John Wayne
Biography
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.
Acting (236 movies)
Rio Bravo
1959
Stagecoach
1939
Movie Tough Guys
1991
Red River
1948
The Quiet Man
1952
The Searchers
1956
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
The Movie Orgy
1968
The Alamo
1960
The Comancheros
1961
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
Hatari!
1962
North to Alaska
1960
Hondo
1953
The Fighting Seabees
1944
Big Jake
1971
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
Angel and the Badman
1947
The Green Berets
1968
El Dorado
1966
Paradise Canyon
1935
Rio Grande
1950
Riders of Destiny
1933
Randy Rides Alone
1934
Texas Terror
1935
The Lucky Texan
1934
Sagebrush Trail
1933
The Conqueror
1956
How the West Was Won
1962
Perry Como's Early American Christmas
1978
A Man Betrayed
1941
Without Reservations
1946
The Shootist
1976
Legend of the Lost
1957
The Longest Day
1962
A Nation Builds Under Fire
1967
Hellfighters
1968
Rio Lobo
1970
McQ
1974
The War Wagon
1967
Brannigan
1975
Baby Face
1933
Reunion in France
1942
Winds of the Wasteland
1936
The Trail Beyond
1934
West of the Divide
1934
Seven Sinners
1940
Island in the Sky
1953
The Sea Chase
1955
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1949
Dark Command
1940
The Train Robbers
1973
Operation Pacific
1951
Lady for a Night
1942
In Old California
1942
Trouble Along the Way
1953
Big Jim McLain
1952
Flame of Barbary Coast
1945
Three Faces West
1940
Wake of the Red Witch
1948
In Old Oklahoma
1943
The Shadow of the Eagle
1932
His Private Secretary
1933
3 Godfathers
1948
Flying Tigers
1942
Blood Alley
1955
The Big Trail
1930
Circus World
1964
The Shepherd of the Hills
1941
Fort Apache
1948
McLintock!
1963
Tall in the Saddle
1944
The Fighting Kentuckian
1949
The Spoilers
1942
Allegheny Uprising
1939
Donovan's Reef
1963
The Cowboys
1972
Westward Ho
1935
The Star Packer
1934
Pittsburgh
1942
In Harm's Way
1965
La Classe américaine
1993
Reap the Wild Wind
1942
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
The Hurricane Express
1932
Cancel My Reservation
1972
I Married a Woman
1958
College Coach
1933
Central Airport
1933
Cheer Up and Smile
1930
Born Reckless
1930
Men Without Women
1930
Salute
1929
The Black Watch
1929
Noah's Ark
1928
Four Sons
1928
Mother Machree
1927
Annie Laurie
1927
The Great K&A Train Robbery
1926
Bardelys the Magnificent
1926
Directing (2 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Angel and the Badman | 1947 | Producer |
| The Fighting Kentuckian | 1949 | Producer |
| The Dangerous Stranger | 1950 | Producer |
| Bullfighter and the Lady | 1951 | Producer |
| Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen | 1951 | Producer |
| Island in the Sky | 1953 | Producer |
| Hondo | 1953 | Producer |
| The High and the Mighty | 1954 | Producer |
| Ring of Fear | 1954 | Producer |
| Track of the Cat | 1954 | Producer |
| Blood Alley | 1955 | Producer |
| Good-bye, My Lady | 1956 | Producer |
| Seven Men from Now | 1956 | Producer |
| The Alamo | 1960 | Producer |
| The War Wagon | 1967 | Executive Producer |
| Big Jake | 1971 | Executive Producer |
| The Train Robbers | 1973 | Executive Producer |
| McQ | 1974 | Executive Producer |