Matt Masters

1963
McLintock!

as    George Washington McLintock

1963
Donovan's Reef

as    Michael "Guns" Donovan

1962
The Longest Day

as    Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort

1962
Hatari!

as    Sean Mercer

1962
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

as    Tom Doniphon