Marion Robert Morrison[a] (May 26, 1907 â€" June 11, 1979), known
professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor
and filmmaker who became a popular icon through his starring roles in
Western films. His career spanned from the silent era of the 1920s,
through the Golden Age of Hollywood and eventually American New Wave,
appearing in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was
among the top box office draws for three decades, and appeared with
many important Hollywood stars of his era.Wayne was born in Winterset,
Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. He lost a football
scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a
bodysurfing accident, and began working for the Fox Film Corporation.
He appeared mostly in small parts, but his first leading role came in
Raoul Walsh's Western The Big Trail (1930), an early widescreen film
epic which was a box-office failure. Leading roles followed in
numerous B movies during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns,
without becoming a major name. It was John Ford's Stagecoach (1939)
that made Wayne a mainstream star, and he starred in 142 motion
pictures altogether. According to one biographer, "John Wayne
personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage."Wayne's other
roles in Westerns include a cattleman driving his herd on the Chisholm
Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose niece is abducted
by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), a troubled rancher
competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and a cantankerous one-eyed marshal
in True Grit (1969), for which he received the Academy Award for Best
Actor. He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952),
Rio Bravo (1959) with Dean Martin, and The Longest Day (1962). In his
final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling
cancer in The Shootist (1976). He made his last public appearance at
the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979 before succumbing to
stomach cancer later that year. He was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the
United States.
professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor
and filmmaker who became a popular icon through his starring roles in
Western films. His career spanned from the silent era of the 1920s,
through the Golden Age of Hollywood and eventually American New Wave,
appearing in a total of 179 film and television productions. He was
among the top box office draws for three decades, and appeared with
many important Hollywood stars of his era.Wayne was born in Winterset,
Iowa, but grew up in Southern California. He lost a football
scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a
bodysurfing accident, and began working for the Fox Film Corporation.
He appeared mostly in small parts, but his first leading role came in
Raoul Walsh's Western The Big Trail (1930), an early widescreen film
epic which was a box-office failure. Leading roles followed in
numerous B movies during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns,
without becoming a major name. It was John Ford's Stagecoach (1939)
that made Wayne a mainstream star, and he starred in 142 motion
pictures altogether. According to one biographer, "John Wayne
personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage."Wayne's other
roles in Westerns include a cattleman driving his herd on the Chisholm
Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose niece is abducted
by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), a troubled rancher
competing with a lawyer (James Stewart) for a woman's hand in The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and a cantankerous one-eyed marshal
in True Grit (1969), for which he received the Academy Award for Best
Actor. He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952),
Rio Bravo (1959) with Dean Martin, and The Longest Day (1962). In his
final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling
cancer in The Shootist (1976). He made his last public appearance at
the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979 before succumbing to
stomach cancer later that year. He was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the
United States.
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