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.
Movie | Sly | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2023-09-16 |
Movie | I Am Not Your Negro | Various Roles (archive footage) | 2017-02-03 |
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
Movie | John Ford & Monument Valley | Self (archive footage) | 2013-03-05 |
Movie | Dictator: One Crazy Job | Self (archive footage) | 2013-06-12 |
Movie | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff | Self (archive footage) | 2010-05-05 |
Movie | The Duke at Fox | Self (archive footage) | 2001-05-17 |
Movie | The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
Movie | La Classe américaine | George Abitbol (archive footage) | 1993-12-31 |
Movie | Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire | Self (archive footage) | 1991-07-15 |
Movie | House II: The Second Story | Cowboy (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1987-05-14 |
Movie | Star Wars | Garindan (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1977-05-25 |
Movie | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) | 1976-03-31 |
Movie | Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch | Jerry Mason | 1976-05-01 |
Movie | Brannigan | Lt. Jim Brannigan | 1975-03-21 |
Movie | Rooster Cogburn | Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn | 1975-11-01 |
Movie | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
Movie | McQ | McQ | 1974-01-04 |
Movie | Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1974-04-11 |
Movie | The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks | Self (archive footage) | 1973-01-01 |
Movie | The Train Robbers | Lane | 1973-02-01 |
Movie | Cahill: United States Marshal | J.D. Cahill | 1973-07-11 |
Movie | Wayne Train | Self | 1973-02-07 |
Movie | The Cowboys | Wil Andersen | 1972-01-13 |
Movie | Cancel My Reservation | 1972-09-21 | |
Movie | Big Jake | Jacob McCandles | 1971-05-26 |
Movie | Directed by John Ford | Self (1969) | 1971-09-06 |
Movie | The American West of John Ford | Self - Narrator | 1971-12-05 |
Movie | No Substitute for Victory | Himself | 1970-01-01 |
Movie | Rio Lobo | Colonel Cord McNally | 1970-04-01 |
Movie | Raquel! | Self | 1970-04-26 |
Movie | Chisum | John Chisum | 1970-07-23 |
Movie | True Grit | Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn | 1969-06-11 |
Movie | The Undefeated | Colonel John Henry Thomas | 1969-10-04 |
Movie | Hellfighters | Chance Buckman | 1968-11-27 |
Movie | The Movie Orgy | Self (archive footage) | 1968-01-01 |
Movie | The Green Berets | Colonel Mike Kirby | 1968-07-04 |
Movie | The War Wagon | Taw Jackson | 1967-05-26 |
Movie | Cast a Giant Shadow | Gen. Mike Randolph | 1966-03-30 |
Movie | El Dorado | Cole Thornton | 1966-12-17 |
Movie | The Sons of Katie Elder | John Elder | 1965-06-23 |
Movie | In Harm's Way | Capt. Rockwell Torrey | 1965-04-06 |
Movie | Circus World | Matt Masters | 1964-06-25 |
Movie | Donovan's Reef | Michael "Guns" Donovan | 1963-06-12 |
Movie | McLintock! | George Washington McLintock | 1963-11-12 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Movie | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Tom Doniphon | 1962-04-13 |
Movie | The Longest Day | Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort | 1962-09-25 |
Movie | Hatari! | Sean Mercer | 1962-06-19 |
Movie | How the West Was Won | Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman | 1962-11-02 |
Movie | Flashing Spikes | Marine Sergeant | 1962-10-04 |
Movie | The Comancheros | Jake Cutter | 1961-12-16 |
Movie | The Alamo | Col. Davy Crockett | 1960-10-23 |
Movie | North to Alaska | Sam McCord | 1960-11-07 |
Movie | Rio Bravo | John Chance | 1959-03-18 |
