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 Awardwinner 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 Walshs The Big Trail 1930 which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s many of them in the Western genre Waynes career took off in 1939 with John Fords Stagecoach making him an instant star He went on to star in 142 pictures Biographer Ronald Davis said John Wayne personified for millions the nations frontier heritage Eightythree of his movies were Westerns and in them he played cowboys cavalrymen and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republics central creation myth Waynes other wellknown 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 womans 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
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