John Wayne
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1907-05-26
Day of Death
1979-06-11 (72 years old)
Place of Birth
Winterset, Iowa, USA
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
(2024)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
(2023)
Sly
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(2023)
John Wayne: Cowboys & Demons
as Self (Archive Footage)
(2022)
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
as Self (archive footage)
(2019)
John Ford: The Man Who Invented America
as Self - Actor / Various Roles (archive footage)
(2019)
John Wayne - America at All Costs
as Himself (archive footage)
(2016)
John Wayne on Film
as Himself
(2014)
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)
(2013)
John Ford & Monument Valley
as Self (archive footage)
(2013)
Dictator: One Crazy Job
as Self (archive footage)
(2012)
(2010)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
as Self (archive footage)
(2010)
Nuke 'Em, Duke
as Self (archive footage)
(2009)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
(2001)
(2001)
The Duke at Fox
as Self (archive footage)
(2000)
John Wayne-A Life on Film
as Himself
(1999)
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
(1998)
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
as Self - Roaster (archive footage)
(1998)
Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman
as Self (archive footage)
(1998)
JOHN WAYNE - AMERICAN LEGEND
as Himself
(1997)
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
as Self (archive footage)
(1993)
La Classe américaine
as George Abitbol (archive footage)
(1993)
The John Wayne Story - The Later Years
as Himself
(1993)
The Making of 'Rio Grande'
as Self (archive footage)
(1993)
(1993)
Young Duke: Making Of A Movie Star
as Himself
(1992)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
as Davy Crockett
(1991)
Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire
as Self (archive footage)
(1991)
Movie Tough Guys
as Self (archive footage)
(1991)
John Wayne - Eine amerikanische Legende
as (archive footage)
(1990)
(1988)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
as Self (archive footage)
(1987)
Hollywood's Hidden Secrets
as (archive footage)
(1984)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
(1982)
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
(1978)
(1977)
That's Action
as self
(1977)
This Little Bullet
as Host
(1976)
The Shootist
as J.B. Books
(1976)
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
(1976)
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
as Jerry Mason
(1976)
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
(1976)
(1976)
Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend
as Himself/Narrator
(1976)
(1975)
Rooster Cogburn
as Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
(1975)
Brannigan
as Lt. Jim Brannigan
(1975)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
(1975)
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
as (archive footage)
(1974)
McQ
as McQ
(1974)
Letter to Jane: An Investigation About a Still
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1973)
Cahill: United States Marshal
as J.D. Cahill
(1973)
The Train Robbers
as Lane
(1973)
The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks
as Self (archive footage)
(1973)
Wayne Train
as Self
(1972)
The Cowboys
as Wil Andersen
(1972)
(1971)
Big Jake
as Jacob McCandles
(1971)
Directed by John Ford
as Self (1969)
(1971)
The American West of John Ford
as Self - Narrator
(1971)
The Selling of the Pentagon
as Self (archive footage)
(1970)
Rio Lobo
as Col. Cord McNally
(1970)
Chisum
as John Chisum
(1970)
Swing Out, Sweet Land
as Self - Host
(1970)
(1970)
No Substitute for Victory
as Himself
(1970)
Raquel!
as Self
(1969)
True Grit
as Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
(1969)
The Undefeated
as Colonel John Henry Thomas
(1968)
The Green Berets
as Colonel Mike Kirby
(1968)
Hellfighters
as Chance Buckman
(1968)
The Movie Orgy
as Self (archive footage)
(1967)
The War Wagon
as Taw Jackson
(1967)
A Nation Builds Under Fire
as Narrator
(1966)
El Dorado
as Cole Thornton
(1966)
Cast a Giant Shadow
as Gen. Mike Randolph
(1966)
The Victory Squad
as Himself - Host
(1965)
The Greatest Story Ever Told
as Centurion at crucifixion
(1965)
The Sons of Katie Elder
as John Elder
(1965)
In Harm's Way
as Capt. Rockwell Torrey
(1964)
Circus World
as Matt Masters
(1964)
Choice
as Host
(1963)
McLintock!
as George Washington McLintock
(1963)
Donovan's Reef
as Michael "Guns" Donovan
(1962)
The Longest Day
as Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
(1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
as Tom Doniphon
(1962)
How the West Was Won
as Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
(1962)
Hatari!
as Sean Mercer
(1962)
Flashing Spikes
as Marine Sergeant
(1961)
The Comancheros
as Jake Cutter
(1961)
The Challenge of Ideas
as Self
(1961)
The 10 from Texas
as (archive footage)
(1960)
North to Alaska
as Sam McCord
(1960)
The Alamo
as Col. Davy Crockett
(1960)
(1959)
Rio Bravo
as John Chance
(1959)
The Horse Soldiers
as Col John Marlowe
(1958)
The Barbarian and the Geisha
as Townsend Harris
(1958)
I Married a Woman
as Actor in a Movie (uncredited)
(1957)
Legend of the Lost
as Joe January
(1957)
The Wings of Eagles
as Frank W. 'Spig' Wead
(1957)
Jet Pilot
as Col. Jim Shannon
(1956)
The Searchers
as Ethan Edwards
(1956)
The Conqueror
as Temujin, later Genghis Khan
(1955)
The Sea Chase
as Captain Karl Ehrlich
(1955)
Blood Alley
as Capt. Tom Wilder
(1954)
The High and the Mighty
as Dan Roman
(1953)
Hondo
as Hondo Lane
(1953)
Trouble Along the Way
as Stephen Aloysius Williams
(1953)
Island in the Sky
as Captain Dooley
(1953)
Three Lives
as Self
(1953)
You're the Star
as Self
(1952)
The Quiet Man
as Sean Thornton
(1952)
Big Jim McLain
as Jim McLain
(1951)
Flying Leathernecks
as Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
(1951)
Operation Pacific
as Duke E. Gifford
(1951)
The Screen Director
as Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
(1950)
Rio Grande
as Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke
(1950)
Sands of Iwo Jima
as Sgt. John M. Stryker
(1949)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
as Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
(1949)
The Fighting Kentuckian
as John Breen
(1948)
Red River
as Thomas Dunson
(1948)
Fort Apache
as Capt. Kirby York
(1948)
3 Godfathers
as Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower
(1948)
Wake of the Red Witch
as Capt. Ralls
(1947)
Angel and the Badman
as Quirt Evans
(1947)
Tycoon
as Johnny Munroe
(1946)
Without Reservations
as Rusty Thomas
(1946)
Desert Command
as Tom Wayne
(1945)
They Were Expendable
as Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan
(1945)
Back to Bataan
as Colonel Joseph Madden
(1945)
Flame of Barbary Coast
as Duke Fergus
(1945)
Dakota
as John Devlin
(1944)
Tall in the Saddle
as Rocklin
(1944)
The Fighting Seabees
as Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan
(1944)
Memo for Joe
as Self
(1943)
A Lady Takes a Chance
as Duke Hudkins
(1943)
In Old Oklahoma
as Daniel F Somers
(1942)
The Spoilers
as Glennister
(1942)
Reap the Wild Wind
as Captain Jack Stuart
(1942)
Flying Tigers
as Jim Gordon
(1942)
In Old California
as Tom Craig
(1942)
Reunion in France
as Pat Talbot
(1942)
Lady for a Night
as Jackson Morgan
(1942)
Pittsburgh
as Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham
(1941)
The Shepherd of the Hills
as Young Matt Matthews
(1941)
A Man Betrayed
as Lynn Hollister
(1941)
Lady from Louisiana
as John Reynolds
(1940)
Seven Sinners
as Dan
(1940)
Dark Command
as Bob Seton
(1940)
The Long Voyage Home
as Ole Olsen
(1940)
Three Faces West
as John Phillips
(1939)
Stagecoach
as The Ringo Kid
(1939)
Allegheny Uprising
as Jim Smith
(1939)
New Frontier
as Stony Brooke
(1939)
The Night Riders
as Stony Brooke
(1939)
Three Texas Steers
as Stony Brooke
(1939)
Wyoming Outlaw
as Stony Brooke
(1938)
Overland Stage Raiders
as Stony Brooke
(1938)
Red River Range
as Stony Brooke
(1938)
Pals of the Saddle
as Stony Brooke
(1938)
Santa Fe Stampede
as Stony Brooke
(1937)
I Cover the War!
as Bob Adams
(1937)
Born to the West
as Dare Rudd
(1937)
Adventure's End
as Duke Slade
(1937)
California Straight Ahead
as Biff Smith
(1937)
Idol of the Crowds
as Johnny Hanson
(1936)
Winds of the Wasteland
as John Blair
(1936)
The Lonely Trail
as Captain John Ashley
(1936)
The Lawless Nineties
as John Tipton
(1936)
King of the Pecos
as John Clayborn
(1936)
Sea Spoilers
as Bob Randall
(1936)
Conflict
as Pat Glendon
(1936)
The Oregon Trail
as Capt John Delmont
(1936)
The Stagecoach Race
as John Blair
(1935)
Guns Along The Trail
as John Wyatt
(1935)
Paradise Canyon
as John Wyatt
(1935)
Westward Ho
as John Wyatt
(1935)
Texas Terror
as John Higgins
(1935)
The Desert Trail
as John Scott / John Jones
(1935)
The Dawn Rider
as John Mason
(1935)
The New Frontier
as John Dawson
(1935)
Rainbow Valley
as John Martin
(1935)
Lawless Range
as John Middleton
(1935)
Avenging Angel
as John Mason
(1934)
The Lawless Frontier
as John Tobin
(1934)
West of the Divide
as Ted Hayden aka Gat Ganns
(1934)
Blue Steel
as John Carruthers
(1934)
The Star Packer
as U.S. Marshal John Travers
(1934)
The Lucky Texan
as Jerry Mason
(1934)
The Trail Beyond
as Rod Drew
(1934)
Randy Rides Alone
as Randy Bowers
(1934)
'Neath the Arizona Skies
as Chris Morrell
(1934)
The Man from Utah
as John Weston
(1934)
The Shadow Gang
as U.S. Marshal John Travers
(1934)
Claim Jumpers
as Jerry Mason
(1934)
Bandits of the Badlands
as John Carruthers
(1934)
Next Of Kin
as Ted Hayden aka Gat Ganns
(1933)
Baby Face
as Jimmy McCoy Jr.
(1933)
The Telegraph Trail
as John Trent
(1933)
Riders of Destiny
as Singin' Sandy Saunders
(1933)
The Three Musketeers
as Lt. Tom Wayne
(1933)
Sagebrush Trail
as John Brant
(1933)
His Private Secretary
as Dick Wallace
(1933)
(1933)
The Life of Jimmy Dolan
as Smith
(1933)
The Man from Monterey
as John Holmes
(1933)
(1933)
Somewhere in Sonora
as John Bishop
(1932)
Ride Him, Cowboy
as John Drury
(1932)
The Shadow of the Eagle
as Craig McCoy
(1932)
Running Hollywood
as Emcee
(1932)
The Hurricane Express
as The Air Pilot
(1932)
The Big Stampede
as Deputy Sheriff John Steele
(1932)
Texas Cyclone
as Steve Pickett
(1932)
Haunted Gold
as John Mason
(1932)
Two-Fisted Law
as Duke
(1932)
Lady and Gent
as Buzz Kinney
(1931)
The Range Feud
as Clint Turner
(1931)
Girls Demand Excitement
as Peter Brooks
(1931)
Three Girls Lost
as Gordon Wales
(1931)
Maker of Men
as Dusty Rhodes
(1931)
Arizona
as Lt. Bob Denton
(1931)
The Deceiver
as Reginald Thorpe as a corpse
(1930)
The Big Trail
as Breck Coleman
(1930)
Born Reckless
as Extra (uncredited)
(1930)
Men Without Women
as Radioman on Surface (uncredited)
(1930)
(1930)
Rough Romance
as Lumberjack (uncredited)
(1929)
The Black Watch
as Black Watch Soldier (uncredited)
(1929)
(1929)
Words and Music
as Pete Donahue (as Duke Morrison)
(1929)
Speakeasy
as Extra
(1928)
Noah's Ark
as Flood Extra (uncredited)
(1928)
(1928)
Hangman's House
as Horse Race Spectator / Condemned Man in Flashback
(1928)
A Home Made Man
as Man on Stool
(1927)
The Drop Kick
as Football Player / Extra in Stands
(1927)
(1927)
(1927)
The Draw-Back
as Opposing Football Player
(1926)
Brown of Harvard
as Yale Football Player (uncredited)
(1926)
Bardelys the Magnificent
as Guard (uncredited)
(1926)
The Great K&A Train Robbery
as Extra (uncredited)
Crew
(1974)
McQ
Executive Producer
(1973)
The Train Robbers
Executive Producer
(1971)
Big Jake
Executive Producer
(1968)
The Green Berets
Director
(1967)
The War Wagon
Executive Producer
(1960)
The Alamo
Director, Producer
(1956)
Seven Men from Now
Producer
(1956)
Good-bye, My Lady
Producer
(1955)
Blood Alley
Producer
(1954)
The High and the Mighty
Producer
(1954)
Track of the Cat
Producer
(1954)
Ring of Fear
Producer
(1953)
Hondo
Producer
(1953)
Island in the Sky
Producer
(1951)
Bullfighter and the Lady
Producer
(1951)
Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen
Producer
(1950)
The Dangerous Stranger
Producer
(1949)
The Fighting Kentuckian
Producer
(1947)
Angel and the Badman
Producer
(1930)
Rough Romance
Props
(1928)
Four Sons
Property Master
(1927)
Mother Machree
Property Master