Movie | The Horse Soldiers | Col John Marlowe | 1959-06-11 |
Movie | I Married a Woman | Actor in a Movie (uncredited) | 1958-03-01 |
Movie | The Wings of Eagles | Frank W. 'Spig' Wead | 1957-01-31 |
Movie | Legend of the Lost | Joe January | 1957-12-17 |
Movie | Jet Pilot | Col. Jim Shannon | 1957-10-11 |
Movie | The Conqueror | Temujin, later Genghis Khan | 1956-03-28 |
Movie | Screen Directors Playhouse: Rookie of the Year | Mike Cronin | 1955-12-07 |
Movie | The Sea Chase | Captain Karl Ehrlich | 1955-06-04 |
Movie | Blood Alley | Capt. Tom Wilder | 1955-10-01 |
Movie | The High and the Mighty | Dan Roman | 1954-07-03 |
Series | Producers' Showcase | 1954-10-18 | |
Movie | Trouble Along the Way | Stephen Aloysius Williams | 1953-04-04 |
Movie | Hondo | Hondo Lane | 1953-11-26 |
Movie | Island in the Sky | Captain Dooley | 1953-09-05 |
Movie | The Quiet Man | Sean Thornton | 1952-07-21 |
Movie | Big Jim McLain | Jim McLain | 1952-08-30 |
Movie | Flying Leathernecks | Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby | 1951-08-28 |
Movie | Sands of Iwo Jima | Sgt. John M. Stryker | 1950-01-01 |
Movie | The Fighting Kentuckian | John Breen | 1949-09-15 |
Movie | She Wore a Yellow Ribbon | Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles | 1949-10-22 |
Movie | Wake of the Red Witch | Capt. Ralls | 1948-12-30 |
Movie | Fort Apache | Capt. Kirby York | 1948-06-14 |
Movie | 3 Godfathers | Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower | 1948-12-31 |
Movie | Angel and the Badman | Quirt Evans | 1947-02-15 |
Movie | Tycoon | Johnny Munroe | 1947-12-27 |
Movie | Without Reservations | Rusty Thomas | 1946-05-13 |
Movie | Desert Command | Tom Wayne | 1946-05-31 |
Movie | Flame of Barbary Coast | Duke Fergus | 1945-05-28 |
Movie | Back to Bataan | Colonel Joseph Madden | 1945-05-30 |
Movie | Dakota | John Devlin | 1945-12-15 |
Movie | They Were Expendable | Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan | 1945-12-07 |
Movie | The Fighting Seabees | Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan | 1944-01-27 |
Movie | Tall in the Saddle | Rocklin | 1944-09-29 |
Movie | A Lady Takes a Chance | Duke Hudkins | 1943-08-19 |
Movie | In Old Oklahoma | Daniel F Somers | 1943-12-06 |
Movie | Reap the Wild Wind | Captain Jack Stuart | 1942-03-26 |
Movie | Lady for a Night | Jackson Morgan | 1942-01-05 |
Movie | The Spoilers | Glennister | 1942-06-11 |
Movie | In Old California | Tom Craig | 1942-05-31 |
Movie | Reunion in France | Pat Talbot | 1942-12-25 |
Movie | Pittsburgh | Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham | 1942-12-11 |
Movie | Flying Tigers | Jim Gordon | 1942-10-08 |
Movie | Lady from Louisiana | John Reynolds | 1941-04-22 |
Movie | The Shepherd of the Hills | Young Matt Matthews | 1941-07-18 |
Movie | Dark Command | Bob Seton | 1940-04-15 |
Movie | Three Faces West | John Phillips | 1940-07-03 |
Movie | The Long Voyage Home | Ole Olsen | 1940-11-16 |
Movie | Seven Sinners | Dan | 1940-10-25 |
Movie | The Night Riders | Stony Brooke | 1939-04-12 |
Movie | Stagecoach | The Ringo Kid | 1939-03-03 |
Movie | Three Texas Steers | Stony Brooke | 1939-05-12 |
Movie | Wyoming Outlaw | Stony Brooke | 1939-06-27 |
Movie | New Frontier | Stony Brooke | 1939-08-10 |
Movie | Allegheny Uprising | Jim Smith | 1939-11-10 |
Movie | Pals of the Saddle | Stony Brooke | 1938-08-28 |
Movie | Overland Stage Raiders | Stony Brooke | 1938-09-20 |
Movie | Red River Range | Stony Brooke | 1938-12-22 |
Movie | Santa Fe Stampede | Stony Brooke | 1938-11-18 |
Movie | California Straight Ahead | Biff Smith | 1937-04-16 |
Movie | I Cover the War! | Bob Adams | 1937-07-04 |
Movie | Idol of the Crowds | Johnny Hanson | 1937-09-30 |
Movie | Born to the West | Dare Rudd | 1937-12-10 |
Movie | Adventure's End | Duke Slade | 1937-12-05 |
Movie | The Oregon Trail | Capt John Delmont | 1936-01-18 |
Movie | The Lonely Trail | Captain John Ashley | 1936-05-25 |
Movie | The Lawless Nineties | John Tipton | 1936-02-15 |
Movie | Winds of the Wasteland | John Blair | 1936-07-06 |
Movie | Sea Spoilers | Bob Randall | 1936-09-30 |
Movie | Conflict | Pat Glendon | 1936-11-29 |
Movie | The Dawn Rider | John Mason | 1935-06-20 |
Movie | Rainbow Valley | John Martin | 1935-03-15 |
Movie | The Desert Trail | John Scott / John Jones | 1935-04-21 |
Movie | Paradise Canyon | John Wyatt | 1935-07-19 |
Movie | Texas Terror | John Higgins | 1935-10-17 |
Movie | Lawless Range | John Middleton | 1935-11-04 |
Movie | The New Frontier | John Dawson | 1935-10-25 |
Movie | The Man from Utah | John Weston | 1934-05-15 |
Movie | Blue Steel | John Carruthers | 1934-05-10 |
Movie | The Lucky Texan | Jerry Mason | 1934-01-22 |
Movie | West of the Divide | Ted Hayden aka Gat Ganns | 1934-02-15 |
Movie | The Star Packer | U.S. Marshal John Travers | 1934-07-30 |
Movie | 'Neath the Arizona Skies | Chris Morrell | 1934-12-05 |
Movie | The Trail Beyond | Rod Drew | 1934-10-22 |
Movie | The Lawless Frontier | John Tobin | 1934-11-22 |
Movie | The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Smith | 1933-06-03 |
Movie | Somewhere in Sonora | John Bishop | 1933-05-27 |
Movie | The Telegraph Trail | John Trent | 1933-03-18 |
Movie | His Private Secretary | Dick Wallace | 1933-06-10 |
Movie | The Three Musketeers | Lt. Tom Wayne | 1933-04-07 |
Movie | Central Airport | 1933-04-15 | |
Movie | Baby Face | Jimmy McCoy Jr. | 1933-07-13 |
Movie | College Coach | 1933-11-04 | |
Movie | Riders of Destiny | Singin' Sandy Saunders | 1933-10-10 |
Movie | The Man from Monterey | John Holmes | 1933-07-15 |
Movie | Sagebrush Trail | John Brant | 1933-12-15 |
Movie | Texas Cyclone | Steve Pickett | 1932-02-24 |
Movie | The Shadow of the Eagle | Craig McCoy | 1932-02-01 |
Movie | Two-Fisted Law | Duke | 1932-06-08 |
Movie | Ride Him, Cowboy | John Drury | 1932-08-27 |
Movie | Lady and Gent | Buzz Kinney | 1932-07-10 |
Movie | The Big Stampede | Deputy Sheriff John Steele | 1932-09-29 |
Movie | The Hurricane Express | The Air Pilot | 1932-08-01 |
Movie | Girls Demand Excitement | Peter Brooks | 1931-02-08 |
Movie | Three Girls Lost | Gordon Wales | 1931-04-19 |
Movie | The Range Feud | Clint Turner | 1931-10-14 |
Movie | Arizona | Lt. Bob Denton | 1931-06-27 |
Movie | Maker of Men | Dusty Rhodes | 1931-08-03 |
Movie | Men Without Women | Radioman on Surface (uncredited) | 1930-02-08 |
Movie | Born Reckless | Extra (uncredited) | 1930-05-11 |
Movie | Cheer Up and Smile | 1930-06-22 | |
Movie | Rough Romance | Lumberjack (uncredited) | 1930-06-15 |
Movie | The Big Trail | Breck Coleman | 1930-11-01 |
Movie | Words and Music | Pete Donahue | 1929-08-18 |
Movie | The Black Watch | Black Watch Soldier (uncredited) | 1929-05-22 |
Movie | Salute | 1929-09-01 | |
Movie | Four Sons | 1928-02-13 | |
Movie | Hangman's House | Horse Race Spectator / Condemned Man in Flashback | 1928-05-13 |
Movie | Noah's Ark | Flood Extra (uncredited) | 1928-11-01 |
Movie | The Draw-Back | Opposing Football Player | 1927-04-10 |
Movie | Annie Laurie | 1927-05-10 | |
Movie | The Drop Kick | Football Player / Extra in Stands | 1927-09-25 |
Movie | Mother Machree | 1927-12-19 | |
Movie | Brown of Harvard | Yale Football Player (uncredited) | 1926-05-02 |
Movie | The Great K&A Train Robbery | Extra (uncredited) | 1926-10-17 |
Movie | Bardelys the Magnificent | Guard (uncredited) | 1926-09-30 |
